Dayenu is a song sung during the Passover Seder–the Jewish celebration of the ancient exodus from Egypt. The lyrics acknowledge the miracles God is said to have performed on behalf of those escaping servitude, and each miracle is followed by “Dayenu”–meaning, it would have been enough.
So “If He had brought us out from Egypt, and had not carried out judgments against them— Dayenu, it would have been enough!
“If He had carried out judgments against them, and not against their idols”— Dayenu, it would have been enough!
The song goes on in that fashion for numerous stanzas. What brought it to mind was an especially annoying element of the current infighting among Democrats. (Bear with me.)
I frequently see angry posts from liberals, decrying what they see as a lack of a compelling Democratic Party message going into the midterm elections. Comments posted to this blog and elsewhere are harshly critical of both major political parties; there are frequent assertions that there is little difference between them or between the oligarchs that control both. Some of the criticism is misplaced, but some of it is fair.
Here in Indiana, where Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly is up for re-election, his less-than-liberal positions also come in for considerable criticism, and–at least from my perspective– much of that criticism is deserved.
Here’s the problem: These negative analyses of Donnelly and the Democrats are frequently accompanied by pledges to refrain from voting for either. The authors of these pledges are simply too pure to cast their votes for flawed, imperfect candidates of a flawed, imperfect political party. They argue that “it isn’t enough just to be against Trump and his GOP enablers.”
They’re wrong.
Dayenu. Right now, it is enough.
As Robert Reich recently reminded us,
Not so fast. Remember what happened in 2016, when Libertarian Gary Johnson got 3.2 percent of the popular vote and Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 1.06 percent. Enough votes that, had they gone to Hillary Clinton, she’d have won the Electoral College, and Donald Trump wouldn’t be in the White House.
Oh, and anyone remember what happened in 2000, when the votes that went to Ralph Nader all but sealed the fate of Al Gore, and gave us George W. Bush.
You see the problem? In a winner-take-all system like ours, votes for third party candidates siphon away votes from the major party candidate whose views are closest to that third-party candidate. So by not voting for the lesser of two evils, if that’s what you want to call them, you end up with the worse of two evils.
Voters who are unhappy with their choices do have options: we can work through our chosen parties to effect change; we can support better candidates in the primaries. We can work for better campaign finance laws, an end to gerrymandering, and other systemic changes that will make it harder for special interests to buy/bribe lawmakers.
Of course, doing those things requires considerable time and effort. It also requires working within a system that is far from perfect or even admirable.( Politics is, after all, the art of the possible.) Purists prefer making the perfect the enemy of the good.
I will vote a straight Democratic ticket in November. That includes voting for Joe Donnelly. Is he my ideal Senator? No. Is he a far better choice that any of the Republicans running in the May primary for the right to oppose him? Absolutely. Is his re-election essential to a Democratic takeover of the Senate? Yes. Is a Democratic takeover of the Senate necessary to stop the refashioning of the federal judiciary and the steady confirmation of extremist, rightwing judges? Yes.
Will a “blue wave” in November bring us a perfect government? Hell no. But it will give us some desperately-needed breathing room–the time we need to fight for a better, fairer, more inclusive America. A wave will allow us to overturn the most egregious and harmful measures imposed by the Trump Kakistocracy. It will allow us to begin what will be a long and arduous process of restoring American civility, sanity and the rule of law.
DAYENU–that will be enough.
No doubt the future for democracy in the U.S. PROBABLY depends on a Blue Wave in November. But where is the leadership that can accomplish the mission? That’s the problem. Let’s not forget everyone isn’t singing DAYENU.
I wouldn’t base my political decisions in 2018 on an ancient song by Jews leaving Egypt. 😉
I’ve watched several young aspiring men and women take on the Democratic Party beast with the highest hopes and persistent energy only to be turned away and chastised for their beliefs.
Far too many…
Enabling the Democratic Party and Joe Donnelly is a personal choice. It reminds me of the mother who keeps “loving her daughter” while she suffers from addiction. Bailing them out of jail and sending them money to feed their addiction. The addiction counselor tells the mother to cut her daughter loose so she can hit bottom and desire change.
