I'm an "Extremist"

[Kanary]

Because....

I want the US troops out of Iraq, Now.

I want the US to join the rest of the Industrialized world, and provide Universal, free medical care to all it's citizens.

I want the US to recognize the value of ALL it's citizens, and provide free, *Quality* education to all from pre-school through college.

I want the US to acknowledge it's debt to ALL it's veterans, and provide complete care for those who have served. This means dealing with the aftermath, whether it's lack of education, or substance abuse, or the results of toxic chemicals.

I want the US to fully support the right of *everyone* to the pursuit of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness... *EVERYONE*, regardless of race, creed, gender or sexual orientation.

For these and other reasons, I want the Democratic Party to return to the values and leadership which is the heritage of our Party... the values of FDR and other Democrats who spoke up for progressive standards, and the values of each human being.

I stand for the right not to have to compromise these important values.

The Abolitionists didn't compromise.

As a result, I am able to look others in the eye as equals.

My Foremothers, the Suffragettes, didn't compromise.

As a result, I am able to vote, hold office, and express my opinion.

I am proud to stand with these and other extremists.

The US has progressed because of the courage of convictions of it's extremists.


Kanary

[Zhade]

1. Amen, sister.

I stand with you.

[Warpy]

2. One of my mom's earlest memories

...was of marching with my grandmother and great grandmother in a Sufragette parade in New York City.

My great grandmother lived just long enough to vote in a presidential election.

Now we have Scalia talking about turning the clock back and abolishing universal suffrage because women were not included in the original body of the constitution. He feels the same way about all the rights and liberties in the Bill of Rights.

Why is this man allowed to remain on the bench? There is ample evidence of his unconstitutionality, his conflicts of interest, his rabid partisanship, and his religious insanity. WHY IS HE STILL THERE?

Sorry, but we aren't the radicals. THEY ARE.

[Kanary]

46. Do you, by any chance, have pictures of that?

What a family history!

Some more extremists who didn't compromise.

You should be proud!

Kanary

[BlueEyedSon]

3. Oh, man... this is gonna raise taxes!

:)

[Fovea]

7. Not if we start making corporation pay them too

I am so pissed off by the percentage of corporations that pay no taxes.

Time to tax the rich and the investing class back into a size where we can drag them into the bathtub and drown them, as one of the radicals says.

[Nile]

49. Corporations pay plenty in taxes.

Maybe not income tax but all the other taxes. Social security, Medicare, unemployment, property tax etc.. They also pay a good percentage of health, dental and other benefits to their employees. The reason their income tax seems so low is because they can deduct many of these other fees from it. The sky high CEO compensation is the main thing I do not like. It is just downright piggish.

[MisterP]

4. no, no, no! Al From says you're hurting our chances!

your demanding of far-left purity helps bush (somehow)
(end sarcasm)
as to your post, I agree utterly

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. Well, if I had a dick...

I'd say Al From could...well, you know the rest. ;)

[rdfi-defi]

6. right on kanary.

if an "extremist" is someone who supports the reinstitution of human rights for all people then i guess we have can add "extremist" to the looooong list of loaded terms used in us political "debate."

real solutions for real problems= extremist?
example: it takes a single payer system to provide free (tax based) universal health care.

[yardwork]

8. I'm with you all the way

and we are NOT extremists! The goals you list are reasonable and obtainable.

We've been told for decades that these goals are unreasonable, too expensive, will raise taxes......well, suddenly the U.S. has a couple hundred billion dollars laying around with which to invade a non-threatening country!

We could have spent that couple hundred billion achieving the goals you list, which would result in a healthier, better educated, more productive citizenry - which would result in the production of wealth for all people in the country.

It is clear that production of wealth for all is NOT part of the Republican goal. They want wealth for a tiny portion of the populace - themselves.

It is pathetic that so many low-income, poorly educated Americans go along with the Republican agenda without ever realizing that they are hurting themselves. They are pawns. The lousy education and poor healthcare keeps them distracted and confused, so they are easily misled.

[G_j]

9. great post

one of the best


I'm an extremist too! and proud of it

:hi:

[JanMichael]

10. NO NO NO!!! You, and I, are MODERATES! The DLC is EXTREME.

What you've suggested is entirely Moderate, only rightwing Democratic extremists would disagree.

