As found on OpEdNews, written by this userThe jury may still be out on why we haven’t seen a more unified Democratic Party in the past six to seven years of suffering under President Bush. There is, however, one instance in history that can be used to formulate a presumable indictment of the party and chastise it for becoming a weak power that accepts corporate support.
The Turning Point
This year saw the release of a documentary directed by Steve Skrovan called An Unreasonable Man, which was an inspirational portrait of an American hero known to Americans as Ralph Nader and also a rigorous condemnation of the electoral system Americans allow to exist for the most part without any displeasure at all. The documentary holds much of the answers for why the Democrats are the failure that they happen to be right now, and that is because Ralph Nader opposed Majority Whip Tony Coelho from California during the Reagan-era as Democrats embraced a fascination with K Street fundraising as the answer to beating Republican Party candidates. Prior to Coelho’s decision to embrace corporate power, Nader had been the leader in progressive change with his group Public Citizen helping him every step of the way. The Democratic Party in the 1960s and 1970s took on those reform policies and environmentalist policies but were eventually scared as they were smacked down for championing such policy. The Republicans were becoming a force to be reckoned with, and as the 1970s came to a close, Tony Coelho thought that the only way for Democrats to take on Republicans as gargantuan as Reagan was to allow corporations to dictate what policies were rolled out for voters and that way they could get the funding needed to compete. Presumably, had Ralph Nader been given the respect he deserved, the Democratic Party would not be the disaster it is now.
Anyways, with the door open for corporate interests to move over from the Republican Party and into the Democratic Party, it opened the door to more control of government. There was no longer that other side working against them. The corporate powers systematically planned to swing the governing elitists their way so that all could benefit them from now on.
The labor unions and individual contributions up until 1979 were the crux of the Democratic Party. It was what made the party popular throughout America. The people were not comfortable with corporate power entering the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party was uneasy about letting in corporate power also. The year 1979, however, was when the Democratic Party changed forever, and it hasn’t been the same since.
The move was a disaster. What success was achieved initially dissolved after a long period of time as the Democrats had to surrender one achievement they had made for Americans after another. The party became spineless and filled with politicians who had no conviction. And now in the 21st Century, we see this move as being the reason why Republicans can remove social systems or privatize them, remove institutions of government, and even roll back civil rights.
The two-party system as a result of the decision in 1979 to embrace corporate power meant that K Street Lobbyists would force Democrats in the future to raise as much money as Republicans do so that they could be considered for election. And raising money would require politicians to make deals and agreements on how they would vote on certain bills that may or may not come up in the future. Almost immediately after allowing corporate power in, Democrats from very liberal districts were voting in favor of corporations on environmental issues and other reforms. That immediately set Democrats on a path to eventually lose the support of many of its voters.
The shift caused Democrats to become more like Republicans and set in place a two-party dictatorship. A convergence on the issues occurred in the years that followed and that convergence was reached because both parties were in support of the corporations now. No longer could real progressive candidates run. And forever would it be hard for a third party, fourth party, or fifth party to run because the corporations behind the Democrats and Republicans moved them to act to set up and preserve a system to keep a multiparty system that would include those “other viewpoints” from being established.
The Party’s Last Two Presidential Elections
The situation now shows the effects of the 1979 decision by Tony Coelho every day. Had the party rejected his decision in 1979, one could make the case that they would be better off because now as the GOP is in disarray, the Democrats could have been the party that scraped them into a dust pan and threw them in a trash can never too ruin the lives of Americans ever again. But a rejection was not to be.
Tony Coelho re-entered American politics in 1999 to be the chairman of Al Gore’s presidential campaign in 2000. If he hadn’t become ill and then suffered from a tumor, he would have stayed on with the campaign in the months right before the Democratic Convention and in the months leading up to the November election. William M. Daley stepped in to run the campaign.
After Joe Lieberman became Gore’s pick for vice president, the two began to tour around the nation naturally campaigning for support. What was interesting was the populist rhetoric they were using that much of the corporate powers had frowned upon being used in party campaigns. Many news organizations and editorial websites picked up on it. But in the days following the Democratic Convention the Gore/Lieberman ticket chose not to defend its populism and move to weakening its strengths to gain more support. This editorial on the World Socialist Website cites Lieberman pronouncing:
“There is no rational reason why the markets should be in any way adversely affected by the positions and policies and programs of the Gore-Lieberman ticket.... I hope the business community will conclude this is a pro-growth, pro-business ticket.”
The Gore-Lieberman ticket went on to win 20 states plus Washington, D.C. But what is most important, besides the fact that the ticket lost after a now infamous Florida recount and Supreme Court Decision, is that Gore won 48.38% of the vote beating Bush by .51% points. That he only won by .51% points and also failed to carry more than 51% of the votes cast in the election was pathetic. For a party that claims to be for the people of America, to only win by such a microscopic margin is evidence of how weak and defective the party is. Had they maintained that populist rhetoric which was giving them an edge in the campaign, they would have performed far better because it was the one time they were ahead of Republicans. Populist rhetoric was why Bush started attacking the ticket for “class warfare”.
One need not dwell over how bad of a candidate Kerry was in 2004. But the feebleness of his candidacy is illustrated by the fact that he lost to George W. Bush of all people. His losing is evidence enough that the Democratic Party lets in the corporate powers just as much as the Republican Party does because had they not allowed them to dictate the 2004 election, Bush would have lost in a landslide. Of course, as Americans found out, Kerry would not stick up for himself as Bush smeared him for being a liberal and hope of winning back America or at that point, getting the lesser of two evils was not to be.
