Democrats

Ten Things Complicit Dems Could Do Right Now — If They Truly Wanted To Stop Trump’s Power Grab

In the lead up to the protests, Democratic congressional leaders had been pushing to fortify Trump’s police powers. [Editor’s Note: The author, David Sirota, is the speech writer Bernie Sanders threw overboard to pacify the DNC corporate dems. — Mark L. Taylor] By David Sirota TMI (6/2/20) Donald Trump yesterday deployed federal police to attack peaceful protesters, all to stage a photo op of himself threatening to militarily invade his own country. In response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer issued a press release, and promised no real action to do anything, days after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer declared that the U.S….


Professor Richard Wolff: Neither Dems Or GOP Will Do Anything To Ease The Coming Economic Crash

It Will Be Like NOTHING In Our History. And What Could Be Done To Protect Families By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (6/29/20) Socialist economist Richard Wolff talks about what both Trump and Biden and the Republicans and Democrats don’t get — and won’t do — to ease the pain of pandemic economic dislocation of families. Other western nations have both taken care of workers and reduced Covid-19 infection rates. Meanwhile in the United States, callous and completely clueless bipartisan inaction leaves families suffering and the pandemic raging on. Neither Trump nor Biden will do what needs to be…


A Growing Resurgence By The Democratic Party Left Is Real

Incumbency is no longer an entitlement, no longer a guarantee of elected office. By Miles Kampf-Lassin In These Times (6/24/20) Two years ago, New York City was the site of a stunning victory for the U.S. Left that propelled a transformative candidate into office. When Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her primary to represent New York’s 14th District in 2018, defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley, she shocked the political establishment by showing that a left-wing challenger can run on a bold agenda, lift up movement demands, and win. After Tuesday night, it appears New York will again be home to…


DNC ‘Snubs’ Climate Movement Just As Greenpeace Endorses Democratic Panel’s Visionary Plan

  “There are more big bank executives on the Democratic platform drafting committee than there are climate activists or millennials.” By Jessica Corbett Common Dreams (6/23/20) Despite mounting pressure on the party to craft a 2020 platform that includes ambitious climate policies, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez on Monday announced a drafting committee that, in the words of journalist Emily Atkin, “snubs progressive climate activists again.” Perez’s announcement followed reporting that Democratic Party leadership was “irked” when the DNC Council on the Environment and Climate Crisis released policy recommendations for the platform on June 4 that are bolder than the proposals in presidential candidate Joe Biden’s climate…


Domination Over Democracy: How Our Bloated Military Strengthens The Police State

The violent U.S. domination of people of color overseas is inextricably linked to the oppression of people of color at home. By Shireen Al-Adeimi & Sarah Lazare In These Times (6/17/20) Nationwide uprisings over the police killing of George Floyd have forced a long overdue discussion about the injustices of U.S. policing—an institution that has consistently harassed and terrorized and, in the words of organizer, writer and educator Mariame Kaba, remains a consistent “force of violence against Black people.” As demands to abolish the police are thrust into mainstream discourse, promising—if uncertain and mixed—political changes are being debated and implemented every day. We are seeing a rigorous…


The Lesson Of The Dem’s Colorado Senate Primary Battle

The Democratic donor class does not want progressives anywhere near the levers of power — even in races where they could clearly win. By David Sirota Jacobin (6/19/20) Whether Democrats win the US Senate — and whether their senators are progressive — could be the difference between life and death for millions of people. A Democratic Senate filled with proponents of a Green New Deal and Medicare for All is one that at least offers the slim possibility of averting climate and health care cataclysms. A Republican Senate — or a Senate run by corporate Democrats — will almost certainly…


Want To Defeat Trump Without Campaigning For Biden? Here’s How

By David Duhalde In These Times (6/17/20) The mainstream media made hay over the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) commitment to endorsing no one but Bernie Sanders for president. Despite the DSA’s public statement recognizing Donald Trump as a global threat, the organization will not back Joe Biden. Of course, defeating Trump does mean a President Joe Biden (absent some dramatic change), but that still doesn’t mean left-wing groups should endorse by default. In fact, Biden likely doesn’t want our public support. He appears intent on repeating the Clinton 2016 playbook: Rely on a critical mass of progressives to vote against Trump,…


Wake Up: New Campaign Prepares Mass Mobilization Should Trump Refuse To ‘Leave Willingly’ If Defeated In November

  Be prepared. Our democracy depends upon it. By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (6/12/20) “I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election… if I win.” That was then-candidate Donald Trump’s message to his supporters and the nation just a month before his victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Four years later, with less than five months to go until the 2020 presidential election, progressive advocacy groups are preparing to mobilize millions of people should Trump lose to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and refuse to accept the results. On Friday, Stand Up America and Indivisible launched a…


