R10 2952 Posted February 25, 2017 Share #1 Posted February 25, 2017 "ATLANTA – Democrats chose President Obama’s former Labor secretary, Tom Perez, as the person to lead them out of a political wilderness of heavy losses at every level of government over the past eight years and amid tensions between moderates and progressives about how to rebuild the party after Hillary Clinton's unexpected loss to Donald Trump."http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/25/democratic-national-committee-chairperson-election/98401498/ Once again, the Democrats have chosen a party insider instead of listening to the grassroots. Party over country, just like the scumbag Republicans. I know Keith Ellison wasn't perfect, but for Christ's sake, Perez is just another establishment hack. At this rate, the Dems are gonna be out of power for a LONG time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreeddekalbL Posted February 26, 2017 Share #2 Posted February 26, 2017 he brought ellison into the fold as deputy chair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Around the Horn Posted February 26, 2017 Share #3 Posted February 26, 2017 Yeah, the one good thing he did was bring in Ellison as his deputy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY1635 Posted February 26, 2017 Share #4 Posted February 26, 2017 he brought ellison into the fold as deputy chair Ellison as Deputy Chair isn't enough to win over the base. The Democrats lost the 2016 Presidential Election so bad that they are cannibalizing each other and struggling to find a cause to rally their supporters. The party was so complacent during the Obama years that it might take a long time for the Democrats to rebuild themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveRock Posted February 26, 2017 Share #5 Posted February 26, 2017 The DNC chair directs funding - in order to raise funds well, you can't be a complete outsider. And besides, Perez is farther left than the average Democrat in Congress and, as Secretary of Labor, fought for worker's rights. I don't see why the left takes such issue with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Around the Horn Posted February 26, 2017 Share #6 Posted February 26, 2017 The DNC chair directs funding - in order to raise funds well, you can't be a complete outsider. And besides, Perez is farther left than the average Democrat in Congress and, as Secretary of Labor, fought for worker's rights. I don't see why the left takes such issue with him. 1. He supports TPP (even said "TPP learned from the past to protect the American worker") 2. He doesn't support single payer healthcare 3. He doesn't support reduced tuition or tuition-free public colleges 4. He thinks CTE programs will fix public education Theres others I forget off the top of my head, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubwayGuy Posted February 27, 2017 Share #7 Posted February 27, 2017 Democrats disilusioned by big business neo liberals and hippie social justice warriors need to come together with working class Republicans who support family values, who are fed up with big business government / tax breaks for the rich and screw everyone else / government by organized religion. And they need to form a viable third party. This third party needs to have the following positions:-Advancement of worker pay and benefits -Government debt reduction -Lower taxes on business...coupled with tax penalties on companies that excessively reward executives well beyond the level of employees, as well as tax penalties to companies that outsource jobs. -High taxes on rich individuals, making investment income not subject to beneficial tax rates, and eliminating deductions for the rich -Bringing back Depression era financial controls that take the risks of the financial system and place them back in the hands of decision makers instead of the taxpayers or the debtors to said financial company (aka homebuyers with mortgages) -Universal, single payer healthcare for all which permanently decouples healthcare from employment. Or, an individual mandate to purchase insurance that also decouples healthcare from employment, which opens up insurance markets and allows REAL COMPETITION to keep costs down. If going the second option, companies providing employer sponsored healthcare must immediately boost employee compensation by the amount the company spent on that employee's premiums the following year plus any raise schedule to go into effect. -Reduction in pension benefits for all politicians to roughly match the benefits of public sector workers, and politicians no longer receive "free" healthcare (unless we go single payer, in which case they participate the same as we all do, and don't have no premiums). -Increase in funding for key consumer protection agencies such as the FDIC and PBGC. -Elimination of all stock options, futures, and derivative contracts as allowable compensation for executives. From now on, only shares of company stock, or restricted stock (which can't be sold for a specified period of time) are allowed. These are easy to value to determine the cost of compensation on the date of issue, and prevent companies from manipulating the price of shares to hide the real cost of compensation. Executive compensation will never be reigned in without pitting shareholders against executives. -"Golden parachutes" are not tax deductible to corporations. -Higher taxes on hedge funds and private equity funds, by eliminating the loophole that lets them treat certain "performance fees" as capital gains instead of ordinary income. -Companies may not hold derivatives in excess of 200% of their investments. The goal of derivatives is hedging, not speculation. -Eliminate ROTH IRA. All IRA, 401k, 457, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA accounts become tax deductible, with any gains taxed at preferential capital gains rate only. This is fair because there are caps to what can be contributed, so rich people can't use these to avoid taxes more than anyone else. -Eliminate payroll taxes. It should not cost a company more to hire American. -Mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders and for violent offenders. Denial of visitors for violent offenders. All forms of rape, other than statutory, classified as "violent." -Voluntary solitary confinement allowed in jails (aka protection from being in gen. pop) -"Opt out" clause. Anyone with a life sentence or greater who wishes to die may opt into the death penalty, saving the taxpayers money. -No more