Is there any doubt now on the fact that we've got a regressive economic majority in Congress?
Two major efforts, health care and fending off this attack on the New Deal, with Progressive left looking like chumps, scoring basically zero. Two big efforts, with some good done, but at a very high cost. IMHO, too high.
We went to the mat on the Public Option, and it was not enough. We pushed hard, though I don't think as hard as the push for the PO, and it was not enough now either.
(could be it was just as big of a push, and that my current day job work load biased me too, just to be fair)
Prior to the Health Care effort, I was more or less under the illusion that the Democratic party had some excuse for what it does. Being weak, incompetent, whatever. I bought that garbage, because I am well aligned with the general party platform. Being one of "the people", aligning with "the party of the people" makes a lot of sense right?
Well, yes it does actually. That's not the problem we face.
Health Care revealed something that I don't see being discussed much, and that's a mistake.
Progressive Democrats are the only political economic force in Washington that is aligned with the needs of ordinary, middle and lower class Americans. That is a fact right now, and it has some very serious implications, some of which we were just reminded of in this latest shit sandwich we are being asked to swallow nicely, for the greater good.
Frankly, I have to stay in the Democratic camp, and be aligned with Obama for the Supreme Court appointments that may come up. As bad as this all is, and it's fucking bad people, a court that is more solidified toward economic regression would only make it worse, and would do so in a longer term, enduring way, marginalizing Progressives for the rest of our adult lives. (likely)
So, I'm there because I have to be, not that I want to be. Let's make that clear right here and right now.
Democrats are divided economically. There are Progressives, and moderates, with those dipping into regressives, depending on who you talk to. The point is this, moderate right now doesn't equate to anything progressive at all, not even centrist, because our media bias and our national discourse leans fairly hard right economically.
There is essentially NO economic news or commentary published or broadcast here in the US that is written from the labor point of view. None that matters.
Because of that, economic progressives are seen as extreme, and are rather easily marginalized in the discussion. We've seen it play out twice now. That is enough for me. I get it.
The question is how many Americans really get it?
Before discussing that, let's look at the GOP. They are fractured, not divided, and their two major camps are moderates, who are actually very well aligned with the moderates in the Democratic party, who I regularly characterize as regressives due to our economic news bias taking them in that direction
, and
the Tea Party extremists.
The difference between the GOP and the Dems, is our division is one of direction, where theirs is simply one of scale and approach, with the Tea Party people actually pushing for all the regression they can get right now, conflicting with moderates who will get there, just more slowly.
Factor all of that down, and it's clear the majority of Congress is economically regressive, which is why we keep getting kicked in the teeth, marginalized, booted out on our asses each time one of these things comes up for debate.
We look like the chumps, because we literally are! And we are the chumps because we continue to deny the realities of our own party. The party isn't composed of enough members aligned with it's platform to do the right thing.
Again, Progressive Democrats are the ONLY force in Washington that is aligned with the needs of ordinary Americans. We are it! There isn't anybody else.
Two things about that:
Given this, I understand how Obama is working to navigate what is essentially a fucked Congress, completely unable to put progress into motion. It's owned by economic regressives, funded by corporations and the wealthy, not the people, and that makes a strong push for progressive legislation futile. The votes are not there. The wrong people are calling the shots, and they've got basically no material threat to encourage them to do otherwise.
Again, we are it, and the Progressive movement has not differentiated itself from Coin Operated Democrats, and because of that, it's marginalized as the extreme wing of the Democratic party, and it cannot build it's ranks, because ordinary people don't know the difference between a Progressive Democrat, who is fighting for them, and other Democrats, part of that regressive economic majority, fucking them over economically.
Edit: There is good progress socially, which is worth a lot, and why I am a Democrat overall.
They only see impotent, useless Democrats. That is exactly why Health Care angered people, leading to the rise and election of the Tea Party.
If we had differentiated back then, we could have presented a strong, clear alternative to the Tea Party, building on the Progressive brand, which would be damn useful right now, wouldn't it?
I think so, because we could have taken the Health Care lesson, applied it here, validated it, and then sold it as the primary reason why we need to be electing economic Progressives, and we need to fund those efforts so the regressive economic majority is diluted enough for the Progressives to actually get some leverage and make the impact they want to make.
It's not too late folks. The lessons are there, the people are pissed, and they are motivated, and it's coming up on election time. National election time.
We need a 50 state Progressive strategy again, and we need it now. We need to differentiate ourselves from the party, with the idea of cleaning up our party, taking control of it, so it works for the people as intended. There is a "WE" in "Yes WE CAN!", and that's where it is all at.
Nobody else is going to do this. Big business is pleased as punch with the current arrangement. The media is biased toward that and funded by them, owned by them, with a small pool of people running all the media that matters.
Think about it. Who actually is going to step up and attempt to divert the very large amounts of money flowing to established interests right now?
Nobody! It's us or nobody, because the rest are either disenfranchised, which we can change if we differentiate, or on the take, fat city!
No protest, argument, manipulation, etc... is going to work either, because that regressive economic majority likes to game the blurred distinction between the two parties, presenting Democrats as well aligned, when they are not, then selling the excuses, which people buy each time.
How much is enough? How many times is enough?
Fuck, I'm there people. So there.
We need a Howard Dean type to congeal Progressives, and we need our own funding, $10 per person monthly, for example, applied to taking down weaker regressive targets we think we can win from both parties, and we need it now.
Every time we fail to do this, for party unity reasons, or other, large chunks of our future get sold off, the people more angry, disenfranchised through vote suppression, and our overall burden for building out a successful Progressive movement that can actually own the party, or at the least actually check the regressive economic majority gets higher!
The time to organize is now. The time to differentiate is now. The time to begin to build some good tools for our President to leverage is now.
Obama is fucked people. Congress is a ripe mess, regressives dominate it, and he's got few to no outs. And he's probably wondering whether or not the people even understand why, which makes using that bully pulpit risky. What if he were to step up and express strong desire for reform and flat out fail? What does that do for the GOP and that regressive majority? It marginalizes the President, leaving them even more empowered than they are now.
Obama isn't the answer here, we are. Either we decide to stop taking this shit and do what it takes to shout regressives down, win seats and write law, or we suck it up and dig in for the long, brutal haul to a much lower standard of living where the New Deal is but a memory some of us have from Primary School.
The time to build our movement to take the party back is now.
UPDATE: From the comments:
Folks, I'm not writing about just electing a few Progressives. Not that at all. The truth is, a sustained civics effort is required. We actually do need to organize, self-fund to the highest degree possible, leveraging other forces friendly to us, and start running challengers all over the place, targeting both parties, positioning and differentiating economic progressives as the force that is fighting for the people, and the rest of the asses as corporate owned, lock, stock barrel.
It isn't going to just happen. There isn't some relief valve built in, no check and balance in play, so long as that regressive economic majority exists.
We are the check and we need balance, and the only way to get it is to do the work to win seats, and keep doing it until we present a force big enough that it costs too much to deny.
At that point, and only at that point, will the people see some relief from a near 40 year string of regressive decisions, impacting them in very negative ways. Our daily costs and risks will continue to rise while our value as people, our labor will continue to decline, as will our opportunity, leaving us raw, exploitable, impotent as the political check we are supposed to be.
The time is now. Not later, not too late, not missed out already, just now.
If not that, aren't we essentially saying it's all futile? I'm not there. Are you? Explain in your commentary.