We need more posts about what we stand for rather than against

[Az]

If we are to be a voice for the Dems then we have to speak up more about what we are for. Instead all I see is complaints about W and his cronies.

Perhaps its a dream. But I would love to see more constructive discussions rather than destructive discussions. I hope it's not just me.

[stop the bleeding]

1. Agreed the one things the neocons do well is get their messages

out and evryone sticks those messages. The liberals need something like this.

It was weak but its a start when H. Reid said the other day "America can do better" but this just a start we need concrete direction.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

2. Molly Ivins today

Her column was spot on.

Democrats could get a really easy start, simply by undoing what's been done by Fuckface and his thugs these past five years.

Repeal this onerous new bankruptcy law.

Repeal the tax cuts.

Put competent people in positions of responsibility.

Repeal the laws that allow corporations to befoul our air and water while raking in huge profits.

That's a great start........

[MarsThe Cat]

31. do you have a link...?

at her website at creators syndicate, it still has her thursday column up.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

43. Sure do

That was negligent of me, not to include the link. Sorry ----

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1022-24.htm

[intheflow]

3. It's not just you. I'm for:

* socialized health coverage for all Americans.

* open and honest elections with paper trails.

* open government all around.

* a media free from corporate interests.

* transparency in energy policy and procedure.

* qualified people heading federal agencies, rather than cronies.

* women's rights. ALL women's rights, reproductive and equal rights.

* GBLT marriage, civil or religious.

[_testify_]

4. I'm for peace and prosperity.

We've had little of both for the past 5 years.

I'm for finding an alternative energy source for our future.

I'm for ending corporate welfare, at least for those economic juggernauts that repay our govt's generosity by sending the jobs overseas.

I'm for ending the poverty that ought not exist in this country and in the world, for that matter.

Truthfully, once W and his boys are out of office, or in jail, I couldn't give a shit what happens to them.

[Walt Starr]

5. I've made posts like that

They sink like a rock and nobody reads or comments on them.

[norml]

9. Here's one I just posted that's sinking without any comments.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5138347&mesg_id=5138347

[Walt Starr]

13. I was going to post a response

but thought I'd see if anybody else did.

[Az]

14. Accentuate the positive

Humans already have a tendency to complain more than they compliment. If someone says something positive respond. Kick it. Compliment it. Applaud it.

Flame wars stick to the top because people respond. People don't need to see the same continuous flame wars. We need to see positive messages. We need to see contructive ideas. The only way to combat the flame war sticking tendency is to actively pursue and reward positive actions.

How we respond defines what we can and will do. If we only respond in the negative.... well you can imagine where it will lead.

[Az]

12. Just have to do it more often

Keep at it. I plan on doing posts like this more and more often. Its great that dimson is selfdestructing. But nothing will change if things don't change. And it takes ideas and discourse to come up with the directions you want things to change in.

[DLnyc]

17. I second that emotion! n/t

[Arianrhod]

37. I seldom comment on any posts.

I understand the disappointment when a post goes unanswered; pretty much all of mine fall into that category. But I'm a solitary, and am not comfortable with the sound of my own voice.

Still, I always read the posts by those with whom I strongly identify. For what it's worth, you're one of them.

[norml]

6. We stand for having good public services protections benefits and rights

, and against the destructive agenda of those who would destroy public services protections benefits and rights.

That about sums it up, doesn't it?

[fooj]

7. I believe in protecting The Constitution and our Bill of Rights...

among other things...

Peace.

[BigYawn]

8. I agree 100% with you

For example:

> A CEO in any company can not be paid more than 100 times than the
lowest paid employee in that company

> Regulate all essential services & products such as Electricity,
natural gas, petroleum, healthcare etc. so that price gouging is
reduced.

> Remove upper earnings limit for social security tax so that the
highly paid pay same percentage as the lower earners.

You can add more............

[pinto]

10. I agree. Bushco is stumbling, and 2006 is about Congress. We have a

window of opportunity, as they say.

Social Security privatization is essentially "risk allocation". It's a Wall Street gamble, but only Wall Street can win. The individual carries all the risk. I call scam.

Gutting health care funding. Republicans want to transfer a basic function of government, health and welfare, downstream - to the States, Counties and local governments - and wrap the package in corporate perks. This needs to be challenged.

The middle class may not be aware of the Administration's plan to abolish their tax incentives for home ownership. I don't get this one at all, but Congress needs to say something. Sure seems a slight of hand to raise federal income and avoid the "tax increase" bugaboo. BS.

Davis Bacon standards in the Katrina hurricane region are up for challenge after being negated by Executive Order. The challenge needs to be supported.

