Wanna flip some red states? Here is the answer...

[Snoutport]

If we want to get every Democrat to the polls and every independent who leans left we need to use Ballot Measures. This is how the right has been getting their base out EVERY single election!!! (and they will be doing it in 2012 as well). I propose that every state gets this on their ballot initiatives:

1. 5% RAISE IN MINIMUM WAGE (in MO in 2008 70%+ voted yes....many think this bill is what got a lot of non-voters out...and they voted blue.

2. 2% RAISE IN TAXES ON MILLIONAIRES+ maybe some corporate taxes (all those blue voters will jump on this!)

3. SWITCH TO MAIL IN VOTING (87% of people in Oregon voted in the last election!!!! It is easier, more people vote, and it leaves a paper trail so no more funky voting machines)

[Tippy]

1. K&R...100 Times over.....

[FredStembottom]

2. Exactly.

No amount of Right-wing Talk Radio propaganda can top getting some pay into jobless people's pockets. Or an actual voice in the politics that effect us directly.

[M155Y_A1CH]

3. Yea! Oh, but when I take off my rosy glasses...

It seems highly unlikely they will be ballot initiatives anytime soon.

More likely that they become talking points for candidates and party leaders.

Press your leaders to speak these ideas.
:hi:

[Snoutport]

8. Not in our leaders hands! YOUR hands! I'm pressing you!!

The people have to do this!! C'mon...just check...how many signatures needed in your state?

[M155Y_A1CH]

13. I'm looking into it...

hang on while I surf.

So far I have found that in KY one can only initiate a Popular Referendum.
There is no provision for ballot initiatives here, unfortunately.

There are a few other states that don't, as well.
Some offer no alternative such as a popular referendum.

I found info at :
http://www.iandrinstitute.org/

[Snoutport]

15. this map was really informative

http://www.iandrinstitute.org/statewide_i&r.htm

I can't believe how many states don't have people initiated ballots!!!

[M155Y_A1CH]

17. It's a sad state that some of us are in

Quite literally.

[MatthewStLouis]

4. Good idea!

In 2006, here in Missouri, it may have been a pro-stem-cell research initiative that helped bring out enough pro-science people to get democrat Claire McCaskill elected to the Senate.

[Snoutport]

6. oh...that was the year with the minimum wage increase?

I might have mispoke... the MO info I was referring to was the year Clair McCaskill got elected.

[bobbolink]

5. nevermind... nobody can hear it anyway.

[myrna minx]

7. Rachel often mentions issues like raising the minimum wage as a very popular

voter drive. I agree with you. K&R.

[bobbolink]

9. nevermind... silly me, it isn't important.

[myrna minx]

11. ?

[bobbolink]

21. !!

[n2doc]

10. Implement a new Fairness Doctrine

Going to be really hard to change things in rural states when all they hear and see is endless republican agitprop.

[Taitertots]

14. "Fairness Doctrine" is inherently unfair

Calling it "Fairness Doctrine" is misleading people. How fair is it when it never protected views the didn't benefit those in power? Communism, Socialism, Anarchism, Organized labor, Islamic, Atheist, Hindu, Sikh.....

[n2doc]

18. Well now all we have is the fascist view.

I'd rather they at least have something more than that to listen to/watch. Have you ever tried listening to radio out away from the cities? Out in Rural Georgia it is Rush et al., or evangelical preachers. Maybe some country music. That's about it.

[Taitertots]

19. So you don't care that they are blocked from multiple views, as long as your views get coverage

Which means it has nothing to do with fairness. How is blocking outside views and forcing stations to air your views any different from fascism?

[n2doc]

20. I do care

I just don't feel that we have to have "perfect" or nothing. And I see the damage that the present system wreaks on America. You will never get a shift from the present system to complete fairness in 1 step.

[Taitertots]

23. You don't shift to fairness by bringing back inherently unfair alternatives

If the people are still being intentionally deprived alternative view points than it isn't any more fair than before. It isn't perfect or nothing, it is progress or a return to mandated bias.

