Some dishonest people insinuate or suggest I am behind some kind of "anything but Democrats" campaign."
I have been very specific in suggesting what kind of new party we need.
In fact, at this very moment many of Bernie Sanders' supporters are trying to convince him to run on some kind of new People's Party ticket and I am all for this.
Democrats should have massive pressure brought to bear on them to support reforms paid for with the long promised "Peace Dividend."
To the extent Democrats support ending these wars and beating swords into plowshares to finance solving the problems of the people they should be supported but to the extent they continue to support wars and militarism while refusing to take up solutions to people's problems they should be rejected.
No one has ever suggested the Democrats should not be allowed to be part of a huge united people's front to stop Trump and reverse course but they refuse to pursue such a course.
Under these circumstances it is shear suicide to continue to bend and bow to these Democrats who expect us to vote for them based on campaign promises they have no intent of implementing.
If Democrats want the votes of working people let them earn our votes rather than going after the votes of Republicans thinking they can take our votes for granted.
I have worked inside the Democratic Party and held a variety of positions in the Democratic Party and, quite frankly, I have never seen any of you who think we should turn our votes over to the Democrats without getting anything in return participating.
My blog is full of work I have done in the Democratic Party and I have very meticulously detailed the undemocratic, deceitful and corrupt methods Democratic Party hacks have used to silence me and not once have any of you who turn around and blame me ever stood up and condemned these shenanigans used to silence me.
Where were you when I was an member of the State Central Committee of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party when I was being attacked for speaking out against the Israeli killing machine, against these dirty wars, for repealing "At Will Employment" legislation, insisting the Democratic Party take a stand for enforcing Affirmative Action when Obama pushed through his trillion dollar "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" in 2009?
I find it ironic you are willing to blame people for not voting for Democrats but you are silent when people who raise the most fundamental questions relating to peace and in defense of a better life for working people get attacked by these crooked, corrupt and conniving Democratic Party hacks while they are trying to push forward a real progressive agenda.
As we have seen, almost a third of Democratic U.S. Senators have voted for Trump's cabinet choices. There isn't one single Democrat in the House or Senate who can be relied on to oppose these dirty wars.
What are you doing to pressure Democrats to take up a progressive working class agenda? Let's hear what you are doing so we can work with you.
You make it sound like I am opposed to working with Democrats when I have been, and continue, to try to get Democrats to take up reforms that would defend the rights and livelihoods of working people.
In fact, you act like I am insulting Democrats because I place the problems of working people under their noses for solution.
In fact, I am more than willing to work with Democrats when they express a willingness to discuss the problems of working people... as seldom as they are willing to do this.
I am not unwilling to support and vote for Democrats when they are willing to do what is right; but, I sure as heck will not suggest to working people they support Democrats when they hurt working people and are willing to sacrifice the lives of working people here or those in the countries being attacked in these wars and sacrifice the the living standards of the working class in order to finance these dirty imperialist wars.
I have been involved in pushing a very simple campaign as stated below... tell me how many Democrats you would like me to vote for support this? All that it is, is the agenda pushed by such Democrats as Frances Perkins, Henry Wallace, Wright Patman and LBJ with his "Great Society," the old progressive CIO unions and I can guarantee you that if you circulate this among your family, friends, neighbors and fellow workers you will find few among them who won't sign their names in support. This will be my test as to whether or not I vote for any Democrats and, quite frankly, by creating mass support for this very basic initiative I think we provide Democrats with the incentive to begin doing what is right by the people and along with this we need to provide them with even greater incentive to do what is right by building a new political party around such a simple and basic progressive agenda that has the potential to bring back together that important old coalition of liberals, progressives and leftists.
As Frances Perkins so often said, people need to eat when they are hungry, people need health care when they are sick, people need jobs when they are unemployed not promises of reforms providing these basic necessities of life ten or twenty years down the road.
Frances Perkins rejected incremental reforms made through baby steps over long periods of time and we should reject the Democrats who vote for wars while putting off reforms we need to solve our immediate problems now.
Campaign for a “21st Century Full Employment Act for Peace and Prosperity”
We are fed up with politicians campaigning on promises of “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” and then failing to make themselves legislatively responsible for attaining and maintaining full employment.
We are fed up with our tax dollars being squandered on militarism and wars instead of being used to create jobs by solving the problems of the people and defending our living environment… its time to beat swords into ploughshares. Put people to work solving the problems of the people.
A National Public Health Care System would create over twelve-million new jobs paying real living wages providing people with free health care--- general medical, eyes, ears, dental, family planning and mental health--- through a network of neighborhood and community health care centers; this is a better use of our tax-dollars than wasting our human and financial resources on a far flung empire of over 800 U.S. military bases around the world. Or, it could be financed the same way Social Security is financed. Public funding. Public administration. Public delivery… nothing controversial; just like public education.
A National Public Child Care System would create over three-million new jobs providing working class families with free child care.
We need to restore WPA and CCC.
We insist Congress and the president enact full employment legislation which makes them legislatively responsible for attaining and maintaining full employment; assure everyone who wants a job employment at real living wages in line with the actual cost-of-living.
Full employment would provide stability for Social Security; everyone paying in; everyone getting something out.
