Sorry, but O'Malley should NOT have taken the No Labels pledge

[cali]

Good for him for criticizing the group over their fawning over Trump, but by taking the pledge he legitimized this corporate right wing group. What was he thinking?

[sufrommich]

1. I've never even heard of No Labels until this morning on DU.

Seems like an unnecessary move to make on his part.

[cali]

3. There's been a lot of press about it.

[Kentonio]

2. No presidential candidates should be taking pledges.

If their stance agrees with a groups then great, but the idea of taking pledges is high school bullshit.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. I think many of his supporters

Including myself got involved in their local branches/started them last year when they ramped up. We tend to be less rhetoric and more: grow the fuck up, have a discussion, get shit done. Do the job we pay you to do.

I'm glad he pushed back on them - because they lost focus on their concept and mission with Trump. It is supposed to be about front porch politics.

Not about supporting a hateful bigot and giving him props (Trump).

And what he pledged to? These things were part of his platform out of the gate - in white paper format:
Job Creation: Create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years
SS and Medicare: Secure Social Security and Medicare for another 75 years
Federal Budget: Balance the federal budget by 2030
Green/Clean Energy: Make America energy secure by 2024.

I think those a great goals - but that's just me

https://pjmedia.com/election/2016/1/11/these-six-presidential-candidates-have-taken-pledge-to-be-bipartisan-problem-solvers/

But O'Malley has accused No Labels of "dumbing down" their brand by having Trump on the list.

"I appreciate receiving the No Labels problem solver seal but I want to challenge all of you in the room," O'Malley told a No Labels Problem Solver event via video link today. "Because one of the key aspects about being able to bring people together and solve problems -- I mean, marriage equality it took us three tries and we only got that done with some Republican support. Repealing the death penalty. We were only able to do that with some Republican support."


"But what we have to ask one another as we look for a new leader, as we look for a new president, is which of us can actually bring people together. And quite honestly, I think that you are watering down and dumbing down your Problem Solver label when you bestow it on someone like Donald Trump," he continued. "When Donald Trump says things like all Mexicans are rapists and murderers, that's not being a leader. That's not solving problems. There's other adjectives for that -- one of them being racist. When Donald Trump says things like we should issue ID cards to all American Muslims, that's not bringing people together. That's not solving problems. That's making a fascist appeal. So I would encourage you not to dumb down this label."

BTW- Sanders spoke at the No Labels Problem Solver convention last October - so I'm guessing he sees the value in the concept of working together to accomplish great things in America?

I believe he does. Even that 'other guy' - Jim Webb showed up.

[NCTraveler]

5. Excellent reading. Thank you.

Sanders speaks highly of them and even has a release about it on his campaign website.

https://berniesanders.com/press-release/sanders-addresses-no-labels-gathering-in-new-hampshire/



"But what we have to ask one another as we look for a new leader, as we look for a new president, is which of us can actually bring people together. And quite honestly, I think that you are watering down and dumbing down your Problem Solver label when you bestow it on someone like Donald Trump," he continued. "When Donald Trump says things like all Mexicans are rapists and murderers, that's not being a leader. That's not solving problems. There's other adjectives for that -- one of them being racist. When Donald Trump says things like we should issue ID cards to all American Muslims, that's not bringing people together. That's not solving problems. That's making a fascist appeal. So I would encourage you not to dumb down this label." O'Malley This quote is from your link above.

It's not like O'Malley just said "I love pledges." One really needs to read these things before making blanket statements.

[JustAnotherGen]

10. Your welcome - and I knew Sanders thought highly of if not them/us

Then the concept.

This is working in my borough of 4500 - which happens to be a royal blue.

But we are smack dab in the middle of bright red and being tortured by Leonard Lance(R).

No Labels on the 'quiet side' inspires defiance of leadership that is more busy taking pot shots and scoring points than in helping people. So - you take the approach - get out of my way. We are taking over.