[Snoutport]

16. yes...we need a "no lying on the news" law like canada.

Fox would have to broadcast from the federal pen within a week!

[former9thward]

22. You would have to rescind the First Amendment.

Canada does not have one. Is that the path you want to go down?

[W_HAMILTON]

26. Poor, liberty-starved Canada...

Woe is Canada! :sarcasm:

[former9thward]

27. Excellent juvenile response.

I didn't say anything about liberty in Canada now did I? I merely pointed out that our Constitution prohibits the law the poster wants. You don't think it does? Explain how.

[W_HAMILTON]

30. Canada has a constitutional provision that lists freedom of expression as a fundamental right

Their country has certain limits on speech, but so does America.

Pointing out these countries and saying they don't have a "first amendment" makes it sound as if they are some dictatorial third-world nation where everyone gets their heads chopped off if they dare misspeak. This is obviously not the case, and the difference between American "free speech" and Canadian "freedom of expression" is virtually nonexistent for most everyday citizens.

Our forefathers lived in a world where government censorship was seen as the true threat to our freedom at the time; the government was the strongest single institution, and therefore it was the one most likely to destroy our fledgling democracy.

Today, that is no longer the case.

Corporate-driven propaganda and the blatent purchasing of our politicians and political system have shown proven to be the greatest threat to our democracy today.

[disillusioned73]

31. I needed you on another thread the other day..

great response..:dem:

[former9thward]

32. You say the difference between Canadian speech rights and the U.S.

is virtually the same for most everyday citizens. On that we agree. But you can actually make that statement about "everyday citizens" in most countries. I have traveled in several dozen countries including many dictatorships and ordinary citizens do not feel restricted on what they say because ordinary citizens are not politically orientated. The problem is the minority who say or write things that are not popular by either the government or society as a whole. In Canada, England, and most European countries there are things that are forbidden to say. I don't want to live in a country like that. Also it is fairly easy in those countries to successfully file a defamation/slander suit and win. It is very difficult to do that in the U.S. If you rewrite the first amendment so corporate propaganda is not allowed then what is to stop a site like DU from being restricted? Nothing.

[loudsue]

33. Yes. That is a path we need to discuss.

Yelling "fire" in a crowded theater .... making that against the law DID NOT destroy the constitution and our freedom. It probably stopped a lot of people from getting stampeded every time they went to the movies. There are so many things that are supposed to be so sacred that we never question them...the first amendment being the one for liberals, the second amendment being the one for wingnuts. We never discuss our alliance with Israel. We never get to discuss the awful military/industrial complex money sucking system, we never get to discuss the harm that capitalism does. We need to start having some mature discussions about those "sacred" things that are tearing us apart.

[onenote]

34. Its my understanding that the rule against broadcasting false or misleading information

in Canada has never been enforced. I'd be curious whether DUers in Canada think that the media in Canada is completely unbiased and never transmits misleading or false information. And if that's true, how is it that Canada elects so many members of the Conservative party to Parliament?

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Which Presidential candidate won MO in 2008?

[CrossChris]

24. Those would be really great ideas if

our side was really trying to win.

I hate to be this cynical, but it really looks like their main function is to look good while taking a dive.

[Scuba]

25. How about this as a platform...

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

[KamaAina]

28. Which Red states allow ballot initiatives?

referendum won't cut it, because the (R) legislature would have to approve.

[dkofos]

29. You've been listening to Hartmann.

[brooklynite]

35. I don't see the logic...

Why would Red State voters (even independents) get worked up by a minimum wage referendum? That might pick up liberal votes in the margins, but the average voter earns more than minimum wage and isn't going to look upon it as a safety net.

Republicans are successful because they target voters in states they already control to come out based on hot-button issues. These are not hot-button enough to flip states to our side.

[no limit]

36. Legalize it!