Showing posts with label Keith Ellison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Keith Ellison. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Bernie Sanders is back and this time he plans to win


Elizabeth Warren-Bernie Sanders
When I say win, Bernie Sanders is already in overdrive to elect more Progressives in the 2018 midterms and, yes, I think he is shooting for the presidency again in 2020. But I hope that Elizabeth Warren will see the light and support his candidacy this time, no matter who the Democratic Party plans to run. And there is a definite difference between Democrats and Progressives, a point that is confirmed by the fact that Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, lost the election to an incompetent candidate who is also defined as a pathological liar by Sanders. The new Republican president, Donald Trump.

Just yesterday Elizabeth Warren  with Bernie Sanders introduced a new tuition bill that would make college education available to all,regardless of who they are. "Education should be a right, not a privilege," according to the Bern, an issue he has been promoting since first starting his 2016 presidential race. "The legislation includes a joint-bill in the House which would be introduced Wednesday by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.," according to a statement provided to International Business Times.

This should arouse the Progressives out there who have been on the sidelines wanting something to happen. That includes me, and I am now ready to roll on to upending a Republican Congress to putting Bernie sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the White House in 2020. Don't laugh, conservatives, it has been some time now since the left has had this much reason for the momentum to get the right job done. With Hillary history, and Sanders as the most popular political candidate in the U.S. the cross-country fight for legislative and governor's seats will now be easier.

And the Sanders/Warren people aren't alone. Not satisfied that enough was being done, two major groups have formed to elect Progressives in 2018 and 2020. The first is Justice Democrats, started by the founder of the Young Turks, Cenk Uygur, who said that he was starting the organization because it needed to be done and no one else was doing it. The second is Brand New Congress which was originally started by a group of volunteers and staffers from the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. They want, "...to be a big tent for anyone who is tired of partisan politics."

The latest information is that these two groups recently merged, which is a good start for the new aggregation.

Somewhere in the future it will be necessary to galvanize all these efforts into one cohesive group that supports Progressivism in order to move ahead as a collective organization. NBC News takes us back to the 2016 convention to point out where the left might take us...
"But the more radical strain, which led hundreds of Sanders delegates to walk out of the Democratic National Convention in protest last summer, is still present on the left and emboldened by the loss of Hillary Clinton and their belief that Bernie would have won."
"Some are betting that the disaffected left is as or more interested in remaking the Democratic Party as it is in fighting President Donald Trump."
What is needed now is a defined structure to get there. And that is why all these splinter groups will have to bite the bullet and find one common denominator that will rebuild, or replace, if necessary, the Democratic Party with one that will serve the people and not a political clique. Corbin Trent of Brand New Congress said...
"The point is we've watched this party over the last decade lose over 1,000 seats, lose a national election to least popular nominee in history, Donald Trump, and now we've seen poll after poll showing the Democratic Party less popular since election day. What we think is the American people are ready for a new direction."
The American people were ready for a new direction in 2016, namely Bernie Sanders, proven by the fact that he won 23 primaries with 1,865 delegates, winning just one-hundred less votes in the Democratic Primary than Donald Trump did in the Republican Primary. But he didn't win because of the shenanigans of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which has now resulted in the firing of two top politicos. Unfortunately, Tom Perez heads the DNC now, instead of Keith Ellison, which is another result of Party hardliners. See, they will never learn.

Although Republicans profess not to be worried, they should take note of the fact that the Tea Party almost upended the Party in 2009 and 2010, proving that a grassroots kind of movement can be effective. But this will require the passion of all liberals, including those who regularly rally around the Party. Just after the 2016 election, I did a post, "What do Republicans have that Democrats don't?" and the answer was passion. Some of those that didn't like Hillary Clinton either didn't vote or for some stupid reason, voted for Donald Trump.