The last Transportation allocation was an obscene binge of special interest funding, little noted in the scheme of things. This ought to be a talking point.

I know there's a lot of other stuff, wanted to add my 2 cents while this was up. Thanks for your post.


I can question God, why can't I question the defense budget?

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. You are right!

How about these?

universal affordable health care for all

well-funded schools

safe and fair elections, with paper ballots

[DLnyc]

15. Suggested Basic Principles for a Renewel of the American Revolution

I tried to come up with a few very basic principles that I think are necessary to enable meaningful democracy. I did not include laws I would like to see passed or revoked (there are many many of those); rather I tried to just include the minimum ideas necessary for an ENVIRONMENT where good laws can be passed and bad laws revoked.

So here they are; would love to hear what others think.

1. Limit the power of concentrated wealth over the government, and limit the power of government over the lives of individuals.

2. Establish a meaningful electoral system.

3. Free exchange of ideas and news, not constrained by monopoly control of the press, or by unreasonable restriction of access by government.

4. Limit the power of the executive branch of the government, and in particular the power to wage war without active consent of Congress and the of the people.


The first point includes issues of corporations not being people, banning corporate influence over government, restoring a progressive tax structure. The second involves both reliable voting method (i.e. hand-counted paper ballots, in my opinion) and decreasing the control of party beaurocracies over political discussions. The third includes returning to laws like the fairness doctrine and other limits on media conglomerates as well as preventing misuse of national security claims. The fourth I feel is essential because the imperial presidency and the associated militarism of the last 50 years has both starved the national treasury and poisoned the national dialog in very profound ways.

Comments?

[Az]

16. The press seems to be a key problem

It needs to be weened from moneyed interests but needs funding to be able to effectively fullfill its roll. Making a government run press is problematic and we are experiencing the joys of the freemarket form.

[DLnyc]

18. Yes, I agree it is a key problem.

I tend to think that limiting the size and power of media conglomerates leads to more independence and better news.

The press seems to work better in Europe and other places . . . I'm not sure why. Perhaps because corporate power is more limited there and also many dedicated members of the press actively defend their independence from government and corporate manipulation. Also, the public demands more realistic reporting there, I think.

[bluedawg12]

19. Pro-growth Initiative For A Strong and Secure Democracy.

Pro-growth Initiative For A Strong and Secure Democracy.

1.) The Economy- Pride and strength for our working middle class.

Good paying jobs with a future.
Support for the American Working Middle Class.
Affordable, high quality, health care.
Vouchers for working families who chose a stay at home parent option.
Keeping good jobs here at home- American workers are our priority.
Affordable energy.

2.) National Security- Pride in a Strong America

A rational strategic plan for security here at home.
Safe and secure national borders.
A strong military.
Support for active duty troops.
Support for the families of over seas active duty troops.
Support for veterans.
A rational foreign policy based on diplomacy, as well as, military might.


3.) Human rights-

Access to voting in America is free, no poll tax or costly voter ID's- a living Democracy in action.
Support for families and the rights of "all" American families.
Fairness in work, housing, and benefits for all Americans.
Less government interference in the private lives of Americans and a smaller government.
Good stewardship of the environment for ourselves and for future generations.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

44. There you go

That's a start. This is the kind of thinking that's the heading on the outline.

What we need for our Democrats to do is to make these headings specific.

TELL ME how you're going to come up with these good jobs;

TELL ME what kind of support you're going to provide for the middle class, and how will it be paid for, how will it be implemented, but, most important, tell me what it will mean to me in terms of dollars and cents, either into or out of my pocket;

TELL ME exactly how you're going to provide anyone with universal health care - how much will it cost me?

TELL ME how you'll manage the energy programs.

It's all about the specifics. People feel better when they know there's a game plan, complete with diagrams and plays. The word "support" is lovely, especially if you're an athlete, but it's essentially meaningless without a nuts-and-bolts explanation attached to it.

If you're going to make sure that 45 million currently uninsured Americans are going to get health insurance, I want to know EXACTLY how that's going to take place and how much it will either cost or not cost me.

Democrats have made their biggest mistakes by not getting specific.

Read Molly Ivins (again, perhaps?) and see how beautifully specific - and fiendishly simple - her plan is: http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1022-24.htm

[bluedawg12]

20. Being an American-Democratic Ideals for a Strong America

Being an American-Democratic Ideals for a Strong America


American courage: the sentinel of liberty, sealed with American blood and self sacrifice.

American might: power balanced with integrity. A strong and capable military and gratitude to those who serve with honor so that this great and free nation may stand in pride and freedom.

American patriotism: love of country, respect for the flag- paid for by the blood of hero’s, and honoring our troops who serve today and vowing that veterans who have answered the call, will not be forgotten.

