When I Was a Democrat, the Two Major Parties Hated Me

by: Michael Kwiatkowski

Sun Oct 10, 2010 at 12:47:24 PM EDT

Ever since then, and especially since voting in a local primary last month, I've been inundated with calls and mailings from Republican candidates and one Libertarian whackjob.  I continue to receive calls and mailings from Democrats on an equal basis.

This has me confused.  When I was a registered Democrat, both major parties despised me - the Republicans because I was a Democrat, and the Democrats because I am a true lefty and they've moved so far to the right that they may as well be Republicans, and they can't stand being reminded that their base expects them to represent the left.  Now that I'm a Green, they can't get enough of my ass.

This is confusing because neither major party has bothered to do its homework on independent voters.  Rather than recognize us as the ideologically disparate people we are, with some holding left-wing beliefs while others hold right-wing ones, they lump us into some indescribable muddle that is comprised of a myth - that of the ideological center.  Is it possible that these dishonest, cynical politicians actually believe their own Big Lie that there is a fixed political center that causes voters to be fickle about who represents them?

Democrat Lee Fisher certainly seems to think so.  At a volunteer thank-you buffet this past summer, he strongly implied that Ohio, being a purple state, means that voters don't know where they stand and therefore will vote either way based on their mood at the time.  This, of course, is a flat out lie - voters cast their ballots the way they do because they're angry at politicians for keeping unemployment high, services down, and favor the wealthy over all else.  We tend to punish the party in power that is responsible for creating and maintaining the status quo.  Given few alternatives, namely, vote for one of two horrendously bad politicians or just stay home, many choose the latter.  This allows the party that is not in power to capitalize on low voter turnout and gain public offices.  Far from being fickle, we simply get fed up and take whatever actions we think are allowed to us to punish the party in power for having screwed us over time and time again.

Sadly, the Big Lie is believed even by the politicians who tell it.  Instead of recognizing the need to move to the left to win and keep government offices, Democrats choose to pander to something that doesn't exist.  Independents are as much non-entities as left-wing Democrats are to party leaders and politicians, but because we're part of a voting bloc everybody seems to want a piece of no matter what, we're given slightly more importance than dog droppings come election time (as opposed to no more than that if we're Democrats, because we're expected to vote for the party's candidates or no one at all).

But let this not discourage you, good readers.  Think about it: as Democrats, you are absolutely nothing to your own party.  You vote how you're told to vote, and if you dare complain about woefully inadequate policy positions, you're "on drugs", "whiny", "irresponsible", "petulant" "children".  Re-register as a Green, or a Socialist, or a Progressive, or a Communist, or Libertarian or Constitution, and watch how fast the major party politicians flood your mailboxes.  Listen to the hours' worth of answering machine and voice mail messages once you go Indy.  Turn your entire e-mail inbox into one large spam folder for having left the duopoly.  They can't pander to you enough, hoping for your vote.  And therein lies your true power as a voter.  You might Vote Green in the primaries as long as they're allowed on the ballot, but come the general election you're a hot commodity.

Take advantage of this,  MAKE the duopoly do something to EARN your votes.  Your vote has power, or else the duopoly wouldn't be trying so damned hard to prevent you from voting your beliefs - or from voting at all.  They hate you if you're a liberal Democrat, but they love you if you're unaffiliated.  So why not use it to ensure that the politicians who represent YOU do as YOU want them to do, and not what Wall Street orders?

Your vote is a powerful weapon.  If you don't use it, you'll lose it.

David Ellison for Cuyahoga County Executive

by: Michael Kwiatkowski

Fri Oct 01, 2010 at 12:43:28 PM EDT

I am writing now to help raise money for Green Party candidate David Ellison, who is running an uphill battle for Cuyahoga County executive.  His web site is here.

http://www.electdavidellison.com

To understand what this office is and what it would mean for a Green to win, some back story is necessary.