The DNC is not the people’s party. Locally it serves the remaining unions and businesses who offer kickbacks to the party for contracts received. Quid pro quo.
The DNC is even a bigger joke on the national level which is why they’ve lost thousands of seats.
You can convince your “love” for the party will save them, but guess what? Sometimes you have to “Let go.”
Robert Reich has been singing his same song for decades, and the party keeps declining. The DNC refuses to change its ways.
Despite the thousands of losses under Obama and since the DNC refuses to change its way. Their current lawsuit is an embarrassment.
This patient will either wake up to reality once they have no support or die a bitter death, but that’s their CHOICE.
Enablers kill more addicts than drugs because they can’t learn how to let go.
I am all over Brooks and Young on the phone, their Facebook pages, at their offices and in my conversations with others for not representing ALL of their constituents. Guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite when I get all over Joe Donnelly for doing his best to represent a population that isn’t the epitome of inclusiveness and those who care about anyone but themselves.
bumper sticker
mick mulvaney for
sec,of lobbyists
cash for bribes
no votes needed
Due to the current Trump administration, which itself CANNOT be considered Republican leadership; it is the current Congressional and SCOTUS support we are fighting. We must take a stand on the left with the Democratic party, warts and all, to regain strength to battle Trump, et al. We can make internal repairs and changes only if and when we have taken a strong stand TOGETHER; our infighting is indeed the same as that of the GOP but we are losing more by continuing. Their infighting is not weakening their party, their stronghold or their Fascist leadership based on a neo-Nazi, White Nationalist and KKK foundation. This is another Civil War; we must decide if we are with the Union forces or the Confederacy?
Many years ago African tribes would take “time outs” from their battles to allow each side to gather their dead for burial, their wounded for medical care and time to regroup and gain strength. We do not have that luxury; we are facing continuous, escalting destruction of democracy for all time, we have already lost our place as world leader due to one man’s unstable words and actions. I will vote the straight Democratic ticket in November, the only viable action I can take against this current “deconstruction” of our government.
“Will a “blue wave” in November bring us a perfect government? Hell no. But it will give us some desperately-needed breathing room–the time we need to fight for a better, fairer, more inclusive America. A wave will allow us to overturn the most egregious and harmful measures imposed by the Trump Kakistocracy. It will allow us to begin what will be a long and arduous process of restoring American civility, sanity and the rule of law.”
“DAYENU–that will be enough.”
Todd, I have to respectfully disagree with your view of the DNC. While they may not be the party you want to be a part of, they have been the party that seems to be the most responsive to everyone that is not the 1%. Our government funtions with a two-party system and we should all work with the parties we have to make them work better. As a teacher, I didn’t agree with Obama’s education policies, and his Secretary of Ed was just as horrible as DeVos, but that did not make me change my vote for President when Obama ran for his second term, because there was no other candidate that I felt would do what was best for the country. Donelly has taken positions and made votes that I opposed such as Planned Parenthood defunding, but he was and still is the best choice for Senator we have.
If we want our two party system to work, we have to put in our work as constituents. And that means writing, calling and communicating with our representatives to move in a direction that we support. I can’t imagine anyone could possibly think that Rokita, Messer or Braun would make a good Senator for Indiana; and not voting for Donelly will put one of those asshats in the Senate.
Leadership? You want leadership? Then vote for the Democrats. That makes the voters the leaders…as the founders intended.
Forget the whining about the DNC and hand-wringing about their idiotic lawsuits. If they can’t get their stuff together enough to support the viable candidates that we need to save democracy from the horrors of Republicanism, then don’t send them any money. Send them your messages, just as you send your messages to your current reps.
We all need to get to work being leaders.
This is exactly why the Dems can’t move forward. The only valid reason to vote for Donnelly is he’s not officially a Republican. Is this the best we can do?
What Neal said.
The only thing I know of that can really change overnight is the weather. If you want change in the Democratic Party, it won’t happen in one election cycle. It may take four or five. If you’re not in it for the long haul, you’ll never be successful.
In the meantime, if you keep voting for Jill Stein, you’ll keep getting Donald Trump. It’s time to grow up politically. No party is perfect, just as no government is perfect, just as no person is perfect.
