Now even the New York Times is saying it. In an editorial on Oct. 20, the Times wrote, “Every now and then, we are tempted to double-check that the Democrats actually won control of Congress last year.” Noting how the Democratic House and Senate had rolled over and given the president permission to massively spy on Americans without showing any probable cause, the Times concluded, “It was bad enough having a one-party government when Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress. But the Democrats took over, and still the one-party system continues.”
There is no question about it. The Democrats, after persuading voters to hand over control of Congress to them last November, have been worse than failures. They have betrayed the trust of the voters.
Although the party clearly has the power to end the Iraq War by simply refusing to approve funds for continuing the mayhem and madness, it has instead given the president every dollar he’s asked for to continue it, and then some. Although every leading Democrat admits that the president has been torturing the Constitution, not one member has submitted a bill calling for the president’s impeachment, and the one bill submitted calling for Cheney’s impeachment, submitted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, has been pushed off on a siding by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her gang of “leaders.” More recently in the Senate, where 41 Democrats could stop any presidential appointment, 53 Democrats instead approved a new attorney general, Michael Mukasey, who refuses to say waterboarding is torture and illegal, and who, even worse, says that in his view the president has the power to ignore laws passed by the Congress.
I would go the Times one step further. There is no need to check to see if Democrats won control of Congress. It doesn’t matter. The Democrats have simply ceased to be an opposition party. The party of Franklin D. Roosevelt is now simply a collection of incumbent hacks who are looking to their own re-election, and who stand for nothing.
So what is to be done?
Various left-leaning activist organizations, like Democrats for America and Progressive Democrats of America, and pseudo-progressive organizations like Move-On and DailyKos, argue that liberal Democrats need to work within the party to elect more progressive candidates and party officials. But this strategy is doomed for several reasons. First of all, the leadership of the Democratic Party doesn’t want real liberals or, heaven-forefend, lefties. It wants candidates who can appeal to the corporations that bankroll both parties. And second, the leadership undermines those liberals who do have a chance of replacing the hacks who currently hold Democratic seats in Congress.
As I have written before, we have seen more than 50 years of betrayal of liberal and left voters and their issues by the Democratic Party, and despite the efforts of would-be reformers, the situation has been getting worse, not better.
The answer, I submit, is to tell Democratic incumbents and party officials that we’ve finally had it. We are not going to be ignored or walked over or taken for granted any longer.
How to do this? By mass resignations from the Democratic Party, at which it is made crystal clear that there are two reasons for the actions: Congress isn’t stopping the war funding, and Congress isn’t initiating impeachment hearings.
I am proposing that left and progressive organizations, civil rights groups, Church groups, anti-war coalitions, labor unions and other progressive and liberal groups start organizing mass actions that involve marches to the local board of elections or voter registrar’s office, for collective de-registration from the Democratic Party. Here in Philadelphia, we could have a mass march from Independence Hall to the Board of Elections, for example.
This is a strategy that would hit the Democratic Party leadership like a bucket of ice water—or a brick--in the face.
The beauty of the idea is that it will garner enormous press coverage, even if the numbers are relatively small. Thanks to the overall pro-Republican bias of the media, news outlets like AP, CNN and especially Fox TV, will find the idea of Democratic activists marching on voter offices and quitting the Democratic Party irresistible. And as other groups across the country see these protest actions, they will want to join in.
In no time, Democratic incumbents in Congress, at the DNC, and in city halls and Democratic clubs across the country will see their most loyal voting base eroding.
If that should happen, they will be in a panic. Just watch how fast they start impeachment hearings and stop passing war funding appropriation bills!
Now whenever I’ve suggested this scheme, after the wild applause subsides, there are always those who raise the question about voting for progressive candidates in primaries, and about electing progressives to party office. I agree these are important steps, and that they should be attempted, but mass party quitting doesn’t preclude doing them.
Dave Lindorff, a columnist for Counterpunch, is author of several recent books ("This Can't Be Happening! Resisting the Disintegration of American Democracy" and "Killing Time: An Investigation into the Death Penalty Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal"). His latest book, coauthored with Barbara Olshanshky, is "The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W. Bush from Office (St. Martin's Press, May 2006). His writing is available at http://www.thiscantbehappening.net
If we can contact FOX News and get them to cover a group of people quitting the party, I could lead that action here in Chicago.