Since the 2008 election, Democrat leaders at the county level have been embroiled in scandal, with the FBI indicting several high-ranking officials in county government on charges of corruption.  Wanting to rid Cuyahoga of democratically elected representatives in favor of a less accountable dictatorship, the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, in tandem with powerful business interests, seized upon the corruption charges to ram through a change in county government that created a county council, and especially a county executive with virtually unlimited power.  The executive appoints all lower-offices, including sheriff, except for the prosecutor.  That last was, in part, the brain child of current county prosecutor Bill Mason, himself a slimeball heavily involved in machine politicking.

This was a bad idea for numerous reasons, many of which were pointed out by the independent weekly paper, Cleveland Scene.  Basically, the whole restructuring of county government in Cuyahoga was another power grab by Republicans, wealthy business interests, and corrupt Democrats who, having failed for years to win significant power in the region, decided to do an end-run around the electoral process by replacing the government with one they thought they would have an easier time winning.  Ironically, the very machine politician who hoped to preserve his own position in the restructuring, Bill Mason, is expected to resign soon because he is now being investigated in the ongoing corruption scandal, according to Scene.

Another ironic twist is that far from having a sure path to victory in this electoral mess, Republicans found themselves competing not only with Democrats for spots on the new council and the executive position, but independent candidates as well, thanks to a court ruling that finally allowed third party candidates to be officially recognized on Ohio ballots.

This is where David Ellison comes in.  He is an architect by trade, but he has been involved with the Green Party for at least twenty years now in Ohio, and he is running for county executive.  (His Face Book page is here, if you'd like to add him as a friend.)

Ellison is running on some very sensible ideas, which include creating a state-chartered Bank of Cuyahoga to invest public funds within the community, as opposed to the current setup where the county invests in transnational banks that move money out of the county.  He also proposes to eliminate backroom-decision-making by setting up an "independent public access County Broadcasting Cooperative ... to follow, report on and analyze local government issues and decisions."

If these and David Ellison's other proposals for reform sound like a progressive's dream agenda, then please go here to donate to his campaign.

http://www.electdavidellison.com/donate.html

We have a month to go before the November election, and as important as the Congressional midterms are, we mustn't let ourselves forget the local races going on.  People complain all too frequently that there are no viable alternatives in elections, but this is a problem generated not by electoral demographics, but by self-fulfilling prophesying to the detriment of the progressive movement.  The better Greens do this year, the better our chances of building successful, solid local and state organizations that can take on the establishment parties.

Take THAT, Naysayers! Jill Stein Raises Over $125,000 to Qualify for Matching Funds

by: Michael Kwiatkowski

Fri Sep 24, 2010 at 16:53:13 PM EDT

That Ms. Stein's campaign, and her helpers in the progressive blogosphere, have been able to raise the $125,000 necessary to get included within the space of a few days is testament to the fact that, yes, the non-Democrat left IS indeed organized, and that with enough support from the left, can achieve astounding results.

The outpouring of support from excited Green Party supporters, grassroots activists and fed-up voters willing to take a chance, is amazing.  According to the Stein campaign's web site, donations have been coming in online in such numbers that they overloaded their PayPal account.

9/24/10 - 4:35 pm

Due to an overwhelming outpouring of support which has pushed PayPal to it's limits, we need to temporarily stop taking donations via PayPal.

We hope you'll come back again soon and try again! We will turn the Contributions Page back on as soon as we can.

Thank you!

It is impossible for me to overstate just how big an accomplishment this is.

Can we now get an acknowledgment from the naysayers that there are viable third party candidates out there, and that they have earned support from the mainstream blogs?  Or will they cook up some other excuse for refusing to help push Democrats to the left?

That's not mere snark.  That is a serious question.  One of the biggest hurdles in trying to raise awareness, raise campaign funds, get out the vote, and so on, has been the catch-22 condition that until Greens and other candidates could prove viability, they would get no support from mainstream bloggers even as that condition was made with the knowledge that without the help of mainstream blogs, it is exceedingly difficult to meet the requirements necessary to obtain that viability.

Only now that catch-22 has been broken.  As of last Friday, Rasmussen reported that Patrick, a nominal Democrat, was only slightly ahead of Republican counterpart Baker.