Thank you, Sheila, for mentioning that we all must take action to improve our legislative representation, rather than just complaining and wishing someone else would do what we want to be done.
I am active in the local Dem party, which is pitifully small, and I am being recruited to run for office in the next election. I plan to accept the challenge. In the meantime, I do whatever I can to try to help others understand the negative impacts they are or will experience under this administration and also under our state legislature.
I find that Rs tend to get caught up in the constant fearmongering that is fed to them on Fox and elsewhere. Until they are able to recognize how they are being manipulated they will continue to allow it to happen.
My biggest pet peeve on this blog and elsewhere is when people preach to the choir that all you have to do is just go vote. That is not true. We have to fight gerrymandering or voting in this lopsided atmosphere truly is a waste of time for many of us.
I decided at the very last minute a couple months ago to forego running for a state office because I live in one of the two most red districts in the state and I would have had to spend massive amounts of time, energy and money on a race that I knew from the outset that I would lose. I ultimately decided that it would be too costly for me personally.
Please everyone – educate everyone you know what gerrymandering is and how it has destroyed their options for candidates who will really represent their interests. Please educate them about how this has enabled money to buy the candidates who will represent their interests and not those of their constituents.
And finally, PLEASE continuously call your state senator and representative offices to bombard them with the demand that gerrymandering be dealt with in the next session. If we can drive them crazy with constant contact to the point that they cannot avoid the problem, they will be forced to undergo meaningful change.
What Peggy said!
The DNC and the DCCC only want me around for my vote. Last election,they claimed they didn’t want or need my vote.Beyond my vote,I’m supposed to STFU and continue to support a party that’s becoming more irrelevant as time goes by and has nothing but contempt for me and the issues important to me.
Signed,Bernie Bot.
Neal Smith: “This is exactly why the Dems can’t move forward. The only valid reason to vote for Donnelly is he’s not officially a Republican. Is this the best we can do?”
Yes…..Besides suing Russia and Wikileaks.Perhaps Wall St. could use another bailout and bonus? In that case,the Democrats will enthusiastically oblige. Other than that,the Democrats have nothing.
It’s time to grow up politically….
Yes it is. When will the Democrats grow up? Suing Wikileaks and Russia is beyond the puerile.
Also,when the Democrats had a majority,they dropped the ball wrt allowing immigrants to become citizens. They caved wrt their shutdown/DACA.
They’re stupid enough to run Biden and claim they support women with a straight face. Remember Anita Hill? If the Democrats were really effective and were not addled by so much hypocrisy (much like true believers of religion) perhaps they would not be in a bind. Hell,they had so many years as a majority. America didn’t just go into the dumpster in 2016,there’s been a 40+ years long slide and the Democrats contributed to that slide. Btw,Guantanamo is still open,didn’t a Democratic aspirant promise to shut it down when elected?
Wow. I was just writing an argument for our local Wayne co. Indivisible group that we should rally around the beliefs (fair economy, protect the social safety net, protect the environment,
health care for all, justice for all) that unite us and voila, here Sheila and Robert Reich wrote the rest of it for me. Let’s cement the possible and expand from there. We can’t expand a just society if we go divided and get #45 and his supporters continued in power. Let’s get 45 out, then continue the argument within about how best to go forward with a fair and just society.
Somewhere I read that Bernie Sanders in the past said, “let’s not let one or two issues divide us.” That’s my way of thinking.
Thanks Sheila and Robert for your help.
Marv @ No doubt the future for democracy in the U.S. PROBABLY depends on a Blue Wave in November. But where is the leadership that can accomplish the mission? That’s the problem.
The “Leadership” does not reside in DNC for sure. From an article I read on the Internet:
“Since Obama’s victory in 2008, the Democratic Party has lost control of both houses of Congress and more than 1,000 state legislative seats. The GOP now controls the governorship as well as the entire legislature in 26 states, while Democrats exercise such control in only six states [eight states, after the November 2017 elections]…. Despite this Democratic decline, bold proposals with the national party’s imprint are scarce.”