Ie. The DLC:-)

[Cleita]

11. You are not extreme in wanting those things.

Your wants are reasonable, feasible and humanitarian. It's those who don't want these things who are extreme.

[opihimoimoi]

12. Yup, I agree. I join Kanary in wanting them things too

Come, we plan for big Luau, much to eat, be thankful for, sing, dance, drink, enjoy, laugh, golf, and smile.

Golf?

Gentlemen Only Ladies Fprbidden

from the GOP Book. Nah, :o)

[mike_c]

13. right on-- I'm an extremist too....

I'm proud to fight the good fight with you, Kanary.

[corporatewhore]

14. in a sane country you would be a moderate and the DLC types would be

considered extremeists

[Kanary]

15. Could you pleeeez send me a ticket to that country?

I have aspirations of moderation.

:hi:

Kanary

[Dark]

16. You're not an extremeist.

You're just intelligent.

[Wwagsthedog]

17. Looks like a reasonable party platform to me.

Where/how do I sign up?

[bobthedrummer]

18. You are a Kucitizen then, I voted for him too!

:hi:

[camero]

19. My God

I'm an extremist too. Thanks for speaking for us so well Kanary. :thumbsup:

[durutti]

20. Barry Goldwater was right about one thing...

Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.

[citizen snips]

21. Good for you.

I am a centrist.

[JohnKleeb]

22. extreme?

no youre rational, I sure could use some universal education right now.

[greatauntoftriplets]

23. Great post, Kanary. I am an extremist too!!!

And proud of it.

[G_j]

24. extreme kick

[Kanary]

31. ~~chortle~~

I didn't even see the irony until you posted that, G_j.....

I've detested all the 'extreme" programs and "extreme" ads on TeeVee..... now here I am, posting and crwoing about my Own "extreme"...

Sometimes I crack myself up........ but heck, cheeeep humor is all I can afford..... :)

extreme :kick: indeedy......

Kanary, one extremist birdie

[bloom]

25. me too

:bounce:

[Mountainman]

26. I agree with the things you want but tell me how to pay for them

It's like a kid in a toy store. I want I want I want I want I want. I'm a veteran and I got a lot of things for it. The last thing was a 4.5% mortgage but I had to risk my life for a year to get it and I gave up about 10 yrs of my life dealing with the mental illness it got me.

I am a moderate because I want the things you want but I realize they doesn't come without a cost. Are extremists ready to pay the price?

I'm sure your answer is yes. If you had the chance to work for your ideals I'm sure you would give whatever you needed to, but many let others do the work for them. If you realize that you can't always get what you want because someone else wants something just as valuable to him/her and is willing to work harder for it than you are or that the price is to high and not worth paying I would say you are a moderate realist like me.

In all revolutions those that start the fight usually die and do not get the reward. The fight is for those who come after and not for yourself.

[JanMichael]

27. What? You want a budget? How about this: We can do anything we...

...want to do by simply doing it. There are several funding processes for most policy objectives. To pooh-pooh reasonable, equitable, moral, moderate, ideas for lack of imagination is pure defeatism.

The first key though is simple. It takes Will.

[Mountainman]

28. I hope you don't think I'm pooh-poohing your idealism

It takes people with idealism to get things started and to get things done. All I am saying is that along with your idealism you have to be willing to pay the price. Don't have and ideal and expect someone else to pay the price. And the price maybe that you do not get to share in the rewards of your work.

I believe you need to think win win. Some on the extreme think win lose. Win win means you give up something to gain something better and so does the other person. Win win usually means that no one gets 100% of what they want. Compromise is necessary sometimes to get most of what you want. Selfish extremeism is not the way to go I think.

[JanMichael]

29. Well since I have a stable, rather well paying, job anything I suggest...

...will likely effect me in a disadvantagious way financially.

That and the approaching inheritance make it all the more relevant. Does it bother me to pay taxes? No. I've never had that burr under my saddle. Not that I like everything that they go too but to me it's part and parcel of a civilized Society.

And yes. I expect everyone else to share in paying the price.

[Kanary]

30. Then send in Will! We need him! Badly....

OK, enough with the (bad) jokes...

Of *course* we can do it. It's our own defeatist attitudes that do us in.

If all the industrialized countries (except the US, of course) have all those things And Much More!, then the only reason we can't is because... either we're stoooooooooopid, we don't care, or ...... we're letting the corporations walk off with our riches.

