I have examined where my loyalties lie, you judge, I'll explain my position.

[Dragonfli]

Last edited Thu Mar 10, 2016, 08:47 AM - Edit history (1)

From my perspective, the party I joined thirty nine years ago was a party I believed in and so gave my loyalty, It was the party of The New Deal, The Great Society and at the time I joined also the party of civil liberty, equal rights and a war against poverty. I see a party in 2016 that is not that party. The question of my loyalty now becomes murky. I think my loyalty now only belongs to my class and because Bernie Sanders shares this loyalty to my class, I must support him every way possible.

So many in the party leadership and the party overall are comfortable and this place of comfort has made them cold to the reality that is daily life for a great many people.

They make many assumptions from ivory towers of middle class or wealth with little awareness it would seem of those that are lower middle class (quickly falling into poverty even tho they work harder with multiple McJobs than they did before lower middle class meant poverty).

As to the poor - they seem completely oblivious to them and convince themselves that welfare reform didn't harm anybody, I know Hill and Bill believe this, but it did and does to this day I assure you, it was not a pragmatic solution to a "welfare queen" problem handled well because a Democrat helped to all but destroy it. It will not be a brave pragmatic solution to "earned benefit queens" they will likely label SS beneficiaries, as they collude yet again with republicans to begin to shred these last vestiges of the new deal and great society.

They cause the poor to become poorer still while so many in the party applaud the politicians responsible. Their applause and support are what make them just as responsible as their political idols.

They think this is a game, or a sport with my team and their team, not realizing or caring that the ball that is tossed around in this sport is a child that only gets to eat at school and will soon lose that food, or the ball is an elderly widow or widower that can only afford to take their medicine every other day or maybe will freeze to death in a small flat during a winter they could not pay their gas bill (this happens ALREADY where I live).

There are many other balls tossed around for their sport and amusement, too many to list them all here, some are dead or dying, some are living under a tarp in a vacant lot hoping the cops don't roust them or the suburban teenagers don't decide to slum it and amuse themselves by assaulting them while laughing and taunting the "bum" for cell phone footage. Some of these comfortable people give advice to "the poor that in fact do OK" as a famous DLC Democrat once said. One of the Conservative DU posters once even suggested dumpster diving as a viable and reasonable option.

Too many of them applaud policies and politicians that make all these problems worse, they need to get it through their heads, many are dying and more will die of poverty, this is no game and the poor aren't doing OK, they are doing worse all the time with less help available all the time.

It is not serious, pragmatic, or brave to cause more people to suffer and die in poverty because it is referred to flippantly as "eating peas" or "being adult". It is not pragmatic even when the ones shipping away the jobs or destroying welfare "feel your pain". It never was bravery, but cowardice. It is not balanced when an increasing number of people fall into poverty and die while others become wealthier at an exponential rate.

The punditry, politicians, and comfortable may think it is a fun sport full of serious brave adults that make hard decisions.

Cowards all really, making easy decisions, easy because their decisions don't harm them, but rather the poor they barely acknowledge exist for the profit of the wealthy.

Sometimes they even have the gall to pat themselves on the back and reassure each other "the poor in fact do OK".

I feel very sincerely about these class and poverty issues, I give my loyalty completely to the forgotten, struggling and increasingly poor working classes that birthed me. You decide if that makes me disloyal to a party that has all but forgotten us save for donations and Pyrrhic election victories, because I will fight tooth and nail against any one of them or any elected Democrat that is harmful to my class, in other words harmful to most of America.

For these reasons and others, my loyalties now lie only with Bernie Sanders, politicians that share his views, and the revolution that is necessary if we are to fight and win against overwhelming odds, a fight I take on for my class, the very survival of countless people, and for a better future to leave behind for our younger generations.

[longship]

1. This thread needs a kick.

Why am I the first to do so?

[Nitram]

30. Because it was posted at 6 AM?

[PatrickforO]

2. Today's Democratic party doesn't really represent me either.

Funny how a guy who has always been an independent is actually more of a Democrat than today's Democrats. Bernie is the leader of MY Democratic party, for sure.

[Kittycat]

78. Here-here. K&R

[Ferd Berfel]

82. I have to second that

I am not a corporatist.

[Dragonfli]

97. It is funny, but the funniest part is that I believe he calls himself a Democratic Socialist

to honor the original intent of FDR to incorporate some Socialism in our Capitalism in order to save the country from the wealthy and corrupt of his Era - which very much resembles the corruption and wealth disparity that again threatens to destroy the country we have become.

I think he chose that label and worked as an Independence so as to remain free of the corruption infecting the parties.

I believe those are the reasons he is more a Democrat than today's Democrats. The funniest think is, he is not only more of a Democrat - he is beginning to become the FDR of our era using the same fusion as did FDR!
By re-incorporating the very same kind of Socialism into our Capitalism that today's robber barrens have been stripping out ever since they found ways to start doing so!

[yellerpup]

3. K&R!

Obviously, a very heart felt analysis. I grew up dirt poor, too, and I admire your dedication to make things better.

[Dragonfli]

55. The experiences growing up as we did give us a perspective many lack

It also gives us scars that never heal. There are worse scars worn by those that have experienced horrors unimaginable to me, I've met such people as they tend to end up in poverty with us (as have you, perhaps you even have such additional scaring), Many are vets, many have been abused in unimaginable ways, but we get to meet them, sometimes helping a little if we can and this too adds to our experience.

There is a post somewhere in this thread addressing the mentally ill, we know them, they also fell through the cracks and were found among our number, among the the addresses of the "dirt poor".

One thing that many people of many backgrounds, including even some that are wealthy hold within them is the quality of empathy, those like us usually have a well developed sense of empathy because we know how to help each other out because no one else will outside of the poor zone.

The politicians that run things these days appear to lack the quality of empathy, who knows why, perhaps it is the wealth that makes it harder for some to develop, perhaps it is lost after selling one's soul to the devil too many times in the back rooms of the halls of government. Some even say many are actual sociopaths, whom are drawn to areas like politics.

All I know is, I consider empathy the greatest angel of my soul and if I can help anybody I will, not for points, or recognition, in fact because I am poor now, what little I can do to help will never carry with it such superfluous awards.

Most involved in the current political Revolution possess empathy, while some perhaps simply hope for a better life.


One thing I do know is that if and whenever we find anyone that holds office or wishes to, those are the ones we vote for, The ones with empathy, the rest can pound sand.

[yellerpup]

58. Empathy and compassion are necessary to lead

You have to care and you, as you point out, have to really want to lead. You need ideas to lead. My own scars don't show, but sometimes they ache. One of my outlets is to help the less fortunate, and until I became unable physically, I used to cook nutritious meals for our homeless (including mostly veterans by a wide percentage, the mentally ill, and the dispossessed) outreach. I miss giving in that way.

[Stuart G]

4. K and R...one important note on this..

A perfect example of this is that Wasserman Shultz is in favor of so called, "payday lenders" who charge exorbitant rates on loans, and enjoy keeping people in constant debt/ and poor.......... That is what this is about...How could any well meaning person who cares about the poor be in favor of the current system of "pay day lenders"?

