Dems, We're Citizens, Not Consumers

By Robert Parry
January 4, 2007

As the Democrats regain control of Congress for the first time in 12 years, the party leaders still don’t seem to understand the forces that sent them into the wilderness in 1994 or the reasons they were summoned back in 2006.

Typical of their cluelessness was a “100 Hours Survey” distributed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in mid-December. The survey asked Democratic contributors to rank nine priority issues in order of importance for the new Congress.

The issues included raising the minimum wage, financing stem-cell research, revising the Medicare prescription drug program and stiffening ethics rules. The only national security issue on the list was the implementation of all the remaining – but unspecified – recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

No reference was made to ending the Iraq War, launching investigative hearings on President George W. Bush’s actions, reasserting checks and balances on the Executive, or restoring constitutional safeguards that have been overridden during the “war on terror,” such as the habeas corpus right to a fair trial.

Though many issues on the DCCC’s priority list surely have merit, what’s missing is any commitment to the larger purpose of the American Republic.

The Democratic leaders have yet to grasp that the transcendent principles of democracy were a major factor in the national rejection of Bush and the Republican congressional majority on Nov. 7.

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http://www.consortiumnews.com/2007/010307.html#When:06:35PM

and thats why the Truth is such an undesirable commodity.http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/09/03_hard.html

4) Impeach and discredit the notion of Unitary Executive

5) Send to the Hague to stand before the ICC.


That seems like a pretty logical first set of steps to restoring our republic, IMO.

First.

Hold this White House occupant accountable FIRST.

Then we will turn our attention to the nuts and bolts of our lives.


Once again, Robert Parry is prescient.







(Bold emphasis added)

Robert Parry gets it.


Cindy Sheehan gets it.


Russ Feingold gets it.


John Murtha gets it.


John Conyers gets it.


The American people get it.

get it.

The Democratic base gets it.

gets it.


Independents and even traditional conservatives fed up with the Busheviks get it.
get it.




* * * *



But those that say that the Democratic Congress must stick to bland "consensus issues" just don't get it !!

If their advice is followed, the American people will thrown us to the dustbin of history to sit aside Tom Delay.

As usual, Robert Parry's articulate analysis hits the nail on the head.



* * * *



Kicked and recommended.

Let's get this up to the top of the page.

.....by regular mail.


If every Congressman, and every Senator, received 1,500 copies of this article FROM HIS CONSTITUENTS......perhaps they would realize that we demanding an end to business as usual.... that we need, NOT FOCUS GROUP TESTED PROGRAMS (regardless of their merits) but real change on the issues that are destroying America:

1. End the war in Iraq

2. Restore checks and balances

3. Restore constitutional liberties

3. Demand accountability



For the above to work, we need hearings, we need the truth, we need to enforce the law......

We cannot afford to just follow the DLC's advice and stick to only non-controversial issues.

Dealing with major problems demand courage.

If we don't step up to the plate, we will be out on our ears in 2 years.

citizens = people coming together to form a more perfect union

consumers = locusts out to get their's regardless of the consequences to our Constitution or a sustainable earth

Thanks for the post laststeamtrain

Kicked and recommended

Far too many of us DUers expect our representatives to have telepathy, to know what we're thinking, and to do our will automatically.

It will never happen.

So, how can we affect our reps?

It's simple -- talk to them.

Call their offices, knock on their door. Not just when you want something, or when there's an important vote; but call often enough to make friends with the office staff, and arrange to meet the representative (or Senator, or whoever -- anytime I use the word "rep", it means anyone in the political process) when the schedule allows.

Learn their full names, the names of their spouses and kids, their birthdays, etc. -- the same way you'd learn the details of the lives of your friends and neighbors. You don't have to stalk them, but a little attention to detail will go a long way.

Send mail and e-mail. Even birthday and Xmas cards.

And get to constituent meetings!

Start a local grassroots organization that's not formally affiliated with the local Democratic Party. Invite the reps to every meeting. Something like "(Your Town's Name) Progressive Citizen's Club".

"Face time" will get you more attention than anything else; once your face is known, your letters and e-mail will be read and your blogs will get bookmarked.

If you're pleasant and make the rep feel good in a social context, you're in. And you can disagree with the rep greatly, as long as you make him/her enjoy seeing you. ("Mutt-and-Jeff" or "Good Cop / Bad Cop" ploys may also be worth trying, depending on the circumstances.)

Many DUers are angry to the point of rage with certain Democratic politicians. Such emotionalizing is best kept in check until you actually meet the rep and can give the situation some thought. Ideally, you need to meet the rep with a "clean slate". You may find that, although you disagree strongly with the person, that s/he is looking for reasons to move to the left. Having someone to talk to about the issues may make a tremendous difference when votes are called. Although conversational strategies and issues of interpersonal contact are out of the scope of this post, they're worth considering in some depth.

You'll certainly find that a big part of politics is the enjoyment of meeting people you generally agree with. I've even gotten along well with Republicans, people I've disagreed with on nearly every issue. Which brings me to another point -- do it even if (especially if) your local representative is a Republican. If you can get along well with a Republican, you have a tremendous opportunity to affect his/her votes. No less a door-knocking Democrat than PA governor Ed Rendell is known to have worked on Rick Santorum, who eventually voted with us on several social-welfare bills toward the end of his term. ("Man on Dog", indeed! So, who was the man, and who was the dog?)

Every little bit counts.

Posting to DU isn't really politics -- it's strategizing (or perhaps even gladiator school), and has great value in itself, but we need to make human contact. The Republicans learned this in the early 1970s and have dominated the political landscape for almost four decades. If we want to have "our turn", we will have to use the political process to the point where we own it.

--p!

This ain't no football game, this is my life, your life, our lives at stake.

Americans have some hard ugly facts to wake up to and act upon.