We've *ALREADY* worked for it........ we just handed it over to the wealthy, before we reaped our rewards.

As someone else said, if we could find all those billions laying around unused, and started a war with it, then we can find the billions to make life much better here in the US.

Here's one more really EXtreme idea...... if we were to actually turn out all the bums (and that includes the DLC!) who stand in our way of getting what we really NEED, and are able to provide a good life in the ole' US of A for all it's citizens, then.... there wouldnt' be nearly as much incentive for crime, and that expense would be spared.

If people weren't chewed up internally from worry about losing their home if they have the misfortune of getting cancer, maybe there would be a lot less expense in their treatment.

If a lot of the population wasn't so anxiety-ridden from the fear-induced crap put out by the neocons, there wouldn't be as much need for all the medication to keep the anxiety under control.

I'm sure you can come up with a whole lot of other "ifs".

How's that for ex (blanking) treme?

Wadda concept.....

Kanary

edited to say: Opi! You got that luau ready yet? That playskool ranch near Crawford gives a whole new meaning to roasting a pig, eh? Let me know when it's time to hula on a grave...... ~~gigglesnort~~

[Vladimir]

52. Raise taxes

I hear what you are saying, and it is important to realise that there is always a cost to be paid. But if nearly every European country can find the money for this stuff, then so surely can the USA.

V

[Q]

32. Well...everyone already knows I'm an 'extremist'...

...for my views on equal rights/justice. I think it's wrong and unethical for the Democratic party to compromise with the fascists in power. It's wrong for them to pretend the injustice, corruption and lawbreaking doesn't exist in the name of political expediency.

- Extremists, my ass. The moderates, enablers and compromisers allowed Bush* to take power and force this country to the far right. They're as much to blame as those who voted for Bush* or helped install him into power by illegal means.

[Mountainman]

34. The thing that let Reagan in the White House was a backlash against the

left extremists. People who years before would never think of voting Republican did because they were reacting to the failure of the well intentioned but misguided great society programs.

I would have to say that I was a radical extremist in the 60's but when I saw all the Reagan Democrats in later years I had to admit that it was people like me that enabled them.

[Kanary]

38. I refuse to take on that blame

Those people are responsible for their own votes.

I repeat: If other countries can do all this and More..... why not the US?

Is there *any* good reason?

Do we just continue to give and give and give our wealth to the already-rich?

Kanary

[sangha]

42. Of course

You want everything but the blame because you are blameless until the government does everything you want it to.

[G_j]

44. I wonder who "enabled"

other countries to have health care for all their citizens?

[Kanary]

45. Or, "enabled" their citizens to have at least 4 weeks paid vacation

every year.

[dumpster_baby]

33. Power to the People, Kanary! We OWN this country. Let's start...

...acting like it.

I am with you. We start by getting more people politically involved.

[Kanary]

35. True! We also start

by actually LISTENING to poor folk, rather than shunting them off and telling them, "Not yet, not yet", but then mumbling about how they are sooo dumb that they don't even vote. Well, hell's bells..... give 'em something to vote FOR!

It *IS* our country... you are so very right. Somehow, we seem to have forgotten this.

You encourage me; you have good ideas for a starting point??

Thanks for your encouragment....

Kanary :hi:

[Selwynn]

36. Part of the problem here, is a language problem...

...the term "extremist" really needs better defined.

I have an opinion, which is just an opinion, and that is this: there really isn't any significant left wing "extremism" in the United states. By significant I mean, a national political force, party or movement capable of significantly affecting the political climate. There is however, clearly right wing "extremism" in the United States today. Over many decades, the "center" of debate has continually shifted to the right. What is labeled "moderate" now would have been labeled "conservative" decades ago. Actual progressivism feels like its disappearing from the map.

I define "extremism" in part like I might define religious "extremism." I think maybe extremism has less to do with what positions you hold and more to do with how you act in light of those positions. Do you developed polarizing, aggressive, hateful attitudes toward others who see it differently? Do you act "by the sword" if you will, and desire political "crusades" to crush the "infidel" that disagrees? I think that's extremism.

I don't see someone like Zinn or Chomsky as an "extremist" because its not their views that are at issue, its their methods. Methods is where I think we can start labeling "extremism." Agree with Kanary and posted earlier that I think the history of the United States is a long history of radical people with challenging new ideas who passionately pushed the nation toward new directions. But not all of those people deserve the term "extremist" I don't think.