The Party Today
Today, progressivism stinks of a foul stench to Democrats. And they kill the odor of progressivism in much the same way that they kill the effectiveness of guys like Nader: they marginalize them.
In the news today is the story of Dennis Kucinich being excluded from two presidential events, which are the Democratic Steak Fry in Indianola this Sunday and the Democratic Presidential AARP Forum on Thursday. Representatives from both of the events have claimed that Dennis Kucinich does not have “active organization”. But America, let’s look at how stupid they think the American people are.
Statistically, an “American Research Group poll in Iowa showed Kucinich getting 3% of the vote, ahead of Biden and Dodd, who were at the bottom with 1% each.” In a “Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg Poll in Iowa two weeks ago, Kucinich and Biden were both at 2% and Dodd was at 1%.” Chris Dodd and Joe Biden were invited to both events.
Also, statistically, “in the most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, Kucinich was at 3% nationally, Biden was at 2%, and Dodd was below 1%. Another national poll, Rasmussen Reports, showed Kucinich tied with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in fourth place, behind Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and former Senator John Edwards.” To be tied with Richardson in any poll is a stunning achievement especially for a true progressive candidate running in the corporate powered Democratic Party. And, yes, Richardson was invited.
Clearly, he is being marginalized. If you've watched the debates, you've seen it. If you've seen the lack of media coverage, you understand. And yet if you look at the polls, you can't help but see growing support and an increase in organization every day despite campaign woes. That growing support is the result of him being the only one running hard on corporate crime/scandal, anti-war (or better, peace), and universal free not-for-profit health care.
So, take a moment to think about what the Democratic leadership and Democratic candidates are allowing? People of America, look at what the establishment is doing to you. Does this mean anything to you? Does this bother you? How can you let the Democratic Party claim they are for the little guy while they take actions that go after a man sticking up for the little guy? Will you sit down and let them play this game with you or will you make the decision now to blackout all other candidates outside of the progressive candidate Dennis Kucinich who has built a courageous campaign that looks to remove corporate power from American government and also has built a campaign around peace, rule of law, and problems associated with classism, racism, and worker’s rights just like the media blacks out Dennis Kucinich?
That Dennis Kucinich is a card-carrying union member whose history shows a large involvement in union advocacy and shows wide support from unions across America should send a signal to you that the corporate powers have removed the heart of the Democratic Party, the labor unions. He has support from the Cleveland AFL-CIO, the Ohio PTA, the NASA Glenn Research Center, the Salvation Army, the United States Post Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, Ohio’s Boys Town, and the Human Rights Campaign. He is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States (IATSE), an AFL-CIO affiliated union that happens to be a Cameraman’s Union.
Corporate powers of America know Dennis Kucinich is the real deal and will follow through on his promises for Americans. Dennis has the brains and the brass balls to do what Tony Coelho and all other Democrats in office in 1979 chose not to do. This excerpt from his biography on his House of Representatives page shows why the establishment and the corporate powers fear Hurricane Dennis:
When Mayor Kucinich refused to sell Muny Light, the banks took the unprecedented step of refusing to roll over the city’s debt, as is customary. Instead, they pushed the city into default. It turned out the banks were thoroughly interlocked with the private utility, CEI, which would have acquired monopoly status by taking over Muny Light. Five of the six banks held almost 1.8 million shares of CEI stock; of the 11 directors of CEI, eight were also directors of four of the six banks involved.
By holding to his promise and putting principle above politics, Kucinich lost his re-election bid and his political career was temporarily derailed. But today, Kucinich stands vindicated for having confronted the Enron of his day, and for saving the municipal power company. "There is little debate," wrote Cleveland Magazine in May 1996, "over the value of Muny Light today. Now Cleveland Public Power, it is a proven asset to the city that between 1985 and 1995 saved its customers $195,148,520 over what they would have paid CEI." He also preserved hundreds of union jobs.
And as a result of his successes, he is a tumor in the Democratic Party that the leaders need to remove before it infects the populace. If he wins the nomination, he has the capacity and the agenda to clobber the Republican Party. But if he wins, all those corporate Democrats will lose their jobs. All those Democrats will lose their money. Their careers will be on the line, and they will be forced to read bills, policies, and actually think about what to do instead of hearing what to do from an advisor or a representative from a corporation.
So long as the Democrats pursue the path they are on, they will lose the presidential election. They can run Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama with double the amount of money the Republicans have, and the Republicans will still win because American voters are angry with Republicans and disenchanted with a weak unorganized Democratic Party. Those American voters will create a rift in the Democratic Party, which will affect its ability to cohesively articulate an agenda that takes on the Republican Party and captivates the hearts of voters.
If the Democratic Party realized the power of progressivism and populist reforms, they could defeat the illusory ideas the Republican Party champions. Those ideas are guaranteed to break down. Through a progressive, populist agenda the Democratic presidential candidate could have absolute clarity with real policy and defeat the dogmatic Republican Party that runs on beliefs absent of thought or logic.
Until the Democratic Party can embrace progressivism, quit faking they are for reform or against corporations, and kick the corporate powers that rig our elections to the curb, America will be forced to submit to what journalist James Ridgeway calls, “the meanest bunch of mother fuckers I have ever run across.”
REFERENCES
http://www.anunreasonableman.com/http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/aug2000/lieb-a24.shtmlhttp://www.dennis4president.com/go/newsroom/iowa-democratic-leaders-trying-to-%22rig-the-game%22/http://kucinich.house.gov/biography/Like it? Digg It! on OpEdNews.com: http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_kevin_go_070916_why_can_t_the_democr.htm">Why Can't the Democrats Win Elections?
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(490 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