In that case the "Party" would have been better than what we ended up with. We are not in that position approaching 2018 and 2020, and there is plenty of time to build on your passion by looking at the daily antics of the Oval Office maniac. If this isn't enough to make you crave for a change to the kind of government you would get from Bernie Sanders, then you don't want to live in the kind of country I do. That, of course, is your choice.


Saturday, April 1, 2017

Time to dump the Democratic Party...as we know it


The Democratic National Committee fired its entire staff. That even includes longtime Dem pundit, Donna Brazile, who just recently owned up to the fact that she had slipped Hillary Clinton debate questions based on her connections with CNN. Brazile had earlier fired Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was responsible for the Party being in the shape it is today. She stood by with her finger in her nose while Republicans took over political seats starting with city, county and state, all the way to the House and Senate, resulting in a loss of the White House. These people are a disgrace to the Party.

As The Blaze put it, "... a humiliating rout in an election that pundits widely believed would fall their [Democrats] way..." I am not sure just what good this will do, considering the guy doing the firing is a Dem hardliner. The Party couldn't see past their noses when Bernie Sanders tried to tell them that Keith Ellison was the man for the DNC job. They are, of course, both Progressives. And that brings me to the title of this blog, "Time to dump the Democratic Party...as we know it." As Kenny Rogers put it, "ygot to know when to hold 'em / Know when to fold 'em." Now's the time to fold 'em."

We need to revive the Progressive Party in the format of Bernie Sanders Our Revolution and make it a viable political movement that will give disillusioned Democrats/liberals a place to organize and establish a platform that makes sense to the modern day left. That said, did you know the Progressive Party was first organized in 1912 by Theodore Roosevelt after he lost the nomination of the Republican Party to his former protégé, President William Howard Taft. The Bull Moose version of the Party was dissolved in 1916. No more real activity until 2016 when the Bern came on the scene.

An early attempt at continuing the political positions of Bernie Sanders is by Cenk Uygur, founder of the Young Turks, who has started a movement called, Justice Democrats, whose goal is to put a significant number of Justice Democrats in the Congress. You can see their platform here. And to show how grave the situation was, here is Uygur's comment, "I was hoping someone else would do this, but when no one else was, somebody had to do it.” And of course there are the Progressive Democrats of America, who also mirror the Bern's movement. But so far, we're disjointed.

To correct this there must be a coordinated effort to officially structure a party apparatus that will withstand the organizational challenges of the developing members and the constituents. It will take a strong leader, and, of course, who better than Bernie Sanders? I do not think Sanders is too old to run in 2020, but if the consensus is that he is, there is Elizabeth Warren, and as a dark horse, how about Chuck Schumer? The Senate minority head even supported the Bern's pick of Keith Ellison to head up the DNC, who, unfortunately lost.

If we are to be ready for 2020, things must get moving pretty soon and it will take Bernie's organizational skills to ramp it all up. I will be a constant supporter from my blog and am sure there are many others like me, including the Young Turks. The cry is out there senator Sanders and only you can answer the call.


Monday, March 27, 2017

Is Bernie Sanders running for Trump resignation/impeachment?


Bernie Sanders-Chris Hayes MSNBC
Bernie Sanders has been everywhere recently talking about everything from how the Republicans are screwing up to how the Democrats are twiddling their thumbs. As recently as Thursday, he said Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, "...brought the Supreme Court confirmation process to a new low during this week's confirmation hearings." And it was only mid-March that headlines were screaming, "Everyone loves Bernie Sanders. Except, it seems, the Democratic party," headline from The Guardian. It is certain that The Bern is well versed on both sides.

Here's the latest figures on Sanders who is being given the national spotlight regularly these days. 61% favorable, 32% unfavorable. When you look at Donald Trump, who sits in the Oval Office today, DT is only 44% favorable, with an unfavorable rating of 53%. When you take the comparisons even further, Barack Obama had a job approval rating of 69% during his first days in office in 2009. Considering the chaos of the Trump administration, the screw ups they have pulled to date, and the fact that Donald John is incapable of getting any of his programs approved, it can only get worse.