American ingenuity: taking us from outer space to energy independence. Rich ideas and novel solutions, born and nurtured in freedom, will prevail.

American fairness: preserving and promoting human rights and freedoms for all Americans. The strong protect the weak, the many will not trample on the few. Every American, every individual counts.

American values: stewardship of the environment, valuing education for our kids to raise them up through knowledge and discovery, elevating all Americans to prosperity with good jobs and trusted long term benefits, and ensuring access to great health care.

American support for the ideals of liberty, equality and opportunity. This is the land that many have chosen as their adopted home, and from the farms of the great plains to the steel mill cities, they came for the American Dream and have found a welcoming home and freedom from tyranny.

Now is the time.

Now is the time for American strength.
Now is the time to be secure in our homes and lives and jobs.
Now is the time to ensure for ourselves and for our families, that the ideals of democracy and freedom that we cherish and many have given so much for, will endure.

The New Millennium Democratic Party- together we are stronger than apart, Americans united for prosperity, opportunity, and strength.

[newspeak]

21. I am Superwoman

and I stand for truth, justice and the American Way!!!!!! Okay, would you believe honesty and accountability in government, living wages, health care, clean water and air, education incentives for poor and middle income families, affordable day care for all working families (as it is in european countries), separation of church and state, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, drug intervention instead of war, problem-solving foreign policies instead of aggression, regulatory controls on corporations, and fair trade practices, equal opportunity employment and housing. And, most of all, I believe in a transparent government. Also, believe in the return of the fairness doctrine and a strong, for the people, fourth estate.

[opihimoimoi]

22. Not only you...many of us are for a positive change via what you suggest

[DLnyc]

23. Lots of good stuff! Recommend and kick, please!

We need a direction now. bushco is falling, we can have a hand in shaping the future.

[bonito]

24. Kick

[bluedawg12]

25. Kickity kick! n/t

[MelissaB]

26. Vote #3 for a positive, constructive thread.

:hi:

[bonito]

27. kick

[No Exit]

28. I stand for PEACE. Period.

[sproutster]

29. Constitution, bill of rights, safe work and education.

[LWolf]

30. Ok. Here is what I stand for:

Integrity. Honesty. Walking my talk. The courage to stand up for what I believe in.

Personal, social, and environmental responsibility.

A living wage, with profits enjoyed by those actually doing the work.

Not-for-profit Universal health care

Universal pre-school through college/vocational ed for all, without corporate or political manipulation

Comfortable, safe, adequate housing for all

Jobs for all who want them, paid at that living wage

Clean water supplies

Healthy, clean, organic non-GMO, chemicalized, over-processed, over-sugared food supplies available to all

International partnership, diplomacy, cooperation.

A media free from corporate or political control

Investment in and development of clean, safe, sustainable energy

The right to privacy

World Peace

Election reform

I could go on. Do I stand alone, or does the Democratic Party stand with me?

[Mythsaje]

32. I think the five nominations for greatest page

hurts the less rabid posts. While pointing out where things are wrong has its value, without a positive message we're not gaining ground.

There are positive threads that hit, but sometimes they're just not titled evocatively enough to gain attention. Plus, people often forget to nominate even if they like it.

[Cults4Bush]

33. I stand for moving our party back to the left.

The new middle is in fact in right wing territory, I stand for doing something about that.

I stand for bringing our troops home now.

I stand for taxing the mega corps, and the top 3% of the money makers in this country.

I stand for medical for every last human being in America.

I stand for gay marriage.

I stand for the right of a woman to choose.

I stand for a draw down of the drug war and reinvesting that waste of money in actual funding for police instead of having police rely on funding from the auctioning of items owned from those that are busted.

I stand for the creation of jobs and higher eductaion for all those who want/need it worldwide.

I stand for crossing cultures and offereing muhc in the way of good will and friendship to countries we have previously odne everything we can to hurt.

I stand for coming across the divide of party politica and doing away with blind faith in any party for obvious and dangerous reasons.

[Cults4Bush]

34. I stand for moving our party back to the left.

The new middle is in fact in right wing territory, I stand for doing something about that.

I stand for bringing our troops home now.

I stand for taxing the mega corps, and the top 3% of the money makers in this country.

I stand for medical for every last human being in America.

I stand for gay marriage.

I stand for the right of a woman to choose.

I stand for a draw down of the drug war and reinvesting that waste of money in actual funding for police instead of having police rely on funding from the auctioning of items owned from those that are busted.

I stand for the creation of jobs and higher eductaion for all those who want/need it worldwide.

I stand for crossing cultures and offereing muhc in the way of good will and friendship to countries we have previously odne everything we can to hurt.