From another article concerning the DNC Lawsuit:
Does the lawsuit target purveyors of racist barriers to voting that block and deflect so many people of color from casting their ballots?
No.
Well, perhaps this ballyhooed lawsuit aims to ensure the rights of people who don’t mainly speak English to get full access to voting information?
Unfortunately, no.
Maybe it’s a legal action to challenge the ridiculously sparse voting booths provided in college precincts?
Not that either.
Why the DNC Is Fighting WikiLeaks and Not Wall Street https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/04/25/why-dnc-fighting-wikileaks-and-not-wall-street
=======================================================================
I could add to the above list – How about Lawsuits against gerrymandering instead of whining about it.
By the way the Corporate Establishment Democratic Party – DNC still has retained the Super Delegates, just in case Bernie or some other Progressive decides to challenge the establishment in 2020.
We gave the Democratic Party a “Blue Wave” in 2008. What the hell did they do with it???? Universal Health Care – NO a Democrat by the name of Max Baucus stopped it in it’s tracks.
Go after Wall Street for their fraud – NO – Too Big to Fail, Too big to Jail.
Ban the sale of assault weapons to civilians? NO
End the wars in the Middle East – NO – Just continue to use Iraq and Afghanistan as aerial gunnery and bombardment ranges. Not content with these two countries we decided on regime change in Libya and Syria- How did that turnout???
ML: “We gave the Democratic Party a “Blue Wave” in 2008”
Yes we did. Indiana went Blue for the first time since LBJ….They were given the opportunity. What did they do?The Democrats pissed away the support. Now they want a do-over and promise to “fight” for the hoi poloi? Ha!
I am sorry that you had to tell Democrats of reasonable intelligence this. For myself, I am holding everyone who voted for anyone besides Hillary responsible for giving us Trump. I can’t forgive them as long as the Trump Storm is still in process and personally affects my daily life. That may be a long time.
I keep hearing let’s close our eyes and win now; And then we will change things. Really! If the Democratic Party needs to change, it needs to change in the next six months. Let’s get real. Instead of the Sanders’ forces following the DNC forces, why not the opposite and then we can at least keep our integrity, if there is anything left of it.
Thank you very, very much for this post Sheila!
The Democratic Party has always had the reputation of being a ramshackle outfit as far back as I can remember and that’s a long way back given that I’ve been following politics since I was around six years old. It has always been at odds with itself with all sorts of various factions and ideological bents. As such, it mirrors the gyrations of our form of democracy in its purest form.
As a result, we are forced to deal with a very stark choice and one we have no choice but to deal with it. Do we work with the Democratic Party as it currently exists and via our collective efforts make it better or do we nitpick it and de-evolve into supporting third and fourth party tangential candidates who will be incapable of either polling or having a voter plurality of 10% and allowing these fools to win again? If we don’t there might not be any other way of stopping this attack by these modern day Visigoths as they continue to wreak havoc on both this country and the existing world order. We cannot allow what is going on now in this country to continue, period, and we all have to know that.
Focusing on the Democratic Party, with all its flaws, is the only rational way of defeating the Republican and Alt-Right agenda that is ripping our politics and our society as a whole to shreds. The traditional American way of getting politicians out of office is by voting and since any extra-constitutional methods of doing so would most likely leave lasting damage to this country and to its position in the existing world order we have to focus on getting the vote out, getting people to the polls, and overwhelm efforts to continue this existing Republican regime. We need to work to ensure that the “Blue Wave” that is being talked about succeeds this fall and sets things up for an even bigger knockout blow in 2020. Hopefully, one of the biggest sources of this chaos, the orange person that currently resides in the White House, will is gone before then.
In the 60’s, my father was the Finance Chairman of the Democratic Party for the state of Florida. These guys play both sides. The DNC will go along with their buddies on the other side. It will just be another sell-out.
At this time in our nations’ history, I’m sorry to say, you have to be an idiot to follow them. On the record, I detect no idiots contributing to this blog.
Why not something new? I was thinking maybe we ought to try ETHICS or INTEGRITY for a change.
I should have included Elizabeth Warren along with Bernie Sanders.