These are Fox News polls and although I do have reservations about anything Fox says or does, I take some comfort in the fact that these numbers are being reported by The Hill, a highly reputable publication. They even mention that Trump's unfavorable ratings have been even worse, rising above 55% at times. Here's The Hill's take...
"The huge popularity of Sanders in the Fox poll tracks virtually all other polling that shows Sanders to be, by a large margin, the most popular political leader in America, and far ahead of Trump, the most unpopular new president in the history of presidential polling."
Bernie Sanders has been rallying against the GOP healthcare bill and the repeal of Obamacare since it was introduced by Paul Ryan and endorsed by Donald Trump. The Bern has his own healthcare plan that is even more universal than The Affordable Care Act, but agrees with The Hill that, "...TrumpCare's unpopularity creates a grave danger of disaster for Republicans in 2018 and 2020." And here are some results of Bernie's efforts...
"...a shocking new poll from Quinnipiac University found American voters opposing the pending Republican healthcare bill by a three to one margin. Fifty-six percent of voters disapprove of TrumpCare (or "RyanCare," or whatever name is attached to the disastrous GOP bill), while only 17 percent support it."
With Sanders popularity today, there is no doubt that he would beat Trump in an election, a point I have made several times recently in an effort to keep Progressives active, with an eye toward the day that Donald Trump implodes and brings the Republican Party down around him. The Hill agrees...
"The consistently high ratings for Sanders, and the consistently low ratings for Trump, show that the real majority in America is the genuinely progressive and genuinely populist view of Sanders, not the phony populism or warped conservatism represented by Trump."
 "If Sanders were running against Trump for president today, he would win by a gigantic popular vote margin and a strong electoral vote margin."
Even across the pond, Bernie Sanders' popularity shines above all other American politicians. Here's the tragic analysis of The Guardian from Great Britain...
"If you look at the numbers, Bernie Sanders is the most popular politician in America – and it’s not even close. Yet bizarrely, the Democratic party – out of power across the country and increasingly irrelevant – still refuses to embrace him and his message. It’s increasingly clear they do so at their own peril."
Here's a Party, the Dems I'm talking about, who should have learned their lesson in the DNC fiasco with Debbie Wasserman Schultz; the fact that she unethically ramrodded Cliinton to the Democratic nomination, when Bernie Sanders was clearly the choice of the public. But that wasn't even enough. Again, there was Keith Ellison who was a natural to lead charged up Progressives on the left, but the old guard of the Party felt more complacent with a hard-liner, Tom Perez. Here's another startling fact from The Guardian; with U.S. Independents, Sanders has an astonishing +41 net favorability.

Progressives are asking for more--they want the adoption of Sanders' populist policies in retaking governor's offices with good support in the defined areas--but Democrats have their own ideas. The proof in the pudding came in a recent town hall meeting hosted by MSNC's Chris Hayes, and it applied directly to Trump voters. In "Trump country" West Virginia...
...the crowd ended up giving him [Bernie Sanders] a rousing ovation after he talked about healthcare being a right of all people and that we are the only industrialized nation in the world who doesn’t provide healthcare as a right to all its people.
The Guardian chastises the Democratic Party for its past lack of attention to houses of Congress, governorships and state houses across the country [thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz], instead concentrating on just a White House loss by Hillary Clinton, blamed on James Comey and the Russian intervention in the election. The ostrich effect, they [the Dems] either have their head in the sand or...up their ass. I go for the latter. Politico reports eventual attention to a positive economic message by the Democrats but...
“For now, aides say, the focus is on slaying the giant and proving to the voters who sent Trump into the White House why his policies will fail.”
Same old, same old, which Clinton tried at the end of her campaign and failed miserably. Bernie's comment...
“There are some people in the Democratic Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats.”
Looks like the Dems plan to stay on the bottom of the first-class heap. 

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

OK 2017 is almost here-What do we do with it?