I stand for coming across the divide of party politica and doing away with blind faith in any party for obvious and dangerous reasons.

[grannylib]

35. Pro-Family wages. Preserving SS (with incremental tweaks to save it

instead of 'privatization' to destroy it)
End Wall Street Welfare
Single-payer Health Care (we don't need tort reform nearly so much as we need insurance industry reform)
Healthy competition in broadcasting, instead of a few corporations owning 90% of the media outlets.
Elimination of deficit spending.
Incentives to save (goes along with the pro-family wages, so families can AFFORD to save money instead of needing every dime just to make it to next payday.)

[DistressedAmerican]

36. I Stnad Proudly For The Opposite Of The Things I Am Against!

That list is long indeed!:evilgrin:

[eeyore]

38. What I stand for..

I stand for the absolute destruction and humiliation of Republican leaders and ideals.

I stand for making the world a better place by exposing those who are making it worse as the criminals they are (no matter their party affiliation).

I stand for protecting the country I love from its current path of Republican-led and Democratic-enabled destruction.

I stand for electing leaders who have the guts and integrity to achieve the above stated goals.

Simple enough.

[mirandapriestly]

39. By the People and For the People

would be a good start...that is the antithesis of this administration. Most of us have as sort of live and let live philosophy , I think, that is really offended by the right AND that is why we come out as AGAINST, we don't want to try to control people and get every one to subscribe to group thinking, so we don't have the same sort of "beliefs" to bring people together, except that we don't want this.

[Shine]

40. It's not just you, Az. I agree, we need to focus on what we want,

rather than what we DON'T want.

Linguist Geoge Lakoff speaks to this very notion in his book "Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate". Brilliant stuff, if you haven't already checked it out, I recommend it highly. Everybody should read this

Basically he says, "When we negate a frame, we EVOKE the frame."

Nixon learned this the hard way when he stood before the nation and said, "I am not a crook." And from that point on, everybody thought of him as a crook.

As progressive Democrats, we need to learn how to re-frame the debate and thereby reclaim the political discourse.

Shine

[Shine]

41. Kick!!

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[nashville_brook]

42. here's something positive: it's my book that i'm woodshedding

read: my unpublished thesis :)

THE HOMEBOY REVOLUTION: families as economic units instead of sexual units
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5114942


if you read the comments a lot of people you can didn't read it thru and hit post upon getting snagged by a hot-button word. i think that's great. i want what i write not to be too immediately and unemotionally received. on the contrary.

me and hubby were in the basement discussing over MAKE-OVER. now it houses his recording studio, his work-shop, his beer-making area and general house fix-it area along with MY house stores, seasonal boxes, costco hoards, kitchen annex, craft area, archives, portfolios, and dreams of selling paintings on ebay. we both need a lot of room and we both have totally different minds in terms of how to ORGANIZE (see where i'm going with this). he likes to take the "most important" thing and put it in the middle and work out from there. i'm a BIG, dogmatic fan of FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION. so i walked him around the room and disucussed what we want to do where. how that impacts electrical/plumbing design. where's the cool area. where the dusty area. where do we need light and what kind. mind you the basement it packed full. we are three years behind on having a yard sale.

we started immediately to "go into" CRIT mode. hubby did a hysterical improvise of the bad art student -- say this in your mind with the most goober, meek, hillbilly accent you can conjure -- "i liiiiike it.... it's got TAKE-cher. and i like it's KAHN-TRassst.... i s t h a t r i g h t ................. ............. ?"

any hillbilly or art student that i may have offended with, i apologize but we did art school in johnson city tenneessee at east tenn state. it doesn't get any more hillbilly than that and YOU HAVEN'T LIVED until you've dipped your toe in a hillbillly art scene. it really deserves it's own Waiting For Guffman treatment. it's real good and real bad at the same time. highs and lows. cramping.

point is -- there is no bad way to react to creative work. a good creative knows its way better to bad, sometimes. especially on the early runs.

and those hillbilly students who couldn't do crit -- many of them were outstanding visual artists. they just didn't have language yet. kids that kick ass in crit have learned their skills either being musicians, theater people or literature geeks who have a background in talking shit.

[bloom]

45. Congressional Progressive Caucus

Congressional Progressive Caucus - The Progressive Promise

1. Fighting for Economic Justice and Security in the U.S. and Global Economies

2. Protecting and Preserving Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

3. Promoting Global Peace and Security

http://www.congressionalprogressivecaucus.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=1


----

It's worth knowing what the progressive politicians are doing.....

[Time for change]

46. Here's one that I started a few weeks ago on this subject that

generated a lot of discussion:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=2022073