[Dragonfli]

7. Before I crash, the answer to your question is they can't be

Loan sharks, however legal they have become since the end of usury laws are horrible for an impoverished individual.

[Gwhittey]

18. Well

"It depends upon what the meaning of the word 'is' is.

[Dragonfli]

5. I've been up all night, lots to think about so I need to crash for a few hours

before a medical appointment I have this afternoon, this is not a hit and run.

I'll be back later for replys and such

[hobbit709]

6. Pretty much my attitude also.

[Mbrow]

8. K&R well said!

[Petrushka]

9. K & R

[renie408]

10. What they said. / nt

[Divernan]

11. Most eloquent and moving post I've read on DU. Hope Skinner reads it.

I was particularly touched by your imagery in these two paragraphs:

They think this is a game, or a sport with my team and their team, not realizing or caring that the ball that is tossed around in this sport is a child that only gets to eat at school and will soon lose that food, or the ball is an elderly widow or widower that can only afford to take their medicine every other day or maybe will freeze to death in a small flat during a winter they could not pay their gas bill (this happens ALREADY where I live).

There are many other balls tossed around for their sport and amusement, too many to list them all here, some are dead or dying, some are living under a tarp in a vacant lot hoping the cops don't roust them or the suburban teenagers don't decide to slum it and amuse themselves by assaulting them while laughing and taunting the "bum" for cell phone footage. Some of these comfortable people give advice to "the poor that in fact do OK" as a famous DLC Democrat once said. One of the Conservative DU posters once even suggested dumpster diving as a viable and reasonable option.

I am pleased to be able to support and vote in my state's primary for 3 progressive politicians, whose values reflect those you have so well stated. They are:
Bernie Sanders for President
Joe Sestak for U.S. Senate/Pennsylvania
Erin McClelland for U.S. House of Representatives/Pennsylvania.

[Dustlawyer]

31. That they threw the mentally ill out on the street during Reagan's terms and they are

still on the street today. No treatment, only hate, anger, and police harassment. This is how we treat mentally disabled in this so called "Christian" nation! Sickening!

[Divernan]

35. Mentally ill are a great source of income for private prisons!

Here are some numbers from 10 years ago, and I have every confidence they are even higher now.

In a 2006 Special Report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) estimated that 705,600 mentally ill adults were incarcerated in state prisons, 78,800 in federal prisons and 479,900 in local jails. In addition, research suggests that "people with mental illnesses are overrepresented in probation and parole populations at estimated rates ranging from two to four times the general population" (Prins and Draper, 2009). Growing numbers of mentally ill offenders have strained correctional systems.
http://nicic.gov/mentalillness

The Treatment of Persons with Mental Illness in Prisons and Jails: A State Survey

It has been known for almost 200 years that confining mentally ill persons in prisons and jails is inhumane and fraught with problems. The fact that we have re-adopted this practice in the United States in recent years is incomprehensible. Prison and jail officials are being asked to assume responsibility for the nation’s most seriously mentally ill individuals, despite the fact that the officials did not sign up to do this job; are not trained to do it; face severe legal restrictions in their ability to provide treatment for such individuals; and yet are held responsible when things go wrong, as they inevitably do under such circumstances. This misguided public policy has no equal in the United States.http://www.tacreports.org/treatment-behind-bars

[Dustlawyer]

40. And how much does it cost us taxpayers vs a proper nursing home and treatment?

[Divernan]

46. It had to cost more - adding in that layer of profit for privatizing.

Last edited Thu Mar 10, 2016, 05:59 PM - Edit history (3)

The states had residential centers for the mentally ill and separate centers for the mentally retarded - many of whom also had physical disabilities.

California was the first to close them down and farm people out to privately owned chains of "group homes". Major problem was that "residents" had next to no supervision, got off their meds (which had unpleasant side effects, i.e., the "thorazine shuffle"; had next to no therapies; untrained caregivers; often wandered off and absences were not even noted. In the 90's, Pennsylvania decided to do the same thing - close down the centers. I was executive director and legal counsel for a special legislative task force trying to anticipate the problems of privatization and justify keeping the state systems open. I researched the California outcome and was horrified - had nightmares for months.

There was an unholy marriage of those seeking to privatize and profit from the system and lobbying ($$$$) Governor Tom Ridge for same, and do-gooder, well-intentioned advocacy groups for the mentally ill and mentally retarded.

"OH, they'll live in cozy little group homes; like a family setting; and they'll be free to participate in the community and be part of the community." Their lives will be just wonderful! Not. At. All.

Most ended up being shipped to the opposite ends of the state from where their families were, so visits and outside observations were rare; the small towns or larger city neighborhoods did NOT welcome the presence of these group homes, so the yards were fenced in with 6 foot high wire fencing and property values went down. The residents did not end up joining churches or getting library cards, etc.

As far as medical/dental treatment, the state centers had specialists trained and skilled at interacting with the patient population. Out in the communities, doctors and dentists refused to even accept them as patients because (1) the patients had the potential to panic, lash out and harm the medical personnel and (2) other patients did not want to be in the waiting room with them and their attendants. Medical problems were allowed to progress until the ER was the treatment center of choice.

Instead of all the recreational and therapy programs at the state centers, the patients ended up sitting in small living rooms watching the tee vee day after day. I read descriptions and police reports of many horrible incidents. And the state oversight regulations were absolutely de minimis and toothless. The only incident triggering notification of next of kin was death. No notifications for patients/residents being beaten, tortured, sold for prostitution, or raped by their minimum wage attendants, fellow residents, friends or relatives of attendants (who stopped by for free food, reducing the amount available to the residents), or relatives of other residents - all of which happened. No notification for accidents or illnesses, even when they resulted in hospitalizations. No notifications if a resident just wandered off and disappeared.

In Pennsylvania, the Dept. of Public Welfare had oversight responsibilities. What a joke! Ten percent of the facilities were to be inspected every year. Guess what. The same facilities were usually inspected - repeatedly, such that most facilities were NEVER inspected, PLUS THEY WERE ALWAYS GIVEN ADVANCE NOTICE OF INSPECTIONS. Even when negligence by the caretakers resulted in deaths, no group home was ever shut down and no fines were assessed. The punishment consisted of their ratings being reduced one level.

That was back in the day before the religious right took over the GOP. All of the members of the task force, both Republicans and Democrats, agreed that we should keep the state facilities open, but Governor Tom Ridge had accepted $$$ from the private care industries and he would not reverse his decision. At that time he was planning to run for president and he sold out the state left, right and sideways to build up his war chest for a national campaign. One way was allowing other states to truck their trash in and dump it in Pennsylvania. Our state motto should have been Pennsylvania! America Dumps Here!

