My DU and how it changed while I was gone.

[Scuba]

I've been a DU member for a couple years now, and last summer/fall leading up to the election, I was pretty active, consistent with the rest of my life being immersed in politics.

When the election results came in, my feelings were of a montage of feelings - all bad.

Not only did the other side make gains nationally, enough to take the House, but my State - Wisconsin - turned from Russ Feingold Blue to Scott Walker Red. (note: Ron "I married the businessman's daughter" Johnson of course defeated Russ, but has since been seen only at RW fundraisers; Walker is clearly the face of the RW in the State).

The elation I felt just 22 months earlier was shattered. The hope I had of strengthening our 2008 gains were dead.


I was burned out; I turned off politics altogether in my life for the next 14 weeks. I stuck my head in the sand and just tried to be a positive influence in my family and with others I met.


Then Walker introduced his complete power-grabbing, resource-stealing, environment-polluting, worker-screwing, opposition-silencing so called "budget repair bill" and I was back in the game. At least I was as soon as I could get home from southern climes where Cheeseheads like to hide out the worst part of winter.


As regular DU'ers know, I've been posting (and reading) quite a bit the past month. And I too have noticed a different vibration within DU.

I sense a faction of people who find themselves in the position of constantly defending Democrats from other DU'ers criticisms. This was understandably less obvious last year.

I sense a faction of people who find their well-meant constructive criticisms being rejected without consideration.
They feel they're being told "no criticism is acceptable".

I sense a faction of people who feel completely betrayed by the President.

I sense a faction who are now struggling to know what it means to be Progressive / Liberal / Socialist / Whatever.

I sense a presence of paid plants who are there to try to shape our opinions, to keep our expectations low.

I feel we're still committed to ending the fascist world-wide wars being waged against us, and the resultant poverty, war, and other malfeasance committed against the People.

And I feel the same healthy debate, the readiness to base judgement on science, on truth. To question ourselves; to change our minds if we encounter new facts or now see problems from new perspectives.



Thanks to all of you who ARE DU.

As always, I welcome your thoughtful and reasoned responses.


Scuba

[FreakinDJ]

1. Just look at the Mid-East - they had enough of the DICK-taters too

[no_hypocrisy]

2. The issues are many and complex.

And the solutions not easy.

We don't have a united political democratic party to organize an effective response to any of them.

We don't have a channel of communication to both democrats and non-democrats.

We end up turning on each other due to the high energy generated by the strong desire to DO SOMETHING but don't know how we're going to move ahead, or even keep the ground we've maintained. We have hope, disappointment, anger, and frustration.

The "System" has frozen us out, and therein lies the problem.

[enough]

3. Everything you're saying makes sense to me, but it applies to all of DU, not just the Guns forum.

Was there a particular reason for posting in this forum?

[Scuba]

4. No, mis-posted since the last post I read was in guns. n/t

[leveymg]

5. You're not the only one who senses all those undercurrents. I feel like we're survivors of shipwrec

treading water in the ocean, dreading the next big wave . . . we all know it's coming, and some of us won't make it. It really is like being in a disaster zone or a war.

Thanks for being there, and giving us the benefit of your thoughtful and reasoned comments.

[CanonRay]

6. Wow, apparently a lot of unrecs on this. Why, I might ask?

It's a pretty straightforward piece to me.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[jeepnstein]

8. I don't think it's any real conspiracy.

What we're seeing is people who aren't "dreamers" but who are instead just concerned about their way of life. It's not about advancing some ideal full of unicorns and rainbows any more, it's about saving what's left of the America we used to know from the modern day Robber Barons. It's about being able to earn enough money to pay for a college education for your kids, if you don't get wiped out by a hospital bill, or crooked banker first. A different kind of activist is starting to appear. It's the old idealist versus pragmatist kind of thing. They don't care so much about some of the social issues like abortion, marriage, drugs, or even immigration. All they know is that if somebody doesn't do something their way of life will be extinct within a few more years. That kind of voter is going to respond to a different kind of message and some around here will view that as "lowered expectations".

People vote their their pocket books. Problem is they don't know who to believe any more in a large part because of the barrage of lies and stupidity cranked out by our mass media.

[Scuba]

9. Which of the following is found in the dictionary under "rainbow" or "unicorn"?

My question is sincere. I believe the following platform will appeal to virtually all of the the current "left" and will energize tens of millions of now-disaffected citizens who are not engaged.

So, which is the unicorn, and which is the rainbow?

The 2012 Democratic Platform


We will pass new tax laws that spread the tax burden fairly across the economic spectrum, with those benefiting most from our society contributing commensurately.

We will pass law to protect the right of workers to organize and have a voice in the operation of US businesses. This will include raising the minimum wage to $20.00 per hour to ensure a reasonable standard of living for all working families and to stimulate our sluggish economy.

We will pass law to provide Medicare for All so no American is denied care or has to suffer financial hardship because of health problems, and no American businesses are saddled with health costs that keep them from competing fairly with foreign competitors. This plan will include a “safety net” to guarantee every citizen is provided the food and shelter necessary to survive difficult challenges in their lives.