As a passionate Progressive, I would still welcome a loophole in the Donald Trump presidency, but until that happens, the left must look ahead to what we have to work with. Right now the Democrats are in something of a shambles, with Hillary Clinton no longer able to lead the Party and a new leader not yet even emerging. My choice, of course, is Bernie Sanders, and also the choice of most other Progressives, but the legions of politicians has grown quiet, until we are able to swallow the inauguration of Donald John Trump. That will be hard to do for many.

For the new DC chairman, the early choice, Keith Ellison, Minnesota congressman and ally of Bernie Sanders, has run into trouble. Politico reports...
"On the heels of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s troubled tenure as DNC chief, the issue of whether Ellison will commit full-time to the job poses a threat to his candidacy..."
My guess is that Wasserman-Schultz had the time but she just wasn't competent enough for the job. CNN says that, "...2017 will be a year for the history books." We knew that the day the Electoral College met and made its grim decision. That quiet you hear out there across the country are those voters of sound mind who didn't vote for Trump, and who are holding their breath in fear of the future. Most individuals are capable of handling most challenges sent their way, but the worst thing to confront is the unknown. Donald Trump is the epitome of the unknown.

Celebrities shun Donald Trump like the plague video...



With GOP control of both Houses of Congress, and a Republican in the White House, the outlook is fairly dim for the left, particularly for Progressives. Democrats have steadily moved to the center, which is one goo reason the Party is losing so many elections. Republicans have staunchly maintained their conservative positions on issues, establishing an identity that supporters can follow. The Dems are fractured with no single ideology to look up to, nor any individual to carry the torch. Until they find that, there could be even more Donald Trumps. God forbid.



Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Nancy Pelosi should have gone down with Debbie Wasserman Schultz


Nancy Pelosi
I have been an adamant supporter of Nancy Pelosi since she was Speaker of the House. There have been moments when she shined, like standing up to George W. Bush when he wanted to privatize Social Security. But the downside is the spot the democrats are in now and have been for the last several years. The GOP focused on states to build a base of Republican legislatures and governor's offices that have allowed them to control state governments for some time.

Pelosi isn't the only one responsible, however, Debbie Wasserman Schultz , chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, was in the trenches while all this was going on but did nothing. After helping to throw the Democratic nomination for President in the 2016 Primaries to Hillary Clinton, thus, defeating Bernie Sanders, she has been sent to the showers, disgraced for pulling the rotten shenanigans against Bernie.

W.S. is gone but Nancy Pelosi remains, with the hope that at least Keith Ellison will be the newly elected DNC chair, with a Progressive agenda that Pelosi can at least follow. Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan did challenge the reelected leader of House Democrats but lost. Ryan, 43, who represents the blue-collar town of Youngstown, Ohio, promised a new vision with a new generation of leadership. Ryan was even accused of pulling a publicity stunt to elevate his position.

A fellow Californian, Rep. Adam Schiff said, "We need the very best to lead us ... No one is a better tactician than Nancy Pelosi." If Pelosi was that good a tactician, she would have seen the Republican take-over of state legislatures and governor's offices. This move occurred over years and will take the Dems years to overcome the deficit. Or maybe the left is giving in to the fact that we are currently in a "Republican" cycle with, in fact, no strategy to fight back.

With both Houses of Congress and the White House firmly under GOP control, the outlook is dim. But you should never underestimate a Progressive and with all this Republican power and self-assurance, that might just work for the left.   

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Bernie Sanders on Electoral College: Examine now


Rep. Keith Ellison, (D-MN)
As you know, when Bernie speaks we progressives listen. He spoke, and this time he thinks it's time to "...re-examine the Electoral College..." Bernie Sanders bases his premise on the fact that Hillary Clinton is now over 2 million votes ahead of Donald Trump in the popular vote. Could there be something wrong with this out-of-date institution that has been questioned for years and also stole the vote from Al Gore in 2000. Here's what Bernie said:
"We have one candidate who had two million more votes than the other candidate but she is not going to be sworn in as president, and I think on the surface that's a little bit weird."
Many agree, including Sen. Barbara Boxer from California who has introduced a bill to scrap the Electoral College, which most think has no chance of getting anywhere in a Republican Congress. Progressives have to face this fact head on that liberal issues are going to be on the back burner for four years or at least to when Trump is impeached or resigns. That is, as far as the GOP is concerned. But the hip Democrats and Independents know this is the fight of our lives.