But returning to your question, it possibly was a little cheaper for the taxpayers, because as with all privatizations, corners were cut on the expense side, such as staff and food. No dieticians - just feed em pizza. ( One resident died after an untrained attendant shoved regular food through his feeding tube.) The staff at the state centers was well-trained, with very low turnover rates, and unionized. They actually took pride in their work. After privatization, the real dregs got hired - literally people too stupid/unreliable to be hired at McDonald's.

Aren't you sorry you asked? Like I said, I had nightmares for a long time from investigating all of that.

[dreamnightwind]

48. Thanks for this substantive post

and for caring about the issue. I was aware of some of it, not in any detail though. Well done, I'd like to think such posts can raise pubic consciousness and make a difference.

[monicaangela]

73. Excellent post!

you should have started a stand alone discussion with this. Thank you for posting it. It explains in great detail how horrible politicians and the greedy in this nation are. This type of greed and lack of concern for the most vulnerable in this nation is incomprehensible, shame on those who continue to profit from misery.

[Dragonfli]

90. Excellent Post on a topic that needs more light shed on it, I agree with monicaangel make It an OP!

Last edited Fri Mar 11, 2016, 01:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Use all that research and the pain it caused you to help people get it, to feel it!
People need to know all the reasons we are fighting for change! Create an Op to shed some much needed light on this issue/tragedy.

Remember, in the end they want to privatize everything, you'd be surprised how few people realize that whenever they do that to an important public need what the result is, and the results are typical of what you describe.

[warrprayer]

12. Heartfelt kick

And rec

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

13. The Tea Party exposed the Democratic Party

The R Party used to be the Party of the "status quo" and now they are the change Party. For too long Dems believed the Democratic Party was the change Party, but aside from social issues (which we are being peeled back like layers of an onion), it's clear the Democratic Party is the status quo Party now. Look at how we've aligned ourselves with Rs from wars to Wall Street to NSA to prisons to trade to education to banksters. It's all facilitated the Great Recession and income inequality. That Tea Party has forced a split in the Democratic Party. And now we scramble.

[LiberalLovinLug]

107. I think you're right

Not that I am grateful in any sense to the GOP's road to extremism, but it did in a way facilitate an opening of minds in the Democratic party in that, members saw how what was once fringe, become mainstream in the GOP. That it was possible to change a party from within with enough populist support.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

14. It's not a game.

They think we're just 'playing politics', accuse us of 'being childish', 'taking our ball home'. But our 'ball' is all we have left. It's our only real power to try and make the desperately needed changes we need to make to save many many many lives over the long term. Every time we simply support them, we teach them to ignore our needs, that we are unimportant and will 'fall in line' when the time comes, rather than take short term pain. Humans aren't hardwired to work in the long term. Back when your problems revolved around getting eaten by something bigger, it was more of a survival tactic to ignore the long term and focus on 'now'. But we've got seriously big problems, and they can't be solved by tiny changes and 'tweaks' to 'what is'. We've done too much, too long, without thinking about the long term consequences, and now we need drastic action to survive. It's fight or flight, and there's nowhere left to fly to.

We have to win to survive. And if we can't win this cycle, we can't keep just shoving it off endlessly 4 or 8 years at a time. We have to break the cycle and make it plain that our problems have to be addressed or else we won't simply keep electing people who ignore the problems that are causing our current extinction event.

[Waltons_Mtn]

17. My reply to anyone who says "Your going to take your ball and go home" is

"No, I'm not taking my ball, I taking my principles and you can't have those."

[Dragonfli]

110. No it's not a game, it's life or death, we have choices to make

that have the potential not only to save lives, but actually improve great many of them if we choose wisely.

OR, if unwisely -

Another choice, full of compromises that begin as half measures to start with, that will likely include bipartisanship "compromises" that will likely "reform" more of our safety net.

Such a choice will very likely add to the loss of life, and I haven't even gotten to the really big stakes involved in such decisions having nothing to do with games.

One of these involves more war more often (much more loss of life) and an even bigger consequence to a poor choice involving an environment that is falling into a nearly inescapable inevitability of an extinction level event, half measures and compromises with fossil fuel will not save us from extinction, or the loss of all human life.


This is most assuredly no game.

[JGug1]

15. Revolution

I cringe every single time I see/hear "revolution" applied to what Sanders is advocating. I know very well that the term has many definitions but it has been applied to too many events that resulted in something far left. Bernie Sanders is no Fidel Castrol. I like everything he is advocating for but you may notice that he has sometimes corrected himself when he referred to his run as a "revolution," and added "political" as an adjective. I don't mean to pick nits. Sanders has pushed Hillary Clinton a long way to the left. In the event that she is elected, will she stay there? I don't know. The business of trade agreements, now an anathema to liberals, are basically something that I agree with. I do not like barriers to trade. Having said that, it is apparent to me that something is horribly wrong with NAFTA. I do not think that Barack Obama would do something to harm the little people but I distrust the Pacific Trade deal. If trade barriers are going to be broken down, agreements have to contain parts that protect both the workers in other countries and prevent US corporations from leaving.

[Nitram]

32. Good points, jgug. nt

[Coincidence]

42. You do not think, or you do not LIKE to think, that Obama would hurt the little people?

I definitely don't like the thought, but I don't see any other explanation for his deep, insistent admiration of TPP, and his desperation to fast track without debate this significant legislation that was drafted entirely by lobbyists in complete secrecy.

I think he's indebted to the system for allowing him to be one of the chosen. I think he knew the deal going in, that this wasn't charity, he would have to pay for it.

[rhett o rick]

99. Sanders has only push Clinton's rhetoric to the left. It's impossible to push her

anywhere. Her allegiance lies with those that rule, those that have the wealth the riches and the power.

The fact that her and Bill have amassed approx $10 million dollars a year for the last 15 years should indicate where her priorities lie.

When you say that you don't think that someone like Obama would harm the little people you are judging that on his smile alone. He kills people with drones. 100 innocent people for every single suspect. I dare you to justify that.

[Dragonfli]

103. 2 things, a focus group can push Hilary's rhetoric to the left, but she remains a Goldwater girl

at heart no matter what she says.

The second thing is no one can justify HONESTLY the killing ratio of 100 innocents to 1 Murdering lunatic, if anybody could, we would be bombing apartment buildings full of people here in the good ol' USA just to kill an escaped murderer each and every time one were cornered.

[Dragonfli]

104. He is talking about political revolution, the alternatives have historically led to much worse

If these sorts of conditions remain unchanged. If his political revolution succeeds he will save much bloodshed unless history means absolutely nothing at all. At the certainty of repeating myself (I have just passed risk with the following repeat)

[font size= "2"]Many are still sleeping, but the awakening has begun![/font]

In their somnolence many are only dimly aware of lies and propaganda as told by the corporate owned media and thus some support a candidate that openly and habitually lies to them in order to continue serving her masters that have already made her a multimillionaire by doing their bidding at our expense.