Now - if you've read my 'I don't think O'Malley will get in the way of us doing the right thing here' posts -

You can 'get me'.

If we are doing the right thing and Trenton and D.C. are not doing right by us - get out of our way and let us lead without you.

[NCTraveler]

11. I really like this line.

"No Labels on the 'quiet side' inspires defiance of leadership that is more busy taking pot shots and scoring points than in helping people."

I understand the person I support is more often than not guilty as charged.

[JustAnotherGen]

16. I think quite a few State and Federal Politicians do this

Anyone who says -

Nyah Clinton!
Nyah Sanders!
Nyah O'Malley!

Doesn't realize - this is what our political climate is top down.

We've got to change it from the bottom up.

[NCTraveler]

14. Another point off your comment.

"If we are doing the right thing and Trenton and D.C. are not doing right by us - get out of our way and let us lead without you."

I think this has been the philosophy of republicans for decades. It's importance can't be understated and is something progressives need to figure out in large. That thought process is one of the big reasons progressives often get our asses handed to us on the state and local level.

Note: I'm not saying it is inherently conservative. I know you won't read with those thoughts but some will. Also, my apologies if I have taken you out of context. I do read a lot of your posts.

[JustAnotherGen]

15. No you are fine

And I've been venting for awhile about our need to TAKE OVER LOCAL OFFICES.

Town Clerk, School Boards, Council, Environment Committees, Business Improvement District Committees.

I tihnk there is so much focus around DU on this national election (Presidential) that folks are taking their eyes off the ball right in front of their eyes. Too focused on the brass ring to see . . .

Kim Davis is going to the State of The Union.

I would hope Corey Booker would take me to spit in Trump's eye when I defied his order to round up Mexicans.

[bigtree]

6. +1

[JustAnotherGen]

7. I knew I would get a plus 1 from you

[cali]

8. code for cutting taxes and social programs

[JustAnotherGen]

12. Where did Martin O'Malley ever suggest

Cutting social programs?

cali (106,674 posts)

8. code for cutting taxes and social programs

Can you identify the specific one? I mean he's been pretty clear about corporate welfare and the need to cut traditional energy source companies down to size - but I guess I don't understand why we need Corporate Welfare Whores taking from us?


Cutting taxes - I think you might be wrong about that. No offense - just I don't see it. This link will help you to get more familiar with O'Malley's record of implementing sound progressive tax policies. I think maybe - perhaps - you are confusing him with like - Rick Perry? Or Jeb Bush maybe?

http://www.taxjusticeblog.org/archive/2015/05/omalleys_record_on_taxes_is_pr.php

At a time when many governors stubbornly rejected new revenues despite their states’ weak fiscal positions, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s was one of only a few governors who championed tax increases to preserve his state’s public investments even during the Great Recession.

Early in his term, O'Malley made a substantial revenue increase the centerpiece of his economic agenda. The most notable piece of this package was a progressive measure, the "millionaires tax," which temporarily created a slightly higher new tax bracket applicable solely to taxpayers with taxable income in excess of $1 million. This change raised millions in much-needed revenue from the very wealthiest Marylanders—a group that could clearly afford to pay more since, at that time (PDF), the top 1 percent of taxpayers in Maryland paid just 6.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes compared to an effective tax rate of almost 10 percent for the bottom 20 percent of earners.

[cali]

17. Not O'Malley.No labels

[JustAnotherGen]

19. I haven't seen that

[cali]

20. Here:

<snip>
You can see just how brave a candidate would have to be to hop onto an American stage and proclaim “Yep, I’m going to create oodles of jobs, balance everything that’s unbalanced, and fill the tanks with go juice!” These are pledges so devoid of any meaning outside happy-happy joy-joy vote-for-me that even a ticket made up of Simon Legree and Ebenezer Scrooge would find at least one thing to sign onto.