The perfectionists among us go their merry way, seemingly anxious to put down their own and oblivious to the consequences. As a liberal I find imperfections in some of our candidates and office holders, too, but when I consider the alternatives (RICO gangsters, untax the rich, wage inequality, further impoverishment of the poor etc.) it occurs to me what I knew all along – that our political system is a human institution subject to all the shortcomings of humanity and that I will not sacrifice doable policy-making for known policies that are inhumane and even perhaps criminal. The Democratic Party and all other parties do not and cannot satisfy every whim and view of every supposed adherent in such a checkered mass of voters, and perfection as described by such individuals will never be “perfect,” but as Winston Churchill replied on his birthday at an advanced age when asked how he felt on his birthday, replied: “Splendid, considering the alternative!”
I have considered the political “alternative” and the current threat to our democracy promoted by Republicans and will be voting the straight Democratic ticket here in Florida this fall. A vote for perfection? No, but a vote for the possibility of moving in that direction. Let’s have our policy fights AFTER November, with the “alternative” results of our not having done so being that of more right wing judicial appointments, stratospheric deficits, racist policies etc. etc. etc. Like Winston Churchill, let’s consider the alternative.
“When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember your primary objective is to drain the swamp.”
I challenge Todd S. et al, to write down THEIR plan for draining the swamp and BTW, deal with the alligators at the same time!
Easy to criticize, hard to come up with solutions, as Sheila did.
I love the concept of DAYNEU!! Thanks for my new word.
The “muscle milk” for the democratic party goes by the brand name of BLUE COLLAR WORKER. Bring that essential amino acid into the democratic body politic and it will make all the difference.
Winners rely on BLUE COLLAR WORKERS. It gets results.
BLUE COLLAR WORKER is natural, but it may contain a few ingredients deemed, though not proven to be, potentially harmful by the DP-HAD (Democratic Party Hug and Acquiesce Department).
Wallflower:” For myself, I am holding everyone who voted for anyone besides Hillary responsible for giving us Trump. I can’t forgive them as long as the Trump Storm is still in process and personally affects my daily life. ”
The Democratic Donor Class has achieved its goal. Your resentment should be toward the upper echelons of the party for running a bad candidate and for playing solely to its big moneyed donors. Instead,your resentment is aimed toward the plebes(the voters). The upper caste must never be held accountable,shamed or blamed. At least that is a bi-partisan sentiment shared in America by both tribes.
Btw, I’m sure the Libyans and Syrians will not forgive you either. Again who cares,they’re just some folks thousands of miles away,right?
Perhaps part of the failure of liberal democracy to thrive is due to the nature of the only two ways to look at governance. Authoritarians see the human race as needing organization and leadership and structure and power; like corporations or the military need. Liberals imagine that we can get by with socialization and caring and celebrating diversity and diplomacy; like functional families have. What if there are not a sufficient percentage of liberals in a democratic constituency? It really isn’t about R’s and D’s. Those are artificial markers. It’s about how we relate to each other. I see and hear many authoritarian D’s now but many fewer liberal R’s. Is the mix changing? Why?
This is a critical question for the future of the human race. If there is something changing the mix we will end up living in corporate/military hierarchy all of the time, not just at work. Will that be efficient? You betcha’. Good old Teutonic structure with every part of the machine made to exactly fit with every other part.
That sounds perfectly awful to me. How about you?
William @ 11:55 am Your resentment should be toward the upper echelons of the party for running a bad candidate and for playing solely to its big moneyed donors. >> Yes, indeed toss the Union Workers and expect their votes.
A true statement. It is a marvel in a way how a candidate so flawed as The Trumpet (aka Agent Orange) could win a national election. I guess the answer is you select Hillary. The cover -up for this flawed selection was to blame everyone else : Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, Bernie Bots, Russians, Wikileaks, etc.
The Democratic Party has been in a long term decline on national basis since 1992. Al Gore could not even carry his home state of Tennessee in 2000, but it was Ralph Nader’s fault.
Great discussion and I’d like to say more but am trying out a driver to take places since our kids want me to quit driving. Lots of people, Dem regulars, always volunteered, are unable to do what we always offered to do. I’m glad lots of kids fighting the NRA, are also registering to vote.