Chris Hedges: Seeing Through Empty Solidarity Performance Stunts Of Police, Politicians & Corporations

act.tv (6/16/20) Julianna welcomes back Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author, Chris Hedges, to discuss how as lawmakers and activists are working together to make real changes in policing that are worth celebrating, it is important to name the statements that are opportunistic and performative, like police officers taking a knee with protesters before proceeding to pepper spray them. Chris talks about why these faux actions are so insidious. You may know Chris from reading one of his best-selling books including American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America, Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the…


How About That, Congressional Liars Had The Money For ‘Medicare For All’ All Along

Our political class only worries about deficits and so-called fiscal responsibility when spending might actually help ordinary people. By David Sirota TMI (6/16/20) In recent weeks, we’ve seen health care industry CEOs report paying themselves $2.4 billion as 27 million people were thrown off their health care coverage. We’ve also seen Americans being charged anywhere from $400,000 to $1.1 million for COVID treatment, and facing $2,000 bills for coronavirus tests. In response, polls show Americans remain deeply concerned about the current health care system, and support for Medicare for All has surged. And yet, despite data showing that a single-payer system would save big money, surveys still indicate some popular trepidation about the price tag…


Defeat Repeat 2020: How Lazy Democrats Are Working Hard To Re-Elect Trump

“The democrats take people for granted. …They’re stuck in Washington; they’re stuck in an echo chamber. I don’t think they get out much.” Ralph Nader Radio Hour (6/13/20) Ralph welcomes “the world’s greatest political adman,” Bill Hillsman, to discuss what Joe Biden and the Democrats need to do to beat Trump. And Susan Clark, author of “All Those In Favor: Rediscovering the Secrets of Town Meeting and Community” joins us to talk about the virtues of direct democracy. Link To 1-Hour, 16-Minute Audio ***** Rebellion, Confusion, Scoundrels & Kente Cloth Wearing Rascals This moment requires great vigilance. The people in…


Now, Who Exactly Is Doing The Looting & Who’s Being Looted Of What?

We live in an Orwellian era, in which working-class people pilfering convenience store goods is called “looting.” Rich people stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, on the other hand, is just well-functioning “public policy.” By David Sirota Jacobin (5/29/20) Headlines this morning are all about looting — specifically, looting in Minneapolis, after the police killing of an unarmed African-American man was caught on video. In the modern vernacular, that word “looting” is loaded — it comes with all sorts of race and class connotations. And we have to understand that terms like “looting” are an example of the way our media often imperceptibly trains…


Our System Of Government Failed The Test Of Trump

Trump is a swindler, but the Trumpocalypse of 2020 represents something a lot bigger and a lot worse than a swindle. By David Frum The Atlantic (5/2/20) Have you ever known anyone swindled by a scam? It’s remarkable how determined they remain to defend the swindler, and for how long—and how they try to shift the blame to those who tried to warn them of the swindle. The pain of being seen as a fool hurts more than the loss of money; it’s more important to protect the ego against indignity than to visit justice upon the perpetrator. We human…


How Democrats Are Working Closely With Their Republican Allies To Launch A Corporate Counter-Revolution Against Progressive Reform & The American People

Whatever resistance exists in the nation’s capital, it is so often performance art, rather than anything real. By David Sirota The Guardian (5/26/20) These are bleak days for America’s progressive movement. The Democratic primary process handed the party’s nomination to the candidate with the most conservative record. Corporate-friendly politicians like the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, are using the pandemic to brandish their images and install billionaires to run things. Progressive lawmakers in Congress are being steamrolled, even by their own party’s leadership. And a recession is battering the state and local budgets that fund progressive priorities like education and the social…


Why MILLIONS Of Americans Choose Not To Vote

Non-voters could tip the results in particular states. [Editor’s Note: Among the many interesting facts in this study the one that stands out is that non-voters are about evenly split between those leaning Dem and GOP. Imagine — just IMAGINE — if the dems could get their stupid heads out of lobbyist back pockets and give people a reason to vote for them. Unfortunately, as history has shown, there is little reason to believe they will. — Mark L. Taylor] By Gabriella Novello Who.What.Why (5/21/20) If voter turnout is indicative of a democracy’s health, then the US is clearly ailing….


