the reason American aren't "taking it to the streets" . . .

[OneBlueSky]

involves a pervasive belief that NOTHING they do will make ANY difference whatsoever . . . not marches, not petitions, not phone calls, not e-mails, not anything . . . I can't tell you how many people I've heard that from . . .

when someone says "there's no difference between Republicans and Democrats," or "they're all alike," they are NOT talking about issues! . . . they are talking about class, about privilege, about corruption, and about attitude . . .

"One's just as bad as the other" is how I often hear it phrased . . . again, they are NOT talking about issues -- not the Iraq war, not abortion, not gay rights . . . they are talking about something considerably more cosmic (for lack of a better word -- it's late) . . .

what they're talking about is the aristocratic attitude, privileges both granted and assumed, and the corruption that feeds it all . . .

this is where the Democratic Party is failing miserably . . . we MUST present reasonable and viable alternatives to BushCo policies -- and explain not only why they make sense, but why they are essential to the survival of the nation and the planet . . .

we MUST also explain why what BushCo is doing is criminal and very probably impeachable . . . (hint: most of them already KNOW it!) . . .

THAT's how serious it all is . . .

in the grand scheme of things, Democrats are still a large part of the problem . . . when we begin taking on voter fraud and corporate control of both our elections and the Congress itself THEN -- and only THEN -- will we become part of the solution . . .

[Maddy McCall]

1. That's the thesis of Lawrence Goodwyn's book, "The Populist Moment"

If you have never read Goodwyn's work on the Populists, pick it up!

"a pervasive belief that NOTHING they do will make ANY difference whatsoever"--exactly Goodwyn's thesis.

[rodeodance]

2. I also hear these comments so often: (nothing i do will make a difference)

...If you have never read Goodwyn's work on the Populists, pick it!

"a pervasive belief that NOTHING they do will make ANY difference whatsoever"--exactly Goodwyn's thesis.

[Stevepol]

3. And the Dems have to show that they GET IT!!

A Zogby poll recently showed that 80% of Americans prefer a return to paper ballots. Why is this so? It's because in spite of what almost every newspaper in the country has said and almost every politician, Dem and Repub, the American people can see thru the hogwash.

Until the Dems face the facts of election fraud, people will feel there's nothing they can do. AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. WE DON'T HAVE A DEMOCRACY ANYMORE DUE TO THE ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES.

When will Dems wake up to the fact that it doesn't cause people to lose interest by stating the obvious. People want leaders who will lead or get out of the way, ESPECIALLY ON THE ISSUE OF DEMOCRACY.

[tulsakatz]

4. I agree that seems to be the current talking point.........

...mostly we hear this from the right wing. And I do believe the Democrats should do more to convince people that is not the case.

And perhaps people believe that because they really don't follow politics enough to really know the differences. People at DU, obviously do know politics because we watch and read about it every day.

And I do agree that there is some corporate greed in both parties but they are still not the same. We always see much more corruption and abuse of power in Republican administrations. How much coruption was in the Clinton administration? The worst thing that came out of the Clinton administration was a BJ!! And that had nothing to do with his abilityto be President!

Actually, the thing I hear among my friends is not that both parties are the same. What I hear is that the Republicans are always trying to eliminate the middle class! That's what they always do...........they always give benefits to their rich, corporate buddies at the expense of the working man. When Democrats are in control, they do try to create programs that benefit the population as a whole.

Bill Maher once made the comment that Republicans always criticize Democrats for their tax & spend policies.........'but', he said 'isn't that better than don't tax & spend?'

[kdmorris]

5. Not to mention poverty

Once someone finds them-self in poverty (no matter how they got there), life becomes a desperate struggle to survive. Dems need to address that (kind of like John Edwards did). There is a divide in this country between rich and poor. And even poor and the middle class. When we haul out politicians like Kerry (who was married to a VERY wealthy woman, and rich himself), people end up tuning out the message if they are struggling to survive. We need to put forth someone who understands how hard life is for the poor. And they need to convince those people that they not only understand how hard their life is, but that they are actually going to do something about it.

In America, we have one of the lowest voter turnouts in the world. Why is that? How can we address that? How do we get through to people who just want to hear that their life will be better? Those are some of the questions we need to ask and answers that we need. And yes, I agree. One of the first things to tackle is corporate control of our elections. Right now, many people don't vote because they don't think it matters. They don't have the same influence as the CEO of Coca Cola does and so, don't feel like they really have a choice. In other words, they can barely buy dinner, much less a politician.

[livvy]

6. Add campaign finance reform and tougher lobbying rules.

In most cases dollars "buy" elections. He/she who has the largest war chest wins, and where do these dollars come from? Once they're elected they owe, and they pay their corporate and big money donors at the expense of the majority of America. If they don't legislate in the interest of their donors, they lose their donors.
People feel disenfranchised because they are, from the moment most candidates decide to run. Once the candidate is elected they spend a large portion of their time, on the American taxpayers' dollar, raising more money. They don't have much of a choice. They either raise the money, or they're out of the running.
We need to get the corporate and self-interest dollars out of the equation through public finance. We also need much tougher lobbying rules to keep them out.
Combine these ideas with election reform, so that people actually feel their vote makes a difference, and perhaps their attitudes might change.