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The Democrats Dilemma

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Message amos richardson

From napervilledemocrats.org/ntdo/to-infrastruct-or-not-to-infrastruct/: Pelosi and Schumer-- clueless Democratic Party leaders
From napervilledemocrats.org/ntdo/to-infrastruct-or-not-to-infrastruct/: Pelosi and Schumer-- clueless Democratic Party leaders
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The election of 2016 has the Republican Party in control of the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives, 35 Governor's seats, and more than 60 of 99 state bodies. The Democrats are in disarray.

For many years our two party system worked relatively well; The Republicans stood for (white) human rights, a free economy, a small government operating within our borders. Democrats stood for the working man, an educated population, and quality of life for everyone.

When Democrats forced through the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960's Richard Nixon saw an opportunity to co-opt the traditionally Democratic voters of the South, pandering to racism. He succeeded with that and his still unknown "secret" plan to end the war in Viet Nam. With the increased cost of advertising, and clear bribery occurring, Congress, with bipartisan support, passed the Campaign Finance Reform Act of 1973. This act created PAC's, and, by the way, forbade prosecution of politicians for past indiscretions. The intention was to make political contributions blind to the recipient. The result was the opposite, legalizing bribery.

Since that time Republicans have devolved into a cash machine, supported by fewer than 100 families. Rather than address issues related to governance, for votes they must pander to baser irrelevancies, racism and moral issues that in a real world would not be addressed by government at all. Democrats, in order to compete, joined in the crimes, bowing to bankers and Wall Street, collecting billions to turn their backs on their constituents.

By 1979 President Reagan, elected using Nixon's formula, had abandoned the Fairness doctrine, allowing the now corporate owned media to keep the public ill-informed and slanting the news to the plutocrats interest at will. We also let Reagan issue public permission to kill unions.

During the 70's, 80's and 90's the economy was quite healthy, primarily credited to computers and the internet. As a nation we reduced corporate taxes, inheritance taxes, gutted non-compete laws, and increased our military adventuring for economic interests. During President Clinton's administration we were sold NAFTA as a good thing, increasing exports, raising the living standards, environments, and democracy abroad. It was a lie. We exported jobs. Clinton also signed GrammLeach/Blylie in 1999, giving banks permission to gamble with your deposits in the commodities markets, among other horrors.

Throughout the Nixon to Bush years Democrats wavered between giving attention to the South and other Republican leaning areas. Virtually abandoning those Democratic voters and those states.

By 2008 we had the housing crisis, a dangerously soft economy, the brink of a banking disaster and the potential of full economic meltdown. Bush, and President Obama pumped money into gigantic banks to keep them from failing, both administrations fully abandoning the citizens, the voters, the American people. Throughout his administration President Obama pandered to corporate interests at the expense of citizens, workers, students, the environment, and human rights. Republicans of 1970 would have been joyous at their success if they had been able to accomplish one tenth of what Obama was able to do.

The Republicans of 2016 considered more than twenty candidates for president, each more unqualified and un-electable than the last. Against the wishes of the funding Plutocrats, Republican primary voters settled on the outsider, the most unqualified candidate to ever represent a major party in the US.

With the Democratic Party and presumed candidate both represented by a lobbiest, John Podesta, and his little gang of thugs had the presumption to criminally corrupt the primary to install their candidate, who had exhibited a long history of pandering to their "contributors." The nomination of the real Democrat, Senator Bernie Sanders, was stymied and Clinton took the prize.

Both Clinton and Trump had incredible negative ratings, perhaps Clinton was better known to voters, in any event Donald Trump is the winner of the general election and President Elect.

It is a certainty that disaster will result in all areas of life and government.

The voters clearly rejected the Democrats of 2016. The party elite claim to see no problem. They must make a choice. If they continue as the government arm of banks and Wall Street, they will have money for campaigns, but, they will have no votes. If they return to the values of working people, minorities, human rights and the environment, they will lose their source of loot, and the personal wealth that comes from those associations. Our two party system is fully broken. We have one party with two names. Voters may not understand this, but, it is a certainty they feel it.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi remains leader in the House, she sees no problem with this election. Podesta will remain as the power behind the throne, The Democrats of the Senate will go with an establishment leader, The Party itself will have an interesting time choosing a leader. There is no good solution.

As a nation we must remove private money from politics, we must find a way to re-establish a healthy free press, we must elect citizen/politicians rather than the professionals we now send to Washington.

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Our government structure was built on the model of the Iroquois Nation. They also based public decisions on the effect to the 7th generation. Studied at Writers Workshop, University of Iowa. Democrat, liberal, progressive, happy, introverted, (more...)
 
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