Who should we want for Dem candidate for President?
Y’all carry on! Thanks , Sheila. Don’t move to Texas, branch office for Trump.
Marv Kramer:” Let’s get real. Instead of the Sanders’ forces following the DNC forces, why not the opposite and then we can at least keep our integrity, if there is anything left of it.”
Because the truth is….This is about the establishment within the DNC and DCCC to stay in power. They hate Bernie and they hate us. They’re using fear in the same manner that Fox has been of use for the Republicans. They want those of us on the left to go away if we are not willing to blindly follow brand loyalty to the end of the cliff. They really don’t want healthcare for everyone–because the donors do not want such a thing. We MUST vote for the Democratic Party to save the country. Once elected again and the party establishment forces are allowed to flourish in DC,they’ll tell us to STFU and to accept ineffective incrementalism whilst their big dollar donors receive their wishes overnight.They were given a Blue Wave in 2008,what did they do with it? Who got screwed by the inclusion of Max Baucus in the development of the ACA/Romney/Obama/HeritageFoundationCare? It wasn’t the donors.
The Democratic Party is largely relying upon Stockholm Syndrome for support wrt oncoming elections.
It’s also no accident those most fervently demanding the blind allegiance to party are those reliant upon the party to fill their rice bowls.
I guess being manipulated by party apparatchiks to tow the party line simply because of their need to fulfill their personal agendas just isn’t very appealing to me.
Kathy,
You’ll find several solutions in my latest two books: Amazon.com and The Kindle Store.
William,
“The Democratic Party is largely relying upon Stockholm Syndrome for support wrt oncoming elections.”
No argument with you on that point.
Stockholm syndrome, psychological response wherein a captive begins to identify closely with his or her captors, as well as with their agenda and demands.
~Britannica.com
Excellent and insightful, Sheila. Democrats get my vote, too. The electorate chose an immoral and criminal President when they elected 45. Dayenu. Enough
Well ahh shucks, guess who joined the Republicans and the Trumpet (aka Agent Orange) to approve Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State????
Pompeo—who has previously expressed support for regime change in Iran and North Korea—will take over as America’s top diplomat at a time when Trump appears closer than ever to ripping up the Iran nuclear accord. Pompeo described the Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling as “a shocking abuse of power”.
Pompeo was often called “the Koch Brothers’ favorite Congressman,” because he received more money from the right-wing energy billionaires than any other member of the House during his time there.
Pompeo also wrote in a Wall Street Journal editorial >>Congress should pass a law re-establishing collection of all metadata, and combining it with publicly available financial and lifestyle information into a comprehensive, searchable database. Legal and bureaucratic impediments to surveillance should be removed. That includes Presidential Policy Directive-28, which bestows privacy rights on foreigners and imposes burdensome requirements to justify data collection. <<<
So who voted for Mike Pompeo – Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Doug Jones (Ala.), Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), and Bill Nelson (Fla.). Well no surprise Donnelly voted for Gorusch too.
If one votes for alternatives from the officially mandated party given candidates, i.e. Nader,Stein,Sanders and Warren and then you’re summarily blamed for the results of Trump’s policies,is Donnelly blameless? Are the folks that have supported Donnelly to blame for the results of his commitment/support to the Republicans?
Is it about ethics? Or is it really about team brand loyalty and policies be damned?
Remember,in the eyes of previous commenters,we are much worse and evil for voting for the likes of a Jill Stein than Donnelly is for supporting Trump. Let that type of thinking sink in.
Do those who oppose supporting the imperfect dems agree that success would likely allow a continuation of 45’s bloc in power? And, if you agree with that premise, do you believe that 45 remaining in power is better for the common folks than kicking 45’s group out of power?
How is it better for the common folks to support neither the gop or the dems? How does this work out for you/us? I’m interested in how the scenario you favor will work out for the best?
Please help me understand your thinking here?
Todd Smekens – Thanks for you views on the DNC. Now how about describing you view of the GOP for balanced reporting.
