I want more progressives running in 2016.
Bernie is a great first step, but we need more. We need more progressive voices singing the same tune and reminding the country of the great progressive tradition that it has inherited from past generations - and to understand, if you don't use it, you will lose it, we already are losing it.
Robert Reich is one such progressive that I would like to see jump into the 2016 arena.
He recently wrote about his vision for American and what Democrats need to do to get there:
Republicans, soon to be in charge of Congress, will push their same old supply-side, trickle-down, austerity economics.
They’ll want policies that further enrich those who are already rich. That lower taxes on big corporations and deliver trade agreements written in secret by big corporations. That further water down Wall Street regulations so the big banks can become even bigger – too big to fail, or jail, or curtail.
They’ll exploit the public’s prevailing cynicism by delivering just what the cynics expect.
And the Democrats? They have a choice.
They can refill their campaign coffers for 2016 by trying to raise even more money from big corporations, Wall Street, and wealthy individuals. And hold their tongues about the economic slide of the majority, and the drowning of our democracy.
Or they can come out swinging. Not just for a higher minimum wage but also for better schools, paid family and medical leave, and child care for working families.
The Choice of the Century
There's a reason Reich titles his piece "The Choice of the Century" ... if the next president serves two terms, they will have a big impact on the direction the country goes - on who gets the wealth, the jobs, the wages, the health, security and stability, in other words, who gets to lead the American Dream.
I suggest reading the entire piece, and getting your hopes up for a Robert Reich presidential run - who knows, maybe we can give him the nudge he needs to jump in.
5:30 PM PT: Some have expressed concern of Reich's stature, that he is short and he will be ridiculed for it. I don't think that will bother him, not should it bother others:
"As a child, Reich was bullied, and sought out the protection of older boys; one of them was Michael Schwerner, who would be murdered by the Ku Klux Klan in 1964 for registration of African-American voters. Reich cites this event as an inspiration to "fight the bullies, to protect the powerless, to make sure that the people without a voice have a voice."[11]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
5:45 PM PT: For anyone who wants to know more about who Robert Reich is, here's a documentary he produced about inequality:
http://inequalityforall.com/