History They Don’t Want You To Know: What We Can Learn From FDR’s ‘New Deal’ During An Earlier Period Of National Collapse

By Adam Waller & Meghna Chakrabarti On Point / WBUR (5/27/20) Lessons from the New Deal. It wasn’t one big package wrapped in political consensus. We look at the real, messy process that pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Lizabeth Cohen, professor of American Studies at Harvard University. Author of “Saving America’s Cities: Ed Logue and the Struggle to Renew Urban America in the Suburban Age.” (@Harvard) Jack Beatty, On Point news analyst. (@JackBeattyNPR) From The Reading List: The Atlantic: “The Lessons of the Great Depression” — “Americans are out of work. More than 20 million lost their…


Mike McCabe: Another Sign Politics Have Failed Us All

Something’s got to give. By Mike MCabe Janesville Gazette (5/23/20) Even a simple act like wearing a face mask while out in public during a pandemic is fast being weaponized politically. Polling shows a significant and growing gap in mask usage among Republicans and Democrats as masks have begun to be seen on the right as a symbol of passively submitting to government authority, while on the left they are seen as a sign of compassion or consideration of others. Heaven help us. When the decision whether or not to take a widely recommended precaution during a public health emergency…


Black Americans Are Caught In An Abusive Relationship With The Democratic Party

Biden’s friendship with one black person does not mean that he’s a friend to black people. By Derecka Purnell The Guardian (5/21/20) I am very tired of Joe Biden. My vote for him was already hanging by a thread before his disastrous interview with Charlamagne tha God on Friday. Interrupting the Breakfast Club host’s explanation that black people needed assurances that our communities will benefit from his presidency, Biden asserted: “If you’ve got a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or for Trump, then you ain’t black.” Again, I am very tired of Joe Biden. Not because I am a purist, or have inflexible…


Eyes Wide Open: If You Support Democrats, Okay, But Understand Why (As Biden Promises Wall Street) Nothing Would Fundamentally Change Should He Win

  By Jeremy Scahill Intercepted (12/5/19) The journalist Chris Hedges has spent the last decade and a half trying to ring the alarm about the dangers of the U.S. political system and he writes about a corporate and financial coup d’etat that happened long ago in this country. Now before Hedges embarked on this mission, he was a longtime war correspondent for The New York Times. In fact, he was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that covered the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath. Hedges’ book “War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” remains a classic work for studying…


Who’s The Bigger American Idiot? The Dunce Or The Fool?

“What everyone from around the world who’s not American that I talk to really means is this. There are two kinds of American Idiot. The dunce, and the fool. The willful one, and the negligent one. There’s the Trumpist — who doesn’t know any better, who’s only known hate, ignorance, fear, and rage: the dunce. But there’s also the fool. The Democrat who votes against healthcare, retirement, education — and should know better. The sophisticated elite — who doesn’t see that America’s an imploding society in every possible way right about now. The New York Times columnist, the CNN anchor, none of…


RUMBLE: You’ll Never Work In This Town Again! Briahna Joy Gray, Former Natl. Press Secretary For Sanders Campaign

  By Michael Moore Rumble (5/21/20) Briahna Joy Gray was the National Press Secretary for the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign and is one of the most thoughtful communicators in politics. She joined Michael to discuss her experience on the campaign, how the pandemic will effect the election, intra-left policy disagreements, being attacked endlessly on Twitter and what Joe Biden’s campaign must do to win over skeptical voters (and non-voters). Link To 1-Hour, 18-Minute Audio  


The Democratic Party Cannot Defeat Trump By Returning To Past Failures

We don’t have to choose between the failed paths of the past. By Winnie Wong Morning Consult (5/12/20) The Democratic Party needs to make a decision about how to confront the most corrupt and dangerous president in modern U.S. history. President Donald Trump poses an existential threat to the health and welfare of the people of this country, as his grossly negligent conduct during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has vividly illustrated. During his tenure in the White House, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated his contempt for the working people of this country, while giving succor to the most hateful and bigoted elements of society. Trump has repeatedly…


Time For Progressives To Seize The Means Of Production Of House Relief Bills

Asking for only half as many fire trucks as necessary to rush to the scene of a fire does not make you a wise leader. By Hamilton Nolan In These Times (5/13/20) There is no upside to moderation in the face of a disaster. Asking for only half as many fire trucks as necessary to rush to the scene of a fire does not make you a wise leader; it makes you someone who let the house burn down. No matter how many times we are forced to learn this the hard way, the lesson has not sunk in for…


Chris Hedges On Biden vs. Trump, Bernie Sanders, Corporate Media, Assange & The Empty Shell Of The American Left

  “What is the response? It is to recover a new militancy where we recognize that our planet will not be saved and our democracy will not be restored through existing political systems.” acTVism Munich (5/5/20) In this interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author Chris Hedges, we discuss his past work as a foreign correspondent with the New York Times and why he chose to quit. In addition, we compare Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the context of domestic and foreign policy with a focus on Europe. Lastly we explore the importance of economic…