However some dreamers have awakened! Many no longer follow the mcpravda media and are seeing with their own newly opened eyes as their lives and livelihoods fall apart all around them while the billionaires capture all the wealth created by the work and effort of those that see themselves falling either from middle class into the working poor, or from the poor to the desperately impoverished while witnessing the once solid safety nets put into place to keep them safe and fed , free from the horrid conditions of more Dickensian times being ripped to shreds little by little before their eyes with both parties complicit in their destruction.

One need look no farther than a Republican stump speech or the more cleverly hidden common goals of the Democrats that have become Vichy collaborators that hide their plans in the open to destroy those safeguards against complete hopelessness by perusing the chapters of the PPI or Third Way sites where they scheme with the (john Birch Society Transformed) Republican party to not only recreate the gilded age (which they have already done).

But to surpass it via the now global neo-liberalism and it's trade deals to the bottom, it's austerity, it's privatization of all the nations commons, it's near enslavement of all the worlds workers, and it's desired complete destruction of any semblance of a middle class. In an insane attempt to create the wealthiest class ever, which will create the poorest population conceivable.

The new generations are fully awake however and are beginning to feel their power and the power of unity that will in time destroy the depravities and horrors of completely unchecked Capitalism via revolution. The question becomes when and how at this point, the people united win!!! Once after a depression a man and his political revolution saved us from the very same plan at this very same stage, by mixing Socialism with Capitalism and regulating it and thereby defanging the beast of it's venom.

His name was Franklin D. Roosevelt. WE that are awake, those that are awakening, and those of a younger generation not polluted by propaganda must either unite again in a similar political revolution, or else they WILL succeed with their Dickensian utopia until such a time as a different sort of Revolution occurs - one involving a great deal of blood, death, and in the end a victor that may or may not be any better than the ruling elite that it defeats, that is if it defeats it at all the first go around

For the sake of us all, I hope we make the better choice for all of humanity as this is history folks and history almost always ends up with the bloody revolution. However unlike in the past, we are facing an Extinction level event that threatens many of the lifeforms on the planet including humanity itself and so we lack the luxury of time and blood soaked streets and the turmoil that follows such ever recurring events before things settle and we begin to repair the damage being done to the biosphere that supports us.

Not to be an alarmist, but the alarm has already sounded and we not only need to fight and win a political revolution and defeat the plutocrats, we must restore balance and sanity again, but we must do so quickly.

We must unite as well and stop being divided by minor differences within our species such as race (in truth there is only one human race regardless of melanin content or shape of eye and we need to wake up from that right away if we are to survive) we must also unify the different sexes an sexuality's and do that quickly.

There is no more time to play history's games of the wealthy siphoning everything until a revolution occurs, or the games of racism, sexism, or any other isms.

For time is too short and not only must the quality of life of the struggling and ever more impoverished masses be resolved, but unity must happen or not only will the impoverished grow hungry, but the entire human race will cease to exist.

We have run out of time to play the DNC and RNC games and fully awaken not only to live well, but to live at all.
The Younger generation has begun to glean this and so must we all, and pathetically such grand goals with such high stakes must begin by winning a simple yet difficult to win political revolution happening in this very election. Made so unnecessarily difficult by pure, short sighted ridiculous greed of people like the Clintons , their third way and the Republicans.


Let us all awaken now!!!!

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

16. A resounding K & R...

Beautifully written. Thanks

[Aerows]

19. Fine post, Dragonfli

You made some exceptional points.

[raging moderate]

20. Thank you for saying what I feel.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, you and I.

[raouldukelives]

21. K&R The applause helps a little. The Wall St money helps a lot.

We aren't where we are by accident. Wall St regulates Congress. And with the assistance of every dollar in it, they deliver what shareholders are all too happy to foot the bill for.

Behind most major tragedies in the world today stands a corporate investor more concerned with being a wealthy person than being a decent one.

[dchill]

22. K&R!

[LWolf]

23. My loyalties are aligned with yours. nt

[democrank]

24. Thank you for this, Dragonfli.

I `ve asked myself....Why should loyalty to the Democratic Party Machine`s choice for president hold more weight with me than the struggles of the people I see almost every day? Answer is, it shouldn`t and it`s not going to.

This winter I have spoken with someone who had holes in the bottom of his snow boots, another who has no running water, a deli worker who walks miles to and from work, a family out of oil and wood, and the list goes on. These are all people who can not wait 24 months for some group of politicians to name a commission to study another commission to determine if there is a problem. Ever notice how almost nothing is urgent in Washington? Except, that is, for the next Omnibus bill which needs to get quick and certain approval so everyone can go on vacation. In the meantime, millions of people live on the edge in desperation. These are the people who have my loyalty.

I`ve been waiting and waiting for rows and rows of Democratic leaders to line up in Chicago, Detroit, Flint. To stand with Native Americans or inner city school teachers, at rural soup kitchens, outside boarded-up factories. Maybe a couple dozen of them could show up at a VA hospital and listen to a few disabled vets trying to figure out how they`re going to find a ride to the grocery store...in their wheelchair.

My loyalty to the poor and forgotten, the people who grew up just as I did, is solid as a rock. That`s why I support Bernie Sanders.

[Katashi_itto]

25. K&R

[Pakid]

26. I joined the party 45 years ago

and today I don't recognize my party. It changed and not for the better. In many ways it is like the GOP was 40 plus years ago only worse. The GOP has gone over all the edge and our party is not far behind. Today our party does not have the will or desire to stand up and fight for us. Far to often they have looked the other way instead of fighting to protect many of our hard fought grains. Seeing what passes for leadership in our party today is enough to make me sick. As the song goes I owe my soul to the company store todays Democratic Party owes it soul to big business we not longer count. They want our vote but not our ideals the left to them is nothing today!! The only real differences is on the social issues and even there I don't believe that their heart is really into it a lot of the time.

[Enthusiast]

27. Kicked and recommended to the Max!

[Dragonfli]

65. Wow! that must be the equal of at least 2 "by a whole bunch" kicks, I feel greatly honored. /nt

[islandmkl]

28. K&R...societies always, or nearly always, develop a ruling class, regardless of the political

structure...and after some amount of time that 'ruling class' loses any real connection with the greater mass of the population...it doesn't matter if they are oppressive regimes or 'benevolent rulers' or corporations...

and at some point, the people ALWAYS rebel, not always successfully, but no human likes to wear the yoke...

and it seems that the ruling class never recognizes the coming revolution until it is upon them...

[Dragonfli]

50. Yes, they do, I hope our political revolution succeeds, History shows what happens when

Peaceful, political based revolutions fail. There is also something new happening that adds great urgency to end the cycle and begin repeals extremely soon - an Extinction level event is fast approaching and the current ruling class are too greedy to do what is needed to avoid it. I wrote about cyclic Revolution, a way it was once avoided in the US and spoke of this new urgency recently.

[font size= "3"]Many are still sleeping, but the awakening has begun![/font]

In their somnolence many are only dimly aware of lies and propaganda as told by the corporate owned media and thus some support a candidate that openly and habitually lies to them in order to continue serving her masters that have already made her a multimillionaire by doing their bidding at our expense.

