A message from Thom Hartmann to the Bernie Sanders Campaign:

[jkbRN]

[appalachiablue]

1. K & R. There's US democratic socialism from FDR, even Ben Franklin as Thom well covers.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. There's even that part in the Preamble

about "promoting the general welfare".

[appalachiablue]

6. Absolutely, right there in the Preamble. I forgot to mention BF's support of libraries, and maybe

the postal service. Our American roots are very important and we should aspire to build up our nation with systems of the Nordic countries that Bernie admires for good reason. Both-

[Art_from_Ark]

7. Benjamin Franklin was our first Postmaster General

And because of that, he was honored on America's first postage stamp.

?w=257

[appalachiablue]

8. Thank you for the reminder!

[Art_from_Ark]

9. Nothing to be ashamed about :)

I am just particularly aware of that little bit of information because, as you can probably guess, I am a stamp collector.

Another little bit of philatelic trivia: From 1847, until the 1960s or even 1970s, you could go into just about any post office and they would have at least one type of stamp with Franklin's picture on it.

[Ed Suspicious]

2. Thom is dead on. Now I think that Bernie's international references are good and modern examples of

working systems. I think he needs to take Thom's advice here and bring that campaign message back to FDR. Let's recapture what it was to be American before Reagan had his way on all things liberal.

[KoKo]

3. As the Campaign Grows I hope Bernie will bring in FDR's New Deal which

is a Great Focus for his Demcratic Socialist Platform.

We are FDR DEMS....wanting to build on his Reforms and we have been thwarted for Decades because the RW Fascisists (now) have beat us back at every step with their Capitalism Reagonomics which have Failed Us. And our Dem Party has been infiltrated by them.

Time to take our FDR Party Back from the clutches of those who have worked to destroy his Programs and thos of Johnson who for all his flaws in Vietnam Wars which were horrific....did try to implement programs that caused so much anger the Repubs have been fighting back ever since to diminish or destroy.

YET we STILL HAVE THE WARS!

[Kalidurga]

5. He has some good points...

But, I don't entirely agree. I think it's good to talk about other countries and note what works and what doesn't. But, yes we have to keep our core values which may or may not be similar to Denmark.

[JDPriestly]

10. I lived in Europe including in Bruno Kreisky's Austria.

Bruno Kreisky was a Socialist. He was also a democrat.

He's the guy who was responsible for opening the border between Austria and Hungary which eventually led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and communism in Eastern Europe. There were others who contributed a lot, but I have to credit Bruno Kreisky with a snipping the first wires of the Iron Curtain. (Been a long time since I heard that term.)

Austria was a great place to live. The kindergartens were just wonderful and gave my children one huge jump-start in their educations.

Austria was, at that time, a neutral country although it had a military and a draft.

We have seen so much privatization of traditionally government work.

I would like to see some research done on just what the privatization has meant in terms of corruption, cheating and political favors.

I would like to see some research that might tell us in what areas privatization has worked well and in what areas it has not worked so well or failed.

I would like to see some research comparing the real costs including the social costs of privatization versus government doing work.

I'm not taking a particular stance on whether privatization is good or bad. I suspect it is sometimes good and sometimes bad.

[senz]

11. I agree with Thom. What we now call "socialism"

is actually as American as apple pie. Our nation's founders intended that the government they created would make it possible for the people of the United States to create for ourselves a nation that works for all. As I had to explain to a Hillarysupporter a couple of weeks ago, they did not intend this country to be a "capitalist state;" they intended it to be a vehicle by which we the people can secure our unalienable rights -- which include, but are not limited to, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

In the 19th century, communities helped each other out -- community barn-raising, one-room schools, public parks, meeting halls, town doctors, hospitals, libraries, post offices. There was of course private property, but much of life was communal, taking place in "the commons."

In the mid-20th century, we had locally owned businesses, main streets, pubic and private pensions, Social Security, Medicare, welfare for those who needed it, strong unions, inexpensive higher education, a strong middle class, a healthy economy and an optimistic populace.

We don't have those things anymore. In the 1980s, Reaganomics killed them and Republicans resist every attempt to get them back. Republicans want to privatize every last bit of the commons. They have said that they want to "shrink government until it is small enough to be drowned in a bathtub." That would leave the people at the mercy of others who are richer and more powerful.

Bernie's goals would return us to a country much closer to what our founders envisioned. He proposes that we use the government they created for the purpose they intended: as a means by which we the people can secure our rights and provide for the common welfare.

And that is how he could make his case to the American people.