House Dems’ Covid-19 Zero ‘Heroes Act’ A Recruiting Gift To Fascist Movement

Twisted by loyalty to corporate whim, corporate democrats are blind to the seeds of destruction they are sowing. By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (5/14/20) Once again House democrats under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) left average working people — those losing their jobs, health care and homes in the midst of a deadly pandemic — out in the cold. In the democrats’  recently proposed “Heroes Act” corporate interests — and even corporate lobbyists for Godsake — got a full menu of bailouts, tax breaks, kickbacks and tax shelters. Meanwhile, the people at risk — those working…


Secretive “Dark Money” PAC Organized Specifically To Prevent Sanders From Primary Wins

“After Sanders’ path to the presidential nomination became a near-impossibility, Big Tent Project’s activity dropped precipitously—further evidence that its major purpose was defeating a federal candidate.” By Brendan Fischer Common Dreams (5/7/20) Voters from across the political spectrum are concerned about the rise of secret spending in our elections and rightly so. Political transparency is a means to advance the principles of the First Amendment by encouraging the exchange of ideas needed for voters to make informed decisions. Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against “The Big Tent Project” for illegally hiding the identity…


The Elites Will Have Humanity For Us Only When They Are Forced To

  “There is a moment in Henry Kissinger’s memoirs — do not buy the book — when Nixon and Kissinger are looking out at tens of thousands of anti-war protesters who have surrounded the White House. Nixon had placed empty city buses in front of the White House to keep the protesters back. He worried out loud that the crowd would break through the barricades and get him and Kissinger. And that is exactly where we want people in power to be. This is why, although he was not a liberal, Nixon was our last liberal president. He was scared…


What True Leadership In Crisis Sounds Like

Campaign button from FDR’s 1932 campaign. “Out of every crisis, every tribulation, every disaster, mankind rises with some share of greater knowledge, of higher decency, of purer purpose…. I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. Let us all here assembled constitute ourselves prophets of a new order of competence and of courage. This is more than a political campaign; it is a call to arms. Give me your help, not to win votes alone, but to win in this crusade to restore America to its own people.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s speech accepting the…


Cashing In On Pandemic? Documents Show Lawmakers Made 1,500 Stock Transactions Worth $158 Million as Covid-19 Spread

“The stock trading was bipartisan—27 Democrats, 21 Republicans, and 1 independent were making trades as the devastation that Covid-19 would exact on the U.S. crystallized.” By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (5/30/20) A new analysis of financial disclosure documents found that Republican and Democratic members of Congress made nearly 1,500 stock transactions worth up to $158 million between February and April as the coronavirus spread across the U.S., heightening suspicions that elected officials in charge of the federal response to the pandemic have opportunistically cashed in on it. The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), a non-partisan watchdog group, uncovered at least 127 purchases or sales in securities by…


The One Simple Question Joe Biden’s ‘Sunshine Progressive’ Supporters Simply Can’t Answer

Hell, even Bernie can’t answer the question. By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (4/30/20) No doubt, Facebook is one of the oddest gathering spots to be found in modern American culture. While some of the postings popping into your day can be entertaining, amusingly distracting, sometimes informative and frequently obtuse, the political flow of Facebook postings rises and falls with the tides and gurglings of the political moment with varying degrees of sanity and inanity. Occasionally, there can be informative and even constructive political dialog on the various ‘progressive’ Facebook pages I follow on a regular basis. Too often,…


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‘I struck a nerve’: The Comedian Whose Rant Against Bipartisan Congressional Bailouts Of Corporations & Bilionaires Went Viral

  “That video isn’t an act, that’s coming from the heart and soul. It resonated with working people because we have no voice in this country.” By Poppy Noor The Guardian (4/24/20) Vic DiBitetto is a performer, so he’s used to drawing in big crowd – but he didn’t quite expect that a recent video he made would be viewed over 10m times. The near five-minute rant about the government’s response to the coronavirus shows DiBitetto, a New Yorker, enunciating so much that spit flies around him in the car. His face is red and he barely finishes a sentence…


The Brutal Bipartisan Betrayal — If You Are Not In The 1% Or A Major Corporation Do Not Expect Any Meaningful Help From Congress

No meaningful care will come from congress or the White House. [Editor’s Note: The following is commentary I made in the April 24 broadcast of the ‘Month In Review’ on the community-supported radio station WDRT. In the face of a frightening public health emergency, both Republicans and Democrats have — for all practical purposes — abandoned the people. — Mark L. Taylor] By Mark L. Taylor The Commoner Call (4/27/20) One positive thing the pandemic has done is it has stripped bare the inequity and corruption of  both political parties and made clear the job of the government is not…