We will withdraw of all US military and contracted personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of the hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of lives being wasted on these wars, we will instead provide aid to these countries, and to other depressed areas where atrocious conditions breed terrorists.

We will order the Department of Justice to investigate those who led us into these wars to determine if war crime charges are warranted. If so, they will be prosecuted with vigor and any ill-gained profits shall be returned to the people.

We will order the Commerce Department to present a holostic plan for maintaining and advancing the infrastructure of our great country.

We will order the Secretary of Education to present new plans to guarantee all Americans have access to our public schools, from pre-kindergarten through advanced degrees.

We will order Homeland Security to present a new plan for securing our borders from those who would do us harm while allowing appropriate travel and visitation to our many friends around the world. This plan is to include a path to citizenship for those who serve in the US military, or who came here as children and are now productive members of our society.

We will order the Department of Energy to begin another “Manhattan Project” to enable us to cease our dependence on fossil fuels. At the same time, I am announcing the nationalization of all US oil and gas reserves, as well as other reserves owned by the citizens of the US that are currently being extracted from our soil for private profit without regard for our environment.

We will order the Department of Justice to begin immediately to root out crimes of corruption within our government. In concert with this, I want Congress to pass laws to ensure elected officials are serving for the benefit of the American people as a whole, not to gain wealth or power for themselves or their friends.


And finally, we are asking you, the People, to help with the most critical problem facing our Democracy today. We’re asking you, the People, to pass a Constitutional Amendment prohibiting political spending by corporations or any other entity or individual not qualifying as a person with citizenship in this great country.


These and other policies we will put in place will cause a sea-change in how our country serves the citizens - We the People - rather than a tiny handful of super-wealthy who would subvert our democracy and plunder our wealth while denying even the most basic services for our citizens. Thank you for your support and thank you for standing up for the rights of all citizens.


Vote Democrat - 2012

[jeepnstein]

10. You're sticking to the economy, and that is good.

One point, though. If you think the minimum wage should be set at $20.00 I don't think you'll get much support for that. The whole war crimes thing could also blow up in our faces so I don't think I'd want to go there, either. Other than that I think you and I are on the same page.

I know plenty of activists who put their personal demands out there as non-negotiable even when the public isn't really ready to go there with them yet. This kind of person is the one living among the rainbows and unicorns. Conservatives have their dreamers, too, but they're more of the Three Wolf Moon type.

[Scuba]

11. What would you set as new minimum wage? ...

Yeah, the war crimes thing could result in alot of red voters turning out.

But my real question is: Why can't a platform like this win?

[eridani]

14. The public was not ready for the civil rights movement

The public was overwhelmingly against marriage equality, but constant insistence on equal rights by LGBT people and allies have shifted public opinion dramatically in just ten years.

If people fighting for justice had waited for the general public to catch up to them, we'd mostly still be serfs or slaves.

[Ghost in the Machine]

16. $20 an hour minimum wage???

Can I have some of what you're smoking? Please? Seriously, dude, I could see $10/hr minimum but even that is pushing it. To be quite frank and honest, there are some people out there that aren't even worth the $7.25/hr that it is right now. I worked my ass off and paid my dues with my sweat and blood for many years to make it to $20/hr. I know many people who put in 5 years apprenticeship through a trade union to make journeyman wages of $20/hr. Do you honestly believe someone is worth $20/hr to flip burgers or ask "you want fries with that?"

The rest of your platform sounds good, but a $20/hr minimum wage is just sheer foolishness. You would be causing a lot of small, family owned busineses to go broke and go out of business, not mention how it would drive up the prices of all goods and services so businesses could cover the costs. We're talking about having $15 hamburgers and $10 orders of fries here, man.

[KoKo]

12. I just now recommended and it's back to 0 ... Good post Scuba, Thanks!

[jannyk]

15. Great summation! k&r nt

[Thegonagle]

17. K&R from your neighbor to the west.

Well said! :yourock:

And (postcount++)

I joined DU when Kerry was running, or maybe even earlier, and have logged in a lot more frequently than I post, partly because low post-counters tend to get jumped all over, especially when offering "constructive criticism" (Catch 22.)

As I look at what's been happening in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio, and realize how close Minnesota was to the "trifecta" of a repuke House, Senate, and (extreme right-wing) Governorship, I shudder. Our new D governor has already had to use his veto pen with the new state legislature. If not for him, we already would have repealed our minimum wage law (puke candidate Emmer's fault for even mentioning it on the campaign trail--showed he was out of touch with what we care about here, and he never pulled ahead after that), and it's become clear after the fact, that the R's would have tried the same types of union busting stunts on us.

Our protests would have put your protests to shame though. :7


Naw, just kidding. :toast:

[H2O Man]

18. Recommendation #15

It is in times like these that it is most important for the Democratic Left to speak as the voice of conscience of our party.

[Scuba]

19. So whatever they say goes? And what they left unsaid doesn't matter?

[H2O Man]

20. Depends

on who "they" are, I suppose.