So why (other than the chance to send out a press release with their names on it) would J & J care about hauling presidential candidates into the local Marriott ballroom to speak on behalf of mom and apple pie? Because to Joe Lieberman—and more importantly to the handful of wealthy funders who support the whole No Labels boondoggle—these words have some very specific meanings.

Creating new jobs? That means cutting corporate taxes. Securing Social Security and Medicare? Read that as cut them to nothing. Balancing the budget? More cutting taxes, of course. And making America energy secure? Hello, Canada? About that pipeline …

The whole point of the No Labels organization, from its Washington lobbyist creators to the moneymen hiding in the shadows, is to take far-right positions and give them a (thin) wash of mainstream patina. The organization exists to present ideas that are as out there as anything in the tea party, while giving a good tut-tut over how we just can’t get those lefties to sign onto our entirely mainstream ideas.

<snip>
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/01/10/1466313/-Why-Democrats-should-climb-onto-the-No-Labels-stage-with-Joe-Lieberman

[NCTraveler]

23. Your article doesn't show where the group said what you are saying they said.

Read it all, it's just not there. The writer makes the claim with absolutely nothing.

[JustAnotherGen]

24. Thanks - I was confused

I thought it would be 5 W and H and it was an op-ed piece. I'll dig into what else the writer has in the media later on today.

[cali]

25. Who leads the organization? Who supports it financially?

[elleng]

26. Thanks, Gen.

[oberliner]

9. Which of the four components of the pledge do you oppose?

– Create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years.
– Secure Social Security and Medicare for another 75 years.
– Balance the federal budget by 2030.
– Make America energy secure by 2024.

[winter is coming]

13. The high-level goals sound great. It's how we reach them that matters. n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

18. Agreed - I like these ways to get it done

*Create a A "millionaires tax," which would temporarily created a slightly higher new tax bracket applicable solely to taxpayers with taxable income in excess of $1 million.

In Maryland -
This change raised millions in much-needed revenue from the very wealthiest Marylanders—a group that could clearly afford to pay more since, at that time (PDF), the top 1 percent of taxpayers in Maryland paid just 6.2 percent of their income in state and local taxes compared to an effective tax rate of almost 10 percent for the bottom 20 percent of earners.


Unfortunately, the millionaire's tax faced substantial opposition from anti-tax conservatives who claimed that the tax was driving wealthy individuals to leave the state. In reality, these claims turned out to be entirely fallacious and were driven in large part by the Wall Street Journal’s reckless misreading of data.

*Increases to the regressive sales tax and cigarette tax.

*Raise income tax rates and limiting tax exemptions for Marylanders earning more than $100,000. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), these changes only affected 11 percent of Maryland taxpayers and a majority of it was borne by the wealthiest 1 percent of taxpayers in the state.


*Reform Gas Taxes Raise the gas tax rate in the short term, and allows for further adjustment in the future to keep the rate in line with inflation and gas prices.

*Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Make the Federal Tax System significantly less regressive for low- and middle-income families.




This stuff was DONE already. It's so simple. They actually DID this in Maryland. Cool right?

[daybranch]

21. Balance the federal budget by 2030

Right wing stupidity. Investing in our people and our country requires deficits at certain points. Who knows where we will be i 2030? Today ain't no peach. I borrow money, and you borrow money to invest in homes, education, cars etc. No one but the very rich have a balanced budget and I doubt many of then have either.
You need to understand Keynesian economics,the only system that has actually worked in hard times.
As for the rest of your desires, how much will be achieved will be due to decisions made and not just setting goals. Goals are great and I can make them all day, but without recognizing the resources you have and how best to employ those resources, your goals are just dreams. No labels is a fantasy world for those who really want to feel above the process and usually remain ignorant and a non-player in how it works. Psychologically the no labels people I meet in my own family feel that they are alone in their faults and find it difficult to express what they are except dissatisfied. I also find they are introverts and their unwillingness to speak out drives them to believe the process does not work.

[cali]

22. Please see post #20