Nina Turner: If Dems Hope To Win In 2020, They Must Address The Pandemic Of American Life And Offer Vision

“You need some excitement. I mean, these are heavy and hard times. They have been for a long time, the pandemic is just bringing it to the fore. But if you talk to people who have been suffering in this country for years. They have been enduring a different kind of pandemic: Its called ‘life’. “Life that happens when you are black. Life that happens when you are brown. Life that happens when you are indigenous. Life that happens when you are poor. They’ve been enduring a kind of pandemic. “To get people to vote, I have a news flash:…


NPR Reporter Exposes How Corporate Dem Mike Bloomberg Covered Up Investigation Of Chinese Government Corruption

  Rising / The Hill (4/24/20) NPR correspondent David Folkenflik shares in-depth reporting on Mike Bloomberg’s decision to kill an investigation into the wealth of Communist Party elites in China. Link To 9-Minute Video ***** Bloomberg News Killed Investigation, Fired Reporter, Then Sought To Silence His Wife By David Folkenflik NPR (4/14/20) Michael Bloomberg’s short-lived presidential bid reignited a long-simmering dispute over the widespread use of nondisclosure agreements at American corporations — especially at his own. His namesake company, Bloomberg LP, has used nondisclosure agreements broadly to conceal allegations and silence complaints from employees of sexual harassment or a hostile…


Trump Is No Aberration. He’s The Logical Product Of A Bipartisan Failed State

  “Donald Trump’s presidency is not an aberration of U.S. history in substance. His rise to power and the policies he has implemented are, in many ways, the logical product of the U.S. as a failed state, politically and functionally. Trump says the quiet parts about the system out loud, but his agenda is firmly rooted in the bloody history of this republic. And his rise was made possible by the failed two-party system and the corporate dominance of electoral politics in the U.S. Also, let’s not pretend that congressional Democrats have not enabled Trump by regularly voting for his obscene…


Rep. Katie Porter Pushed To Help Oversee Covid-19 Bailout Fund, But Pelosi Picks Pal With Corporate Conflicts For The Job Instead

“The reason not to have Katie Porter do this job is so that the job doesn’t get done.” By Jake Johnson Common Dreams (4/20/20) Rep. Katie Porter, a freshman California Democrat and consumer finance expert who quickly made a name for herself in Washington with viral grillings of corporate big-wigs, actively lobbied for a seat on the new congressional committee tasked with overseeing the Trump administration’s handling of a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus bailout fund. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has instead decided to appoint her friend Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a freshman with ties to corporations that will likely receive taxpayer bailout money, to fill…


So, Joe, If You Want My Vote, It’s Simple… Come And Get It

You have six months to understand that without our slice of the electorate, you lose. By Tom Crofton Commoner Call (4/20/20) So come and get me As a conscientious voter who started this election cycle with clear standards of whom to support, I am left with no one from the blue side who meets my criteria. As 20 some candidates threw in their hats, I said a massive program to address climate change ( the Green New Deal) and single payer health care with no private insurance (Medicare for All) were the cleavers to divide the field. The early debate…



Turns Out Biden & Sanders Were Just As Willing As GOP To Endanger The Safety & Lives Of Wisconsin Primary Voters

By Mike Memoli, Gary Grumbach , Andrea Mitchell, Marianna Sotomayor & Shaquille Brewster NBC (4/8/20) WASHINGTON — According to multiple sources involved in the process, Joe Biden’s and Bernie Sanders’ teams have been having ongoing conversations since early March, especially once Biden took a more significant delegate lead after Michigan’s presidential primary. Those conversations began initially over process issues – especially about how the campaigns should handle the Arizona debate, which ultimately moved to Washington over the Coronavirus. But lines of communication were then established and conversations continued at a big picture level over how to unite the party and bring…


The Tyranny Of Decorum: Key Sanders Adviser David Sirota Looks To A Fatal Flaw In The Campaign & Democratic Party

By David Sirota TMI (4/15/20) Note: I’ve known Bernie Sanders for 21 years. He’s been a hero for me. I deeply respect his life’s work and he remains an inspiration to me — and no amount of post-election gossip, punditry or backbiting will change that. Working on his campaign was a great honor, and I’ve thanked him and so many others for that experience. What follows are some frank takeaways from the campaign. We did not run a perfect race — and having worked on both winning and losing campaigns, I accept my share of responsibility for that. Lord knows I was…