However some dreamers have awakened! Many no longer follow the mcpravda media and are seeing with their own newly opened eyes as their lives and livelihoods fall apart all around them while the billionaires capture all the wealth created by the work and effort of those that see themselves falling either from middle class into the working poor, or from the poor to the desperately impoverished while witnessing the once solid safety nets put into place to keep them safe and fed , free from the horrid conditions of more Dickensian times being ripped to shreds little by little before their eyes with both parties complicit in their destruction.

One need look no farther than a Republican stump speech or the more cleverly hidden common goals of the Democrats that have become Vichy collaborators that hide their plans in the open to destroy those safeguards against complete hopelessness by perusing the chapters of the PPI or Third Way sites where they scheme with the (john Birch Society Transformed) Republican party to not only recreate the gilded age (which they have already done).

But to surpass it via the now global neo-liberalism and it's trade deals to the bottom, it's austerity, it's privatization of all the nations commons, it's near enslavement of all the worlds workers, and it's desired complete destruction of any semblance of a middle class. In an insane attempt to create the wealthiest class ever, which will create the poorest population conceivable.

The new generations are fully awake however and are beginning to feel their power and the power of unity that will in time destroy the depravities and horrors of completely unchecked Capitalism via revolution. The question becomes when and how at this point, the people united win!!! Once after a depression a man and his political revolution saved us from the very same plan at this very same stage, by mixing Socialism with Capitalism and regulating it and thereby defanging the beast of it's venom.

His name was Franklin D. Roosevelt. WE that are awake, those that are awakening, and those of a younger generation not polluted by propaganda must either unite again in a similar political revolution, or else they WILL succeed with their Dickensian utopia until such a time as a different sort of Revolution occurs - one involving a great deal of blood, death, and in the end a victor that may or may not be any better than the ruling elite that it defeats, that is if it defeats it at all the first go around

For the sake of us all, I hope we make the better choice for all of humanity as this is history folks and history almost always ends up with the bloody revolution. However unlike in the past, we are facing an Extinction level event that threatens many of the lifeforms on the planet including humanity itself and so we lack the luxury of time and blood soaked streets and the turmoil that follows such ever recurring events before things settle and we begin to repair the damage being done to the biosphere that supports us.

Not to be an alarmist, but the alarm has already sounded and we not only need to fight and win a political revolution and defeat the plutocrats, we must restore balance and sanity again, but we must do so quickly.

We must unite as well and stop being divided by minor differences within our species such as race (in truth there is only one human race regardless of melanin content or shape of eye and we need to wake up from that right away if we are to survive) we must also unify the different sexes an sexuality's and do that quickly.

There is no more time to play history's games of the wealthy siphoning everything until a revolution occurs, or the games of racism, sexism, or any other isms.

For time is too short and not only must the quality of life of the struggling and ever more impoverished masses be resolved, but unity must happen or not only will the impoverished grow hungry, but the entire human race will cease to exist.

We have run out of time to play the DNC and RNC games and fully awaken not only to live well, but to live at all.
The Younger generation has begun to glean this and so must we all, and pathetically such grand goals with such high stakes must begin by winning a simple yet difficult to win political revolution happening in this very election. Made so unnecessarily difficult by pure, short sighted ridiculous greed of people like the Clintons , their third way and the Republicans.


Let us all awaken now!!!!

[Maedhros]

60. The sleeper must awaken...

http://ippep11-vip:3128/5:3600:3600:55535c64786861757468405553@0000000056e1cfd2/2cb26c72835ba9bf3e703ff1e20ecc1d30672ed0f2c6f38c8c62fcc2b62ac5f2/1457132337/

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

84. Indeed an Extinction Level Event is already in play

Seems like not to many people understand the magnitude of what it is, or what it will take to save our entire human race.

Thanks for your attempt to educate those of us on DU to what is coming.

We are all one people on this world regardless of viewpoints to the contrary.

[Jokerman]

29. Kick for the alert

Just served on a jury for this post and it makes me sick

[chervilant]

33. Thank you for this eloquent post.

I have been marginalized for the past eight years. By this, I mean that I've been un- or underemployed, I've been near homelessness at least four times (actually, I'd have been living in my car), I've been unable to get a job teaching math, of all things, because I'm "over-qualified" (but, really, it's because I'm old), I've had to create a GoFundMe campaign twice now, and I'm currently qualified for food stamps and Medicaid.

I struggled with ennui each time I was jobless. Oh, and self-blame. Now, I have a job I really enjoy -- non-medical caregiver for the elderly -- and I pursue my art in various forms, in ways that don't cost me money -- just a wee bit of gas in the car. I'm learning knitting, wood carving, and blacksmithing. Life's a big rush for me, and has been most of my life -- except for those times when no job and no income resulted in ennui (and shame).

So, my decision to support Senator Bernie Sanders is a highly personal one. And, because of my experiences, and those of many of my closest friends, I cannot wrap my head around why anyone would support Hi11ary.

Feeling the Bern!!!

#NotMeUs

[Jokerman]

34. Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

On Thu Mar 10, 2016, 08:01 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

I have examined where my loyalties lie, you judge, I'll explain my position.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511460602

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

How many more "I will not vote for the Dem nominee" posts are we going to allow before we start tombstoning them?

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Thu Mar 10, 2016, 08:21 AM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This is still the primary season. The OP is well thought out. The banning can start after a nominee is official.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: CAN I ALERT ON AN ALERT? Whoever alerted on this rational, heartfelt appeal to reason shouldn't be allowed to soil DU with their presence. BAN THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS ALERT NOW!
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I must say I agree with many of the OP's points. I am not nor ever have been on welfare, but I can understand their plight. Those with a full belly will have less concern for this segment of our society and it shows. The Democratic Party needs to clean house from DWS on up/down the ladder or they will see more people ticked off and leaving.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: We come here for likeminded support not enforced agreement.
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: It's still the primary season.
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

Can you believe that some sad excuse for a human alerted on this post?

[stage left]

38. I couldn't believe it.

I was juror #6.

[Lizzie Poppet]

44. Wow.

I'm amazed. The jury lottery could have easily ended up going badly.

[chervilant]

45. Have to wonder

who isn't going to be able to post for the next 24 hours...

[Dragonfli]

56. I don't, for the life of me understand why someone alerted my post

I stated that my loyalties lie with the people, most especially the forgotten ones that Washington has grown to ignore, the people that need a fair and new deal more than the billionaires do, my people, the lower classes! Do they think I believe I will find what I want with Republicans?

Someone is projecting something, I do not expect to find anybody in the political Revolution to vote for that is a Republican, and if Hillary is the greatest as some say, she still has the time to earn my vote by proving herself Bernie's equal in the empathy department. I sure as hell never stated anything other than my support for those in the party that EARN it, assumptions are often a sign of projection and pettiness.

It matters very little anyway as I believe Bernie Sanders will be our nominee.