Incumbent Democrat Deval Patrick remains slightly ahead of his Republican challenger Charlie Baker in the race for governor of Massachusetts.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Bay State finds Patrick earning 45% support, while Baker picks up 42% of the vote when leaners are included. Democrat-turned-Independent candidate Tim Cahill runs a distant third with five percent (5%), and five percent (5%)more favor some other candidate in the race. Two percent (2%) are undecided.

With the race that close, Jill Stein's candidacy gives progressives a real shot at shaping the outcome of the Massachusetts election.  We have leverage enough to force Patrick, a darling of the right-wing Democratic Leadership Council in 2007, to actually adopt left-wing positions and govern accordingly.

None of this would have been possible if not for the hard work and dedication of third party activists, concerned voters, and an energized progressive movement.  Also deserving of thanks are the people at this and other blogs who helped spread the word about Jill Stein.  You all rock AND roll!

And in the Darkness Bind Them

by: Rusty1776

Thu Sep 02, 2010 at 03:47:23 AM EDT

There are still orcs in every agency of the federal government, uruk-hai still infest the Pentagon and the NSA, Congress is still filled to the rafters with Wormtongues and there are still five Nazgul on the Supreme Court.  

I don't even want to talk about the Catfood Commission . . .

Nothing has changed in Mordor because Obama put the Ring of Power on his finger before Rick Warren even finished the Inaugural Invocation.  We've all seen the consequences.  The power of Mordor has not been broken, it hasn't even been seriously challenged.

Moria . . .

There is evil there that does not sleep.  

The Dwarves of Capitalism delved too greedily and too deep.  We know what they awoke in the darkness of Khazad-dum . . . shadow and flame . . .

The Shadow and Flame of Economic Collapse

There is no precedence for the panic and chaos that will occur.  The global food supply/demand picture has NEVER been so out of balance. The food crisis will rearrange economic, financial, and political order of the world, and those who aren't prepared will suffer terrible losses.  As the dollar loses most of its value, America's savings will be wiped out.  

The US service economy will disintegrate as consumer spending in real terms (ie: gold or other stable currencies) drops like a rock, bringing unemployment to levels exceeding the great depression. Public health services/programs will be cut back, as individuals will have no savings/credit/income to pay for medical care. Value of most investments will be wiped out.

The US debt markets will freeze again, this time permanently. There will be no buyers except at the most drastic of firesale prices, and inflation will wipe away value before credit markets have any chance at recovery. The panic will see the majority of derivatives end up worthless. Since global derivatives markets operate on the assumption of the continued stable value of the dollar and short term US debt, using derivatives to bet against the dollar is NOT a good idea. The panic will see the majority of derivatives end up worthless. The dollar's collapse will rob US consumers of all purchasing power, and any investment depend on US consumption will lose most of its value.

The Shadow and Flame of Catastrophic Climate Change

As the Arctic's sea-ice cover decreases, less and less sunlight will be reflected back into space. And as tundras heat up, more and more of their carbon dioxide and methane content will be released into the atmosphere. Thus each added ton of carbon will trigger greater rises in temperature as the years progress. The result will be massive ice cap melting and sea-level rises of several meters: enough to devastate most of the world's major cities.

The Shadow and Flame of Resource Wars

As famine, disease, and weather-related disasters strike due to abrupt climate change," a Pentagon report notes, "many countries' needs will exceed their carrying capacity"--that is, their ability to provide the minimum requirements for human survival.  This "will create a sense of desperation, which is likely to lead to offensive aggression" against countries with a greater stock of vital resources.

Thank you, Dwarves of Capitalism.  You've always believed Wall Street is a source of wealth to be mined.  But it's not a mine.  

It's a tomb.  

Day 118- Do and Don't

by: augurgirl

Thu Apr 29, 2010 at 00:05:25 AM EDT

Dear Mr. President,

The midterm election strategy for Democrats, to own the mantle of practical action and to highlight how this contrasts with the GOP's party of no, may have helped nudge Senate Republicans toward allowing debate on financial reform today. Even if we lose a significant number of our 2010 races, I hope that this strategy encourages voters to put pressure on Republicans to take a more active role in participating, rather than just rejecting, attempts to govern.