In short, I think maybe extremism is not about what kind of positions you hold, but what kind of action and attitude you take based on those positions...

[Kanary]

39. Of course you're right

I'm sure you've guess that my original post was in response to all the *ugly* and marginalizing posts that have been aimed at us "leftists" for quite a while now. One can take only so much of that.

I guess it's taken from that chant used at the anti-war rallies...

"What does Democracy look like?"

"This is what Democracy looks like."

This is what "extremism" looks like, and dang, if it ain't just what the dr ordered. :)

Kanary

[Ms. Clio]

37. proud to be an "extremist" too

Great post.

[Zhade]

40. Kick for my fellow "extreme team" members!

NT!

[ursacorwin]

41. count me in

..been preachin' it a while now...you go, girl!

[Kanary]

43. Extreme team....

..... oh lawdy.... :)

Great handle, but ... never thought I'd be part of "extreme" anything.... :toast:

OK, team, where do we get started...?

Kanary, rarin' to go

[G_j]

47. Kucinich: What do we stand for as a Party?

http://www.kucinich.us/messages/041404-audiopostcard-dennis.php

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO POSTCARD:


Hi Everyone, this is Dennis.

There is a lot at stake at this moment. The President has said that he intends to stay the course in Iraq. That course is one which will increase the number of deaths and injuries, not only to our troops but to many innocent people in Iraq, ultimately making Americans less safe at home and less welcome around the world.

If we continue on this course, spending upwards of $200 billion in Iraq, America will continue to sacrifice a domestic agenda that is already failing to provide sufficient funding for education, health care, housing, job creation, veterans, and environmental protection. People ask me why I continue to run for president when the nomination's already been decided. Someone has to be offering alternatives to keep our troops in Iraq from an indefinite future. Someone has to say that the Democratic Party must offer a course of action which will enable America to connect with the world community, stop the waste of our precious tax resources, stabilize Iraq, and bring our troops home. Someone has to be the voice for universal, single-payer, not-for-profit health care so universally supported, and so desperately needed.

Someone has to say that NAFTA and the WTO must be replaced by trade structures which enshrine ethical principles of workers rights, human rights, and environmental protection. Someone has to say the PATRIOT Act must go.

The nomination's been decided. Now we must decide what we stand for as a party. If we offer real choices, real alternatives, show how people will really win something when they vote Democrat, we will win in November. I'm pledged to that outcome.

We cannot, and we must not, let our party sink into indecision and indifference on matters of war and peace, as we prepare for the November elections. That is why I will continue on this campaign, and that is why you are needed too. I can continue doing what I'm doing as long as I have your help.

Our campaign has had amazing success over the last year in keeping alive hopes of millions for peace, for health care, for fair trade, for renewal of our civil liberties. We recently once again made our fundraising goal for the 4th consecutive quarter.

I need your continued help. If you have already contributed the maximum to this campaign, thank you so much. And if you have not, please make another contribution today to Kucinich for President, at either our website at http://www.kucinich.us/contribute.php , or send a check to our national campaign headquarters at 11808 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44111.

Help keep alive the debate about Iraq. Help keep alive the hopes of people for a single-payer, national health care system. Help keep alive workers' rights, human rights, and environmental quality principles and trade agreements. Help keep alive the efforts to repeal the PATRIOT Act. Help keep alive the progressive movement inside the Democratic Party.

The next few weeks are crucial, as we wind up the primaries and caucuses, draft a Democratic Party platform, and prepare for the convention. There is a lot at stake in this moment. Please help us bring forth the best that is in all of us. Thank you so much.

Dennis Kucinich

[Kanary]

48. Here's the KEY:

"If we offer real choices, real alternatives, show how people will really win something when they vote Democrat, we will win in November. I'm pledged to that outcome. "

The Party can offer those real choices, those real alternatives, or .... continue marginalizing and bashing the "extremists".

There is the crux of the matter.

Kanary

[Kanary]

50. I'm another day older, and I'm *still* an "extremist"

:kick:

[KoKo]

51. I agree with you Kanary! If only Dean or Kucinich had a chance we might

have had the opportunity to get these goals on the table and get to some discussion about how we have "lost our way" as a Party.

But, alas, the necessity of playing the Repug game to get the Bush out, means we won't have the opportunity. :-(