If some troll on this board thinks I should not use my votes to improve my party by voting for the ones that represent me and my forgotten class as well as the best interests of our country, or they have a problem with the fact that I want my party to be great like it once was - they can go pound sand and troll some Repug board where they will find like minded people to discuss issues with.

[Jokerman]

63. This was one of the most egregious alerts I've ever seen.

If there is a silver lining it is that I had missed your wonderful post until called for the jury.

I was juror #2 and I stand by my comments. The person who sent that alert is a troll and should be banned.

[Dragonfli]

64. Thank you for your jury service, I'm just glad I didn't get a jury of trolls

Ever since Someone "discovered" the SuperPac loophole that allows dark money to coordinate directly with a campaign, as long as they only do so via internet activities, we have developed a bit of a problem IMO.

Thanks for both voting honestly and for voicing your comment.

[Coincidence]

69. I'm new around here so I don't fully understand the jury system, but wow wtf!?

I hope this is just an anomaly and not indicative of a suppressive environment that reacts to criticism with hostility. We ended up with this Democratic party we have today because for too long we didn't speak up with criticism, and instead pinched our noses for what we thought was the greater good.

Dragonfli, I agree with your post wholeheartedly, and I've expressed most or all of the same sentiments myself recently.

[Kittycat]

80. This was one of the saddest alerts I've seen.

My heart is with you. Even those that haven't walked in your footsteps to truly know your struggle, should be here to walk beside you and support you. What happened today is just shameful, and goes to the heart of what is wrong with everything. We owe our hearts to our values and what is right to each other. We don't owe it to a label that changes with the tide, and serves its own master. 💕

[Coincidence]

68. I didn't know DWS hangs out here at DU just to flick boogers at the liberal party infiltrators.

I guess we deserve it for trying to co-opt her political party, but I would have thought she'd be too busy rigging primaries right now to call out bleeding heart bum huggers on a website forum.

[pinebox]

36. Huge K&R ...I agree

[LondonReign2]

37. We have allowed the Republicans and the Third Way faux Democrats to

move this country so far rightward that we now have a Democratic candidate that is to the RIGHT of the President who described his own economic policies as "mainstream 1980's Republican".

Apparently many "Democrats" think Bob Dole was a little too liberal economically.

[dr60omg]

39. What a beautiful well thought out post

It is rare when someone writes an analysis that is both beautiful, and so well thought out ... I feel privileged to have read this ... it is so true! Thank you!

It is not hard to stand for justice (social, economic, environmental etc): it is much harder to continue to listen to the lies being told and try to stay calm.

Thank you for this a beautiful way to wake up this morning ready to stand up and fight for the future!

[PowerToThePeople]

41. Had to log in just to rec this

Superb!

[amborin]

43. K&R

[DemocraticWing]

47. It makes you wonder how they sleep at night.

When you realize they sleep just fine, it starts getting scary.

[dreamnightwind]

49. Thanks Dragonfli, another excellent post from you! - eom

[Faux pas]

51. Kicketty Kickin'

[me b zola]

52. Recommended

[WDIM]

53. Agreed! nt

[Cheese Sandwich]

54. Clinton is alienating droves of life long democrats with her dirty tricks campagin

[mariawr]

57. And I with you. Kicked.

[WillyT]

59. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[retrowire]

61. knr nt

[Utopian Leftist]

62. The poor and working poor in America

now comprise over HALF of the population!

As anyone knows who is surviving through America's version of austerity, times are very tough. The bread lines are long and the food banks are running on empty. Our backs are breaking from the weight of the plutocracy. Bernie represents our only chance at being heard, our voice, united.

Thank you for this OP.

[Jack Rabbit]

66. That's pretty much it, Dragonfli

If it weren;t for Bernie, I'd probably still be brandishing the "Ready for Yanis" banner some nice fellow DUer made for me.
[center]

[/center]

[davidthegnome]

67. Beautifully written.

I have been... many times throughout my life, at the mercy of poverty. I have not been homeless yet, but I have come damned close. There were times when, years ago, I made, what was for me, a really tough decision to shoplift groceries for my family, because it came down to that or going hungry. I haven't had health insurance for years - but I take medications for post traumatic stress disorder that was diagnosed almost twenty years ago now. I can't get therapy, I can barely get the generic drugs. I worked under the table for less than minimum wage, I worked for minimum wage, I worked for 8 dollars an hour, too. It goes so well beyond that, I could make a good case that my life has largely been some kind of american tragedy - but I won't, because that would be silly. What I will say is that that is a story millions of us share. Soul crushing poverty, doing jobs we hate, working for people who look at us with contempt and condescension, trudging on day after day... exhausted, in pain, hopes, dreams - and morals broken down. It should come as no shock that so many of us suffer from anxiety and depression.

What I have found throughout my adult life is that all established political figures, particularly those running for President... are not comfortable even saying the word "poor". They are not comfortable talking about poverty, vowing to support the working class or the working poor, or, quite simply, the poor. It's "middle class this", and "middle class" that. Or, as GWB once put it; "My favorite people, the haves and the have mores"

Sanders on the other hand... he addresses this in ways I have never heard or seen, nor ever imagined I would from a politician. He's pointing out what the wealthy elite are up to, in buying our elections, in controlling our political process, in scandals, in corruption, in various practices that damn well ought to be criminal. It is not enough that they crashed our economy, it is not enough that their corporations pay no taxes, it is not enough that they have trillions stashed in offshore accounts. It is not enough that these same people support and promote these so called "free trade" agreements (NAFTA, TPP, etc.) or that we have bailed them out when their practices threatened to crush the world's economy.

Somehow, it is not enough that we and our children fight in their wars, take out their garbage, cook their food, wash their cars, sell their products, teach their children... do everything but wipe their wealthy asses. Somehow it is not enough that productivity is so unbelievably high, that Americans are working more than ever for increasingly less money and less benefits.

It's not enough, no. They want tax cuts too, they want to eliminate social security, medicare, medicaid, the ACA, food stamps, TANF... everything. I have seen some pretty serious, hate-filled rants about how we should even demolish public education, group homes, what medical institutions we do have - and so on and so forth. I have seen arguments from the wealthy elite within academia that some people should just be sterilized, due to generations of poverty and/or what they consider inferior genetics or undesired social status.

I went well past angry years ago. I remember my last day in university... weeks after I had completely run out of funds to pay for rent, food, electricity, or anything else. I sat down and wrote in my notebook (with my last, ugly pink pen, on the last few sheets of paper) for hours, about all I had experienced, about how terrible it was, about how our priorities are in the wrong place as a Nation. I was forced to surrender my hope for higher education, or a career that I could feel proud of. I was forced to due this because I was poor, and continue to be poor... and every year it gets just a little worse, to think wistfully of what I might have done, might have been.

This fight... this "political revolution", call it what you will... it is coming from the ranks of the working class and the poor. Why should one's financial assets have any value to society or humanity overall unless they are well used? Why should someone be praised for creating back-breaking, soul-crushing jobs that offer dirt wages and no benefits? It is time for a new revolution - not against Britain this time, nor against an imperial or even foreign power... but against the wealthy elite that ignore us, view us with contempt, and generally speaking don't give enough of a shit to help us change the way things are.

