dagblog - Comments for "The Drubbing ... Where do we go from here?"

I think you've nailed it, doc

Beetlejuice — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 21:23:48 +0000

In reply to Look, there's no reason to

I think you've nailed it, doc.

Republicans have secured many State, county and local city elective offices that have an impact on the lives of everyone. So much so, they can easily push their ideological agenda into the public square without having to worry about it looking partisan, even though it is. And when a question is raised that it might be, they fall back to the generic platitude, it's what the public ... wants/demands/elected ... us to do.

And it's at the local level where voting districts are created which republicans have so carefully cultivated to their advantage on the national level. Which means Democrats have to focus more on their State legislatures to bring them around before they'll see any significant changes in Congress, especially the House.

But what's needed more than anything is for State legislature's to work together to form a unified opinion of what they want the federal government to do for the public. While the sovereignty of a State is sacrosanct to many, the country is at a point where State's have limited abilities to ensure the common good of it's citizens. Health care for example, is a bane to smaller States with lower population densities and are ripe to be fleeced by health care insurers. They need the fed's to assist in co-creating legislation to level out the playing field so small States have equal opportunities as the larger States with greater population densities.

In other words, we need some progressive thinkers in our State legislatures willing the buck the trend and move the nation forwards with innovative ideas instead of the old run-of-the-mill sitting tight and holding tight on what you hold dear.

That said, innovative ideas needs to be honed to perfection. For example, ObamaCare was nothing more than an ad hoc assembly of tit-for-tat scrapes of legislation. More care needs to be given by State legislatures on what they see as necessary public health care coverage that is equal across all State borders and passed on to the Fed to handle the commerce clause issues and make sure insurers tow the line.

I guess I'm hinting at State legislatures taking the 10th, working together to hammer out their individual differences, to effectively to create a foundation for legislation the Congress to pass into law.

In other words, make the State legislatures the law creators.

That's kinda progressive, eh ???

The Democrats need a new

Beetlejuice — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 20:54:53 +0000

In reply to The Drubbing ... Where do we go from here?

The Democrats need a new theme.

Take Eisenhower and his motto ... do your duty ... and the progressive accomplishments of Robert La Follette ... to create a platform that focuses on the trials and tribulations of the working class that got trashed in the 2008 Great Recession.

Why ???

Because what they do have isn't working and what does work is on life support.

I was listening to my local

trkingmomoe — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 20:54:19 +0000

In reply to Look, there's no reason to

I was listening to my local supported community station yesterday and they were covering the money that was raised to run for local offices. I was taken back by the amount of dark Koch money that was filtered down to our local elections. It is not just on the top end. The rich old dud that owns casinos in Las Vegas spent a truck load of money on our election here also. He wants to build casinos in Miami. Only the Atlantic Ocean is working on swallowing up Miami. I live on the west coast.

Look, there's no reason to

Doctor Cleveland — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 17:34:55 +0000

In reply to The Drubbing ... Where do we go from here?

Look, there's no reason to panic. Elections move back and forward. It's two steps forward and one back for progressives, but that's still progress. Ten years ago, any health care reform was off the table. Now, the GOP has to find ways to nibble around the edges of laws that have already been passed.

We should look forward to 2016, and to 2020 (the election that will decide the next re districting).

But the real place to build is on he local level. The conservatives have been running in LOCAL elections for years, building grassroots power. And we haven't but all politics IS local.

You want to protect the environment? Run for zoning board. Zoning boards make a lot of decisions about how businesses are allowed to behave. And they provide the candidates for state zoning commissions, and so on up the chain,

School board. Zoning board. City council. That's where progressives can take the country back. It's not sexy. But sexy presidential candidates will always let you down,

Recently I have been on the

trope — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 14:08:26 +0000

In reply to The Drubbing ... Where do we go from here?

Recently I have been on the front lines so to speak with selling health care) and one take away seems that regardless of political persuasion, people don't like uncertainty, a key facet of the big term Change. And what the progressives bring to the table if anything is that uncertainty that comes from change. How to overcome that facet of human nature I don't know.

The republicans hung their

trkingmomoe — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:40:46 +0000

In reply to Democratic candidates stopped

The republicans hung their star on a civil rights backlash in the south. They didn't have to be very clever to lead that bunch. There wasn't much cultivating needed. Just look at how out of touch with reality they are or how big of a snake oil salesman they are. All they had to do was dog whistle at them. Dog whistle is easy.

This was a big loss, no doubt

ocean-kat — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:59:47 +0000

In reply to The Drubbing ... Where do we go from here?

This was a big loss, no doubt about it. But let's not make it bigger than it is. Politics can change on a dime. Remember just six years ago democrats controlled the house by an overwhelming majority, sixty votes in the senate, and the presidency. That's not ancient history. There could be just as dramatic a change in congress in two years as there was in this year or in 2008

I also don't think people voted for republicans, any more than the voted for democrats in 2008. Mostly they voted against the other guy, or for change, or to send a message to politicians that things are not going well for them as they see it.

In spite of the improving economic numbers the status quo is not working for most people. Obama and the democrats are seen as propping up that status quo with massive subsidies to wall street. I'm not saying that the people would support a for left liberal agenda. Not any more than this election shows that the people support lower taxes on the rich. What people want is for things to improve in their lives. They want to at least see that government is trying something that might make things better.

Imo the message sent by this election, and since democrats seem to be in power it mostly affected them, is, "Cause if you really want to hear our views, You haven't done nothing."

Excellent song choice Ocean

Resistance — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:43:57 +0000

In reply to This was a big loss, no doubt

Excellent song choice Ocean-kat

Democratic politicians would

CVille Dem — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:27:33 +0000

In reply to Democratic candidates stopped

Democratic politicians would be well served by doing the same ... a good first step would be to remember they have one.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Democratic candidates stopped

barefooted — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:21:50 +0000

In reply to I sincerely hope that Obama

Democratic candidates stopped being Democrats. They abandoned their president, their party and their base - deciding instead that by disavowing progressive policies altogether they could find the electorate g- spot. Somehow, they believed that they could depend on people to support that which they decried as not worth supporting.

Conversely, progressive referendums passed handily in several states, and Elizabeth Warren was second only to Bill Clinton in popularity on the campaign trail stumping for Democrats. It's truly sad that a base of powerful and hungry Democrats found themselves abandoned. Republicans know how to cultivate their base no matter what it takes. Democratic politicians would be well served by doing the same ... a good first step would be to remember they have one.