Don't Shame Our Ancestors

A Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of the respondents have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party and only 37% of the respondents have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party. All right, So what the hell are you going to do about it?

They who say “I can't” never will! They who say “what is the use” are useless! The brave men and women who were attacked and beaten by police officers during the voting rights march in Selma Alabama in 1965 did not throw up their hands in despair. They did not say I can't; instead they moved forward, and the violence they faced only strengthened their resolve to overcome. They bled for you and they prevailed. Similarly, the brave men and women who fought for collective bargaining, fair wages, and safe workplaces did not give in to despair; they continued to fight and they bled. To give you just a few examples of what it cost: 19 coal miners were killed in the Lattimer Massacre in Hazleton, Pennsylvania in 1897 and 17 miners were killed in the Anaconda Road Massacre in Butte, Montana in 1920. It was not until the National Labor Relations Act was passed int 1935 that the blood and suffering of many Union Members in many places over the years finally paid off.

What would those brave civil rights leaders who were beaten, shot or hanged for demanding their basic human rights say to those of you who sat at home during the mid-term elections, thereby meekly submitting to the unconscionable laws Republican Legislators and Republican Governors passed in an effort to keep you from voting. What would the brave union members who were beaten and/or killed when they stood up to the plutocrats say to those of you who sat at home during the mid term elections and let the greedy and/or the stupid re-elect Republican Legislators and Republican Governors such as Scott Walker, who actually boasts about suppressing the vote and union busting? If you are willing to give up your right to vote or refuse to exercise that right there really is no hope! And if you think unions do not matter anymore Click Here.

The reason why people are becoming so disillusioned is because we are moving backwards. Real wages are slipping, college educations are once more becoming something only wealthy kids can afford, and everyone is afraid of being laid off of work. Believe me, I can understand the angst. It does not help when one of our major political parties (the Republican Party) is pandering to lunatics and putting its own interests ahead of the interests of this country. If you think that statement is hyperbole let me remind you of just a few of things the Republican Party has done:

1. Shut down the government.
2. Damaged the full faith and credit of the United States by holding the debt ceiling hostage thereby threatening to make the United States default on it its debts.
3. Threatened to shut down the Department of Homeland Security.
4. Threatened to shut down the Federal Aviation Administration and thereby extorted the busting of the aviation labor unions.
5. Tried to privatize Medicare with the Ryan voucher plan.
6. Have consistently opposed all plans to reform the tax code if those plans eliminate the incentives to export our jobs or remove overseas tax havens for companies and wealthy individuals.
7. Interfered with crucial nuclear energy negotiations with Iran by sending the “Dear Ayatollah” letter. This is a clear violation of the separation of powers stated in the Constitution and a violation of the Logan Act.
8. I might add that Republican Presidents have also inflicted on us the worst Supreme Court ever!

Although the Republican Party is far worse than the Democratic party, it easy for me to understand why people are unhappy with both parties. The problem is that bad trade agreements and radical Republicans passing anti-labor laws have decimated the labor unions thus making both parties more dependent on the plutocrats for campaign contributions. Citizens Untied greatly exacerbated the problem. MONEY RULES! There is no doubt about money ruling. But you still have a voice and a vote. Generally speaking the smaller the election (or the fewer the number of voters) the easier it is to buy the election, but that does not hold true if a large number of people opposing the money interests engage with their neighbors and get them to the voting booths. When people get involved Mr. Got-bucks will often spend a ton of money to no avail. So the first rule if you want to change things is to get involved on a local level. Support worthy local candidates who will not gerrymander all the lunatics into safe congressional districts, and who will represent labor unions. Labor Unions protect jobs, even none union jobs. Believe me, the last thing a labor union wants is a bad trade agreement. Unions depend on companies making things here, whereas businesses chasing cheep labor have a strong incentive to export your job. The next thing to do is e-mail politicians about issues and sign petitions regarding crucial issues. People who write and sign petitions are usually activists and that makes politicians pay attention. Congressmen are particularly vulnerable because the smaller the district is the more important the activists become.

As the next election approaches ask yourself a very simple question: In this day when corporate profits are higher than ever and the disparity between what the top two or three percent is paid and what the average person is paid is greater than ever, what the hell is trickling down? The answer to that question should tell you to vote against trickle down Republicans who want to cut taxes for the rich and cut all earned benefits programs such as Social Security and Medicare!*  And I do mean it should tell you to get off your butt and vote! If you do not think your vote counts just look at the dismal results of the last mid-term elections. The low voter turn out during those mid-term elections allowed the most militant right wing lunatics to create a congress in their own image!

Hey, no one is asking you to go out there like your ancestors did and bleed for the cause. We concerned citizens are simply asking you not to waste the economic miracle your ancestors struggled so hard to achieve just because you are too damn lazy to pay attention and vote! Do not ignore the primary either. Elections do not just decide which party runs the government they also decide the direction that party will go. The lunatics have taken over the Republican Party because they are the activists and largest block voting in the primaries. I now say it its time for the progressives to become the activists and once again make the Democratic Party the party of working men and women!

*Just take a look at the latest budget proposed by the Greedy Old Plutocrats.  This topsy turvy (Republican) budget actually presumes that the poor in this country have too much money and the billionaires have too little.  This budget also makes it perfectly clear that the proposed tax cuts for the rich will come out of your hide!