General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: In 18 years since Naders run, what has been accomplished by attacking the Dem party from the left? [View all]PatrickforO
(14,578 posts)I love Obama - he was a great president, and is a great father and a great man.
For the first time in my entire life, and I was 50 in 2008, I volunteered and worked for Obama's presidential campaign. I did the same in 2012.
However, because I'm decently educated and fairly well read in economics, I indeed did disagree with Obama on a couple of key issues. I disliked the Trans-Pacific Partnership because it was negotiated in total secrecy by international corporate interests and the top levels of various government, and when it was ready, Obama asked Congress to Fast Track it in spite of the hue and cry about the democracy-killing ISDS provisions.
Obama did govern as a centrist because he is inclusive by nature. That is who he is. And, yes, I'm further left than he is. I'm further left than Warren, as well. I'm about where Bernie is. But that doesn't mean that I'm stupid enough to a) not support a Dem candidate because they are a bit to my right, and/or b) vote for some third party which means basically to throw away my vote, and/or c) not vote. I vote straight ticket Dem, and then I put my state legislators and my US Rep and Senators on speed dial and let them know how I feel about what they are doing and why, if I disagree, I think they should be doing it differently.
That is what it means to be a responsible citizen in a representative democracy, or republic such as ours.
I do not apologize for my political outlook (though the way things are going many people on here might end up with accommodations in the nice private for-profit prison archipelago the Trump administration is setting up to house the detainees ICE rounds up - but, hey, Trump has requested ALL voter information from ALL states and as soon as he gets that, the roundups will begin in earnest). When I disagree with you, I will argue my point.
Where I agree with you, such as the desperate need (you imply) for enough states to pass National Popular Vote legislation so that the electoral college is basically voided out. I also agree that more people did vote for Hillary. However, we got pasted down ticket big time. Part of it is the Russian psy-ops attack on voters in swing states, the hacking, and the voter suppression, all things we should be fighting against with all our being. And the worst part of it is the lack of real news getting through to the right wingers. Fox, Breitbart, Red State, Drudge, and hate-talk radio exist as corporate propaganda organs with the purpose of emptying the treasury and giving that money to corporate profits. We desperately need to resurrect the Fairness Doctrine, and uphold net neutrality. Otherwise, the corporations will completely take over. It is already happening, you know, with the illegal acquisition of numerous stations throughout the USA by Sinclair Media, which is a right wing group - their stated objective is to 'reach' 70% of the voting public.
Lots of problems, and every time I see a divisive thread like this one, I think our failure to unite around common issues and fight tooth and nail for those common issues is destroying everything good this nation stands for.
Because if these right wingers have their way, people like you and me and Steven Leser will end up in the camps. And I shit you not. If you don't think it can happen here, that's the same trap sane Germans fell into in the 1930s. The coup is already in progress and being divided just gives freaks like the Mercers and Koch brothers a good laugh.
Let's scare them by standing up together and not splitting hairs about who is too far left, too centrist or not pure enough. We all stand up and march and the corporate greed that has corrupted everything this nation stands for can be checked in favor of policies that cater to human need and the sustainability of our world.
Sorry for the rant, but these divisive threads aren't doing any of us any good at all.