Yes We Can! Long Island 2012The past week’s events in Wisconsin are atop the most disturbing domestic trends. Tens of thousands amassed to protest that governor’s union-busting agenda. It has been clearly demonstrated that the budget situation in that state can be solved without draconian measures. Gov. Walker has been exposed; he has provoked a situation with the apparent intent of a creating a ‘budget crisis’– in reality a strategy for stripping government workers of historic, negotiated, collective bargaining rights. President Obama has rightfully deemed this action as ‘an assault on unions’.
Wisconsin is to union-busting what Arizona is to anti-health care reform, anti-gun control, and anti-immigration policy.
The number of groups targeted by conservatives continues to grow. This should provide progressives, liberals, independents, working/middle-class Americans, moderate conservatives, and rational people of most persuasions the impetus to fight back in a focused, organized, and powerful manner.
Each group fighting for and/or against specific issues will not bring anywhere near the force that a collective, shared coalition will. Given the seemingly bottomless resources and endless venom of the Coke Brothers (as just one example) and a far right-activist Supreme Court, the real battle can only be won by Americans coming together around a common agenda and strategy, beginning now and extending through GOTV efforts for the 2012 elections.
I am initiating a list and am prompting you to extend it. It will be helpful to creating common ground if you were to cite one particular event or (proposed) legislation that illustrates your point. I’ll aggregate these and share them for the purpose of forming an American Coalition against Greed and Ignorance. The goal of our initial exercise will be to create a centerpiece that unites all of those who are experiencing alienation as a result of an agenda built upon a foundation of greed and ignorance.
Send your suggestions and insights to mkyankee – at – gmail.com.
My list is arranged alphabetically for the purpose of giving all constituencies equal footing as we begin to coalesce.
African-Americans
Educators
Environmentalists
Gay Americans
Immigrants
Latino-Americans
Mothers
Muslim Americans
Republican Intellectuals
Senior Citizens
The Underemployed
The Unemployed
Those Who Favor ‘Single-Payer’
Union members
Urban residents
Well-Educated Americans
Consider:
What percent of all voters do these groups represent (without replication)?
How might these groups coalesce to galvanize the potential of Alienated Americans?
What person(s) and/or groups may be best positioned to spearhead such a national movement?
This will tell you where Democrats have fell down, sadly it seems to be true.
http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-labor-union-decline?page=1
After the HATE I witnessed today at PKing’s office I am in FEAR for our great country, between the SCourt and the Koch brothers, and the # of people who have NO IDEA what the truth is, and continue to shout and vote against their OWN best interests, WE ARE ALL LOST!!!
Intereresting how "progressives" reflexively characterize those who disagree as ignorant and greedy.
I find it despicable that those, including then Sen. Obama, who turned over the US Treasury to the richest among us now seek to cast the declining middle into conflict.
OTOH it's hard for me to sympathize with people who object to paying 12% of their compensation for health insurance. I'd have to be making $8,000 a month to reach that level.
As it is, thanks to "reform" I've lost the benefits of community rating. So having paid in for years at a higher rate when I was young, now that I'm older, I'll have no insurance until I reach Medicare age.
Forgive my greed, but.
From a fictitional PAC conference planner's Blahberry somewhere in America:
Welcome to the 2011 Incumbent Protection Program!
Hmmm, let's see, how can we maintain our 97% re-election rate so as to preserve our lifetime employment guarantee (oh don't call it tenure)?
Well, our government is broke, and we need money… rather than raise taxes, which probably is necessary but would attract negative attention from the T.E.A.'s, it's easier to bust a union, or all of them!
Even though corporate campaign contributions exceed unions' donations seven times over, the public still buys the "big, bad, union" story, so maybe we could just cut spending by breaking a promise – so what if that promise was made five generations ago, and provided the workforce that carried us in every public service and infrastructure for that long – unless people take a real good look at the condition of the highway bridge as they commute to their second job, they ain't gonna care. And remember, every civil service area that gets reduced, will soon result in private-sector contract where our loaded contributors will make millions more! Psst, keep privitization private!