Have you tried contacting FOX News for an interview where you tell them Democrats should massively be quitting the Democratic Party because of its leadership and they should do this to send a message that the Democratic agenda is weak?
by
Kevin Gosztola (212 articles, 114 quicklinks, 70 diaries, 812 comments)
on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 11:52:21 AM
As I look at the candidates from both sides of the aisle, I'm not sure I can tell who's on first, as they very much seem to be wearing identical uniforms.
But, here's my question for you; What kind of support would Ron Paul be getting if he were on the Democratic ticket? The guys got guts which come from his core beliefs, he doesn't waffle, cause he's telling the truth.
Would his abortion stance take him out of the running for Democrats?
by
Mike Folkerth (120 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 566 comments)
on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 12:23:55 PM
Sounds like you've put some thought into a creative way of forcing Democrats to pay more heed to the concerns of the left, but I have doubts that this plan could work.
First off, I just don't think the left is organized enough to pull off something like this in the order of size of a "mass" movement. I consider myself about as left as they come, I've protested numerous times, but my experience is that the political left in America is comprised of numerous factions with varying agendas.
Secondly, I think most Democrats are still too loyal to their party to undertake such an affrontive move. All of us radicals are probably familiar with our good-hearted but more "pragmatic" friends who vote for Obama and Hillary because they want to believe any Democrat would be better than a Republican. This is the majority of Democrats I've met, and they're so traumitized by Bush, that though many know the Dems have been weak, they fear handing another election to a Republican should they do anything other than support the Democrats.
I do agree that this probably would garner media attention, but I think the number would be fairly small, and wouldn't impact the poll numbers that still tell presidential Democratic candidates things are okay.
But having said all this, I like your idea, and I'm glad you're thinking of political retribution for the Dems. The likely truth is, our agenda for peace is more likely to succeed by starting a movement to elect oppossing progressive candidates like Cindy Sheehan or backing the green party with our money.
by
Justin Finney (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments)
on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 1:14:12 PM
and about the congress itself. Their poll numbers are already so atrociously low and they haven't done anything about the war or impeachment. Doesn't that cast doubts in your mind that they'd ignore just ignore this too?
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Justin Finney (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments)
on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 1:19:33 PM
You have to ask yourself," What kind of dirt do the Repugs have on the Dems that makes them so complicit to the criminal behavior?" Well, I'll tell you. The Repugs have completely destroyed the nation, and if the Dems go after Cheney and Bush now with impeachment, the whole thing is going to come unraveled. There will be a stock market crash, the dollar will fall into oblivion, and there will be food riots in the streets overnight. Mind you, the Dems delay tactics is not enough to stop the inevitable, only stall it. The Dems want everyone to keep believing that everything is OK, so they can make a comeback in 2008 and "fix it." Well, everything is NOT ok. The country is in utter ruins. People cannot afford to live here. Immigrants are coming here as fast as they can, bursting our infrastructure at the seams. Our schools are ineffective, our jobs don't pay enough, health care is a joke, housing is not affordable, veterans are thrown into the streets, and the rich jsut get richer.
This is the reason the Dems are too scared to make a move. They are terrified that the collapse will be hung around their necks by the Repug spin machine. Stupid, stupid people.
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daveys (2 articles, 0 quicklinks, 15 diaries, 171 comments)
on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 4:31:11 PM
I will be quitting the party, but I could see myself voting for a Ron Paul long before I would vote for a Hillary or an Obama. Dodd has said a few good words, but he is also a politician so his words don't mean much.
I may rejoin the party if these Articles of Impeachment stir enough crap for the media to begin to give Dennis some attention. Maybe the whole thing will come out. A real look into 9/11. Maybe TRUTH, JUSTICE, and the AMERICAN WAY will become something more then some words that I use to hear about when I was a child. I would like to be part of an effort to send Dennis to the Whitehouse.
by
Sleeper (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 276 comments)
on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 12:51:29 AM
7 comments
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