OWS protests are certainly a factor in tonight's victories (or a harbinger)

[bigtree]

Kinda of hard to draw a clear line between the protests and these election results, because so much of the dictum of the participants in the protests says they're done with the political system. Still, the exodus of folks to the streets is definitely a symptom of the frustration that has built as a result of the general inaction and wrongheadedness of our politicians.

It's hard to ignore, however, the 'elephant' in the room. Republicans have generated a well of frustration that's going to manifest itself in votes against them in the upcoming elections, including the ones tonight. That should compel us to work hard this primary season to field and elect progressive replacements for these recalcitrant politicians on both sides of the aisle in Congress.

Lot's of (political) energy coming out of these victories. Let's build on it.

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I wouldn't have expected a big turnout in today's off off year election.

But my polling place was doing a booming business, though all the contests were local. Hope that this is a good sign... :)

[monmouth]

2. I think we're really seeing the demise of the teapers. One can hope..n/t

[bigtree]

3. kick

:kick:

[Tsiyu]

4. It's a combo effect I think

Of desperation on the part of voters, fed up with Republican ways, the inspiration of OWS "speaking truth to power" and the access to immediate info thanks to the intertubes, tweets, etc.

The economy is picking up, more and more jobs are becoming available, stock market plugging along, so if more people can get jobs in the coming year, that will prove we're on the right track.

The more Republicans stall, stammer, play games with our rights and wages, the more like losers they seem to voters who are struggling and on edge.

Tonight sends a clear message - take care of the Kochs, intead of the People, and You. Will. Go. Down. :evilgrin:

[aletier_v]

7. Tea Party

For me, it was the Tea Party insanity this year.

I've watched FreeRepublic morph into a religious echo chamber, and grown steadily less comfortable with its conversations, but the complete insanity of the Tea Party this year pushed me over.

Republicans did what Democrats could not do.

They turned me into a Democrat.

[Tsiyu]

11. Well Howdy aletier_v

Glad you've come over from the Dark Side! :fistbump:

Welcome to the DU. :hi:


I Love this:


"Republicans did what Democrats could not do.

They turned me into a Democrat."


Once you figure the Republicants out, you realize that the best thing they do is turn people away from their way of thinking. Tonight's election results prove that they are experts at repulsing the majority...

[socialist_n_TN]

17. As an ACTUAL Marxist.............

I've always said that the best recruiters for Marxism are the capitalists themselves.

You've come part way there. Let's see what the next few months and years hold. :evilgrin:

[Douglas Carpenter]

5. I agree. The OWS protest are changing the discussion and altering the paradigm

[bigtree]

6. on economic issues, I'd strongly agree

I really believe that we make great strides on so many fronts (education, health, jobs, etc.) if we approach our people politics from the standpoint of economic fairness and opportunity. That focus is such a huge contribution from the people protests against 'Wall Street'.

[joshcryer]

8. Yep, OWS = GOTV.

GOTV we always win. It's simple demographics. I hope people (see: the progressive left) are paying attention.

[RainDog]

9. Oh, I think they're VERY important in expressing people's disgust

with what currently passes as govt in the U.S.

our political life is out of balance. too few people have too much money and power and we're seeing the beginning of a correction to this. we have to correct this or we will end up like a banana republic.

[aletier_v]

10. We have to correct this

Absolutely.

the republicans are insane at this point.

There are 154 million full-time jobs in the US.

That's 6.160 billion man-hours per week.

6.160 billion man-hours divided by 36 hours (instead of 40) = 171 million jobs.

If the Republicans had a brain in their head, they could easily create enough jobs to squelch what's happening by changing existing 40-hour workweek legislation. They could easily fix this.

But they're too greedy.

[RainDog]

13. productivity figures look good to stockholders

and are good fodder for bonuses.

[aletier_v]

16. Productivity figures

are misleading.

The economic system is a network.

You don't increase the speed of a network by speeding up the fastest segments (i.e. the Rich).

You do it by speeding up the slowest segments.

The Laffer curve postulates that there's an optimum tax point.

I propose to you that there is the Laffer equivalent of production/consumption balance, and that the forty-hour workweek is a coarse-grained control which, in 1938, roughly produced the correct production/consumption balance and that the point has since shifted.

[RainDog]

21. I wasn't disagreeing with you on this n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Didn't some of us point this out a week ago

:hi:

[bigtree]

14. I remember more of a focus from posters away from political issues

. . . like electing candidates and voting (at least, right now, I was told by some in those discussions). It good to see that folks are making those connections between activism and what's presently occurring in our electoral, political, and legislative process.

I think you are correct that there's much diversity in the movement. That's a good thing.

[Selatius]

15. If you're not voting, you're protesting. That's my view.

Some of the OWS protesters are, no doubt, tired of a choice between a center-right Democrat and a far-right Republican when they really want a center-leftist or perhaps even a socialist on the far left. At least they recognize that those on the left have historically come through on fighting for the working class interests ahead of those of the top 1%. Center-rightists are, invariably, more accommodating of the wealthy.

Many DUers here have griped about voting for center-right Democrats, yet they continually vote for them because the two-party system leaves them no other choice. Some others have stopped voting as a result, which might explain why historically the US has some of the lowest voter turnouts in the industrialized world.

Those who are tired of running in the mouse wheel just got off and are now protesting in the street. For the rest of us who voted, we're simply happy OWS is plowing the way forward towards a frank discussion on wealth inequality and class warfare in America.

Frankly, the Democrats haven't been able to open up that kind of discussion or, at worst, they've been unwilling, afraid of angering center-right Democrats in the Caucus.

[xchrom]

19. +1

[socialist_n_TN]

18. There's always a spectrum of attitudes that play off of each

other and affect politics. For everybody that is pushed by capitalist overreach into Marxism there are 100 that are pushed into social democratic reformism. And then there are a thousand that become aware and vote Democratic. They feed off of each other. The problems occur when the elected Democrats don't come through, FOR WHATEVER REASON, with real change (see 2008). THEN you wind up with further radicalization.

That's also why we on the far left have been saying all along that we need to be heard. Without our push for working class rights, the public ONLY hears the capitalist side.

[starroute]

20. At least some OWSers were encouraging participation in local elections

I have a bunch of the occupations "liked" on Facebook, and I'm not sure which one it was, but I did see an entry saying more or less, "As fed up as many of us are with politics on the federal level, it's still possible to make a real difference in local elections. So get out there and vote!"