There's plenty of common sense to this thinking if this is a country of "We the people..." Damn the additional efforts to use the popular vote. If our technology will get us to the moon, it certainly should be able to count the votes quickly and accurately following an election. Bernie thinks all this falls in line with where the Democratic Party is going in the future and how it should be led. The Vermont Senator thinks US Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota can do the job.


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

"Bernie Mafia" has a request Democrats can't refuse


Bernie Sanders appeals to masses
First it was Elvis' mafia, now Bernie Sanders has his and they plan to capitalize on the strength of his popularity, which is still growing since Clinton won the primary and lost the election. Bernie has just been promoted to the Democratic leadership in the Senate and his colleague, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, is a favorite to be the next chairman of the Democratic Party. He replaces Debbie Wasserman Schultz who brought the party down to where it is.

In effect, it is a decapitated party, as put by Alex-Seitz Wald of NBC News, that Ellison will inherit, if elected. Thanks to Debbie Wasserman Schultz. But as an example of Bernie Sander's popularity, his Facebook page grew by 100,000 followers in the 24 hours after Clinton's defeat. Which indicates to me the fact that, had the primaries not been rigged to elect Clinton, with Bernie running against Trump, we would have a different President-elect right now.

Sanders laments the fact that the Democratic Party has all but deserted the working class in the search for a moderate identity that didn't work. But he's even reached out to Clinton to the heal the wounds of a primary the latter's supporters feel did her in. What really did Clinton in was her favorability rating: 41.1% favorable, 55.3 unfavorable. For Bernie Sanders: 54.1% favorable, 37.5% unfavorable. A Bernie quote to end this on:
"I'm not here to blame anybody, not to criticize anybody, but facts are facts," When you lose the White House to the least popular candidate in the history of America, when you lose the Senate, when you lose the House, and when two-thirds of governors in this country are Republicans, it is time for a new direction for the Democratic Party."
Amen! 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Young vote helped elect Donald Trump


2016 election protesters
Obviously a nation is pissed with Donald Trump as the newly elected President. Protests are going on across the country, but one thing bothers me about the reports. Apparently the demonstrations include a lot of young people, which raises the question of where they were last Tuesday...when Trump was elected. The Atlantic reports:
A national exit poll suggests more young adults in 2016 than in 2012 “supported a third-party candidate, did not vote for a presidential candidate, or specifically chose not to answer this poll question,” according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE).
 Further, the article provides that 37% of ages 18 to 29 voted for Donald Trump. When you add that figure to those voting for third-party candidates plus those who didn't vote, the numbers become significant. A new DNC chair will be welcomed since Debbie Wasserman Schultz has allowed the Democratic Party to weaken to the point where everything from local councils to the presidency is now controlled by Republicans.

We are not so much a conservative nation as we are a nation controlled by conservatives. This did happen on Schultz's watch and now that she is gone and new blood is coming on--perhaps Keith Ellison--the new head must work vigorously to develop the youth, Hispanic and black vote. It took years for the GOP to lay the groundwork for their success and I am afraid it will take some time for the Democrats to catch up.

Rudy Giuliani called the protesters “spoiled crybabies.” Trump thinks they may not know him. The uprisings stretched all the way from Maryland to Oregon and several states in between and you can bet these "spoiled crybabies" knew exactly what they were doing and who it was about. Donald Trump as President is bad enough but looking forward to a GOP controlled Congress and overall Republican domination for the next few years really sucks.

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