Opportunity for ALL. Education for ALL. Healthcare for ALL. We are already paying for these things! Yesterday I saw an article that talked about how the military had spent a trillion dollars on a broken fighter jet. A trillion dollars - for something that does not work. We could have repaired our infrastructure. We could have funded higher education, houses the homeless, bought food for millions, we could have fixed our public education system by properly funding it for once. We could have done any number of things with that money that was wasted.

I sure was tired of being a working class hero... which is what ALL members of the working class are. Then though, I became unemployed, injured, and can barely get out of bed some days now. No health insurance, can't afford treatment, deeply in debt, screwed, through and through. Thank the Universe I have a family that takes care of me, as much as they can.

Many people have stories far worse than mine... many have better. Regardless, we are all in this together. Opportunity, equality, compassion, empathy, consideration for ALL peoples. We are the 99% - and we are hungry, and we are going to take back what has been stolen from us... mainly... hope.

[dpatbrown]

70. Wonderful discussion,

begun by an article so dear to my heart too, like so many of you. What a thoughtful essay. Thanks for writing and sharing.

[monicaangela]

71. K&R!

[bullsnarfle]

72. As one of the "working poor"

I salute your eloquent post.

[zentrum]

74. K&R

[Thespian2]

75. K & R!!!

[djean111]

76. Beautiful post. And true.

I was juror #1. When I read the alert, my first thought was to just comment WTF?, because that was my first reaction.
I think that, if Hillary is the nominee, there will be quite a gleeful purging of Bernie's supporters.

[Kalidurga]

102. Nah I don't think there will be a purge.

There may well be an exodus though. Probably around 850 will just go.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

79. Whose side are you on?

I knew where I stood in 1961 and in 1969 and I know where I stand today.

With Bernie Sanders, a man after my own heart.

REVOLUTION NOW !

[Dragonfli]

89. Which side Indeed! (sorry had a long day at doctors, then needed sleep)

[stranger81]

81. K&R

You speak for me, too, with this post. People's lives are not a game. The Democratic Party seems to have lost its way, IMHO.

[stupidicus]

83. The DLC usurpers are increasingly unwelcome in the party they corrupted

with their embrace of the moneyed interests.

It's almost like they've forgotten who was here first, no?

[Dragonfli]

94. My belief is they were never with us in the first place, I see them as Republican infiltrators

That felt they could purchase the party of the people and serve it up to their billionaire masters on a platter in order to receive the cash rewards their very careers and corrupt political lives depend on.

We were here first
We were here always
We will never leave
And we WILL be here last!

The Democratic party is supposed to be the party of the people, the party of labor, the party of the those that lack equal rights, and the party that can show the world the way to make a country great is not by having the most Billionaires, but by taking care of the least among us and the most in need better than any other.

I hate what they have done to our party, they put our goals above in reverse.
We will take our party back and never let it be infiltrated by the servants of greed and corruption again.

[stupidicus]

115. me too

which is why I get so disgusted with/over the "ownership" they seem to feel they have.

As a long time critic of the 3rdwayers and the Clintons, I quit feeling like a lone wolf prior to the last pres election due to the amount criticism from the left BHO received leading up to it, here and elsewhere. I speculated at the time to some of more prominent "censors" as to whether they were the majority here on DU, and in the wider public as well, which is why I'm wholly unsurprised by the impressive effort Bernie has mounted in terms of pushback against their failures for the little people that their masters demanded for their monetary support.

We were here first
We were here always
We will never leave
And we WILL be here last!

so true that is.

[Dont call me Shirley]

85. People suffering and dying from lack of healthcare, even in the wake of the ACA, are not political

fucking footballs, DLC DNC!

[creatives4innovation]

86. I joined the same Democratic party you did years ago.

It's hardly recognizable today. Thanks for sharing this.

[bvar22]

87. Loud DURec!

Very well written. Thoughtful and thought provoking....from the heart.

I saw nothing with which I did not completely agree.

[bbgrunt]

88. Thanks for the eloquent OP, and thanks for all the posters in this thread that

describe their experiences so thoughtfully. Bernie's candidacy has certainly helped bring out the hypocrisy that has invaded and sickened the Democratic party. It is really sad that so many Clinton supporters are not able to understand the core of the problem and keep demanding loyalty oaths.

[Dragonfli]

91. In the end, we NEED to come together to win the Revolution and with it Bernie's Vision

of an end to corruption in Government. We can do it without those that are enthralled at the moment with a corrupt system and a dishonest politician, but the country as a whole would be better united than it would be divided.

If united it would be so much easier to enable honorable leaders to improve the lives of all of us, who will need our direct involvement, support and continued efforts beyond any and all elections

[font size="1"]We should even reach out to those followers of loyalty oaths and lying politicians that are now against us for reason's I don't understand who need us more than we need them even if they don't know it yet[/font]

[Juicy_Bellows]

92. Great OP. KICK!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

93. My loyalty is to a cause, not a person....

Part of that cause is the almost forgotten goal of peace on earth

[Dragonfli]

96. That peace can only be won by kicking out the military industrial political neocon machine

Along with the political corruption that drives it.
I consider such to be part of the same cause.

One is a war against poverty and corruption
The other is a war against the wars of corruption.

The treatment is the same for both, a political revolution (which is far greater than any one man)


[font size="1"]When my wife and I were protesting one of the more recent wars (the Bush Debacle) she drew her vision of the neocon war machine that was designed to create perpetual war, that machine is the enemy of peace as I think can even be gleaned by her drawing. What I see in it is the peace you seek on one side/the world designed to accommodate perpetual war on
the other.[/font]

[John Poet]

95. Kick. & Rec.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

98. Sleep tight, Dragonfli

and know that millions are with you. Thank you for your eloquent words.

K&R

[sammythecat]

100. I disagree with not one single word

I agree 100% with everything you said. Excellent, excellent post.

Bernie Sanders is not responding to the voters, he is not "tapping" into any damn thing, he is the same champion of the vulnerable and the powerless, and the unlucky, that he has always been throughout his career. As President he will be in the best position possible for him to enact the changes and reforms he has always fought for, and, he will have the bully pulpit and he will absolutely use it. He will have to use it, and he'll have to fight like hell, and then fight like hell again and again, but no one should doubt that he will do just that. His ambition is to help those needing help and to provide justice for those treated unfairly. His cause is good, and that is a very powerful motivator. He will not give up or give in because the fight is too hard or difficult.

[slipslidingaway]

101. Your loyalty lies with people, not profits, nothing radical about that :) nt

[truedelphi]

105. What a great post! Very encouraging, and

I join you in your sentiments.

[Dragonfli]

106. Thank You! /nt

[JDPriestly]

108. K&R. This evening, on my way back home from a meeting, I passed a tent

set up under a bridge under a freeway in Los Angeles.