If I thought your query was asked in earnest,I would take the time to answer. Instead,my answer will be met with more derision and I just don’t have the patience to be defensive any more. If anyone should be put in the defensive position,it should be those willing to continue supporting a party that has become ineffectual for many of us. I’m not an indentured servant forced to vote brand loyalty and my voting booth is not a contiguous piece of property to your party plantation. Do you or have you derived income from the party?
Here’s a handful of questions for you,why should anyone support a party that has proven to be ineffective and tone deaf to the needs of ordinary Americans? Why support a party whose actions are contradictory and seemingly belie the so called tenets of the party and its mission statement? Why would the party support Donnelly if he’s just going to be an extension of/for Trump? How does suing Russia and Wikileaks help the 99%? If Trump is such a despot,why did the Democrats give him expanded spying powers upon the American public? How was that capitulation to his administration good for the country? After all,if you’re going to claim that 45 is dismantling our democracy,why give him expanded spying power? A bit contradictory,no? Are the accusations of Trump being a despot just simply kayfabe to arouse party support by using fear as a means to an end?
Also,in contradiction to the following quote from Vernon…
“Leadership? You want leadership? Then vote for the Democrats. That makes the voters the leaders…as the founders intended.”
Not.So.Fast..
The Intercept has published a secretly taped audio recording of one of the most powerful Democrats in America pressuring a progressive candidate to drop out of a Colorado congressional primary race. It hasn’t been getting as much attention as the WikiLeaks drops on the DNC’s sabotage of the Sanders campaign because it’s not about a presidential race, but make no mistake: this is the single most damning piece of evidence ever published exposing the Democratic Party’s war on progressives.
The recording features House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, informing primary challenger Levi Tillemann that if he runs, he will be running against not just the chosen establishment candidate Jason Crow, but against Hoyer and the full might of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as well.
More Here ..
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/pelosi-i-dont-see-anything-inappropriate-in-rigging-primaries-641ac1bb70c8
Some history that seems lost by the Bernie folk (full disclosure, I supported Bernie) –
The Democratic Socialists believed that America functions on the basis of a two party system and that if they wanted change, they needed to influence one of the parties. This was a break from all of the other “socialist” parties. One of the founders, Michael Harrington, wrote “The Other America”, which led the Democrats to declare the “War on Poverty”. We don’t know how well it would have worked it Vietnam hadn’t messed up our national priorities, but he influences one of the two parties.
I also like to remind the “Bernie only” people that I lived through the Gene McCarthy people staying home and giving us Nixon. Tens of thousands of Americans, mostly poor draftees, died in Vietnam while Nixon extended the war.
If you want to make the Democratic Party better, change it. I’ve been doing that my entire life, from the time I joined a group my congresswoman called a bunch of communists, the 17th Congressional District Young Democrats of Michigan. Sometimes you lose the challenge only to see that the party embraces your priorities four years later. Sometimes it takes longer. I encouraged the Obama people and the Bernie people – keep at it – vote, participate, but remember that it will get worse if you drop out or throw away your vote.
Just my two Zuzim worth (coinage from another Passover song).
Joe Donnelly has voted to cut interest rates in half on student loans. He has voted to protect Medicare and Social Security. He voted for the Affordable Care Act. And he’ll vote for a Democratic leader of the Senate and NOT for Mitch McConnell. That alone would be enough.
Len Farber,
“I encouraged the Obama people and the Bernie people – keep at it – vote, participate, but remember that it will get worse if you drop out or throw away your vote.”
You’re right. But the Democratic Party, unfortunately, as William has so well pointed out, is about as effective as the Polish calvary was against the German tanks at the start of W.W. II.
If there is not a change in direction we’re going to lose either way. We’re LEADERLESS!
My apology, that should be CAVALRY instead of calvary. Cal-va-ry and the Religious Right are another problem for another day.
Before the 2016 election, I and quite a few others expressed the opinion that the way to defeat the Trumpites was to vote straight Democrat, never mind third party candidates. Younger people responded that nobody was going to tell them how to vote, and third party candidates took away enough probable-Democrat votes for Trump to win. Don’t let this happen again in this senate race. Joe Donnelly supports the stuff really important to me, like social security and medicare, and that’s enough for me.