This is not an unusual sight. I also passed a shopping cart full of blankets and comforters. That's just tonight and I wasn't in the favorite sleep sites for the homeless in LA.

Homelessness is just everywhere in LA.

And on the nights when we put out our trash cans out, people come through and sort our trash to see if there are any bottles they can recycle for money.

[Dragonfli]

109. Strange how there is only one politician even talking about poverty.

I don't own a TV, but somehow I doubt there is much coverage of the rampant poverty and homelessness running rampant in this country, certainly not nationally, do they cover it locally where you live?

There is a great deal of homelessness where I live as well, but being a winter state, they tend to disappear inside abandoned places in winter and are not out in the open, yet in the warmer months they are visible and yet when visiting people that have TV, I never see them on the local news.

[azurnoir]

111. a heartfelt thank you for this

[DissidentVoice]

112. Most excellent!

I remember the stories my mother, my uncles and my aunts told me about growing up in the Great Depression, and how my grandfather had to run "bathtub gin" just to feed them.

Then FDR was elected, and the WPA brought my grandfather honest work. Some of the bridges he helped build are still standing in Henry County, Indiana. From there he went on to work with the Chrysler Corporation, as a defence contractor during WWII, and he stayed there until they basically forced him to retire.

I am disabled and a veteran. If not for Social Security, I would be one more casualty of the Ayn Randian America.

I support Bernie Sanders too (I am deliriously happy that he won the primary here in Michigan), and I do not run from the labels "liberal" or "socialist" that the RW tries to use as insults on me.

The Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party of FDR.

I hate, loathe and revile the continuing influence of the DLC on what used to be the party of the common man/woman. I hate the "Third Way." I hate "centrism." I hate Bill Clinton's "triangulation" that was used solely to get re-elected after he let the Republicans kick the hell out of him on health care, and how he subsequently jumped on Newt Gingrich's bandwagon. Honestly, I don't think Hillary would be much different.

All this came about as a result of Democratic handwringing at the drubbing the party took in 1984 and 1988 by the Reagan juggernaut and the Lee Atwater hate machine.

Barack Obama has governed more like a pre-Reagan Republican. I voted for him twice, but he lost a hell of my respect for caving to Max Baucus on the "public option" of Obamacare, which is not universal care anyway.

Nonetheless, if Hillary is the nominee in the fall I will probably hold my nose and vote for her, simply to stop a sociopathic narcissist like Donald Trump from taking over the government. I honestly can see his followers trying to stage a coup d'etat if he doesn't win electorally anyway.

I live minutes away from the Canadian border. I have become so fearful of the situation in this country that I would go there in a heartbeat...but it's not that easy, not unless you have immediate family there, are a citizen of another British Commonwealth country or are a genuine political refugee.

If the Democrats lose this fall and Trump takes the country I do not expect the country to survive.

[Dragonfli]

113. We share a great many views in common, reading your reply reminded me a bit of many thoughts that go

through my head on a regular basis.

We agree not only on the party regarding FDR's legacy (if only he had lived long enough to accomplish implementation of his Second bill of rights, AKA his economic bill of rights) but many other things as well

In many ways, ideologically speaking Bernie sanders is very similar to FDR, all the red-baiting and insults aimed at sanders as "a far leftist" etc. are ridiculous to those of us that know the party. In a manner of speaking, FDR was a Democratic Socialist in the same fashion as Bernie Sanders. Most of Bernie's platform (a refreshingly and unusually consistent one) mirror FDR's brand of infusing a little bit of Socialism into our Capitalistic society in order to bring about the changes needed not only to drag us out of the Great Depression, but also to create a more equitable America with the largest most prosperous middle class it had ever known, he also realized the need to strongly and fairly regulate Capitalism to prevent the excesses that had previously always lead to boom, bust cycles as well as the Depression itself, his plans worked quite well for nearly 40 years.

The most galling aspects of the labeling of Bernie Sanders as some sort of crazy far left lunatic involves the fact that most of his plan is to bring back what FDR gave us, which was expanded upon by later Democrats, Before the party changed, starting in the 80's and the Centrist movement that began to take it all away. in fact Sanders' most extreme ideas are simply ones adopted from the second bill of rights, he wishes IMO (with the help of a popular movement which would be necessary) and finding a way to take the corruption out of the party, simply to give us back what our party originally gave us that worked exceedingly well.

As far as the DLC/New Demorat/Third Way movement is concerned I wrote an OP that I am sure you would agree with that includes information you already know quite well that I think you might enjoy (if you haven't already)
New Democrats, The DLC and the Third Way.

There is something else, I fear that since the Great Recession and the ever continuing stripping away of the protections and societal improvements for the common man which was our Democratic FDR legacy, including safety nets and a more equitable share of the country's wealth that that legacy brought.

That a new gilded age is already upon us (complete with the greatest wealth disparity since the gilded age, by many accounts an even worse disparity) and that history is repeating itself, bringing us to the point we were before FDR. Part of that history was the rise of Fascism and if I am correct, Donald trump may be more of a threat than many realize. I also live near the Canadian Border, I lack the finances, but have you looked into landed alien status as a retreat option?

I have a friend that lives in Fort Erie (across the bridge from Buffalo) that enjoys this status and receives all the benefits and protections of a Canadian citizen (including healthcare and retirement). I do not know if such a thing is still an option, because she bought a small house there 30 years ago and lives in it, which is how she obtained the status. It may be worth looking into to see if such is still an option.

In any event, I really enjoyed your reply and replying back, have a great evening, I for one am going to sleep now.

[DissidentVoice]

116. Thank you

First off, as you said, you mirror my views to a near-identical extent.

I live in Michigan, but come from Indiana originally. The few Democrats in Indiana who get elected do so by being as "GOP-lite" as possible. There was very little difference between Senator/Governor Evan Bayh and Republicans.

Michigan is a bit different...the west side of the state is rock-solid GOP and the east side (where I live) is more Democratic, probably because of Detroit and our proximity to the Canadian border. Of course, we also have Flint, and the story of those poor people is making worldwide news.

However, our Governor and Legislature have ruined Michigan to such a degree I don't know if we'll ever recover.

The way this country is going is scaring the hell out of me. It is not the country I defended in the U.S. Air Force/Air National Guard decades ago.

As for Canada, I've already talked to an immigration officer, some years ago. I even volunteered to join the Canadian Armed Forces. He told me I could, but only as a reservist...and I'd already have to have landed immigrant status. Being disabled doesn't help one get that status, unfortunately. He also told me that I could be stripped of my citizenship by the U.S. government (for taking an oath to a foreign monarch) and that I would be stateless until/if I could get Canadian citizenship.

The DLC helped pave the way for this. They put forward such spineless "me-too GOP" candidates for years who didn't have the guts to stand up to the cruelty of Republicans that, except for people like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, the party is full of "go along to get along" types...it breaks my heart...

[Oilwellian]

114. You have always been one of my favorite DU posters, Dragonfli

This OP exemplifies why.