country club minimum security prisons. Medium security prison is as good as it gets. No more weights in prison. Don't allow violent offenders to become even stronger for when they are released. No pools or athletic fields. They can run or jog, but rehab should be as academic, occupational, education, or arts based as possible - not athletic. -Juveniles with a previous felony conviction are automatically tried as adults upon being accused of a second felony, provided they are at least 12. -Greater financial penalties for fraud, theft, misappropriation of assets, etc. Debt owed as a result of court award (which cannot be less than damages) cannot be discharged or reduced in any way through bankruptcy, etc. -Overturn Citizens United, restore contribution limits for individuals. Corporations are legal entities, but they are neither people nor US citizens as allowing them to workaround campaign finance laws essentially gives certain rich individuals a "double voice" in government. Paid advertising is compelled speech, not free speech, as something which must be paid for cannot be free. -Term limits for all US Senators and Representatives. 2 terms. -Cabinet members prohibited from working in any industry they oversaw for 4 years after leaving office. Cabinet members prohibited from working at any company they worked previous to their governmental service, ever. -Congress cannot vote itself a pay increase without at least a 51% job approval rating as conducted by all 4 major polling companies - Gallup, Pew, Public Policy, and Harris Interactive. -Congress cannot take vacations during any partial government shutdown. -All student loans must be fixed rate, and the rate must be disclosed at loan origination. -All colleges claiming non-profit status must separate their athletic budget from their academics budget, and any restricted donations. Stop dipping into academic budgets and wasting students' tuition dollars on unprofitable college athletics at most schools. Any school that fails to do this, loses its nonprofit status. -Colleges must keep administrative and capital expenditures under a certain percentage of the budget or lose nonprofit status. This is how you slow tuition increases, since administrative headcount and constant capital projects are why private college is so expensive. Colleges should not be free (unless through a need or merit based scholarship program), as everyone should have skin in the game. Setting GPA minimums to "keep" free tuition creates incentives to fudge grades or dumb down the quality of education so students keep free tuition, whereas the goal should be preparation for a career. -No TPP or other harmful-to-the-American-worker trade deals. -Anyone who is not disabled, a primary caregiver, over 65, or can demonstrate hardship in commuting (IE lives in the middle of nowhere w/no car) must volunteer at least 25 hours a month to a qualifying charity to receive welfare through food stamps or TANF. And - this is important: -No official nationwide party policy on "cultural" issues such as religion in schools, gay marriage, transgender bathroom usage, abortion, gun control, etc. These are ultimately STATE and even LOCAL issues based on what people in those areas want. It may sound harsh, but the reality is everyone except the .01% of this country that controls everything benefits if the above are implemented - black, white, gay, straight...doesn't matter. We all benefit. These other issues are far more divisive and we MUST table them for the much more significant fight ahead. I realize it's hard saying that to someone - telling a gay man who loves his partner his right to marry that is under attack must wait to be protected by a party, or telling a black woman the cultural issues in her community need to be settled at the local level...but this is exactly true. Because honestly, NONE of ANY of this will matter where we are headed. In less than 40 years we are looking at the following life, unless we act to change it. -Work until we die. At a shrinking pool of increasingly less skilled and lower paying jobs, which won't come with benefits. -Skyrocketing medical bills, which are made worse when our work becomes dangerous because all the non dangerous work is gone or replaced by technology -Less time with our families, and leisure -More personal debt which ensures that we will work until we die. We may never actually pay it off, so we won't be able to leave our kids with anything -An end to homeownership as we become slaves to landlords that extort us for rent while we never actually use home equity to grow wealth as generations have before us -More and more dangerous communities, as people increasingly turn to crime or lawlessness to try and get out of the cycle of poverty -Having a decent job doesn't guarantee you anything, as Wall Street market manipulations and crashes caused by greed threaten to wipe you out completely every few years. Having a pension or 401k won't mean anything, as Social Security and pension benefits will be cut due to "deficits" while your 401k will be subject to Casino-Or-Crash just like everything else. -In a severe event, even your money at the bank won't be safe, since the FDIC is underfunded and won't be able to pay you 100% of what is insured should the bank become insolvent. The PBGC, also underfunded, won't be able to save your pension when it goes bankrupt, and that will be reduced too. -This will lead to an influx of older people into the workforce when there are no jobs. -And hopefully by this point, people will be out in the streets with pitchforks hanging politicians and the rich from trees. This is the future if we don't put aside our differences and come together with a "for the people" party. Establishment Democrats and Republicans have shown they don't give a shit about us. Get this stuff done, then we can go back to warring over culture. Because it won't work when our culture is "work for nothing until you die, borrowing to pay your bills like a slave, in debt forever" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLX9304 Posted March 9, 2017 Share #8 Posted March 9, 2017 If you fight for it, things get done, but if you sit back and do shit about instead of talking and posting, things stay the same Sent from my iPhone using NYC Transit Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Rider Posted March 12, 2017 Share #9 Posted March 12, 2017 it is my opinion what Subway Guy posted on this thread is what is wrong with both parties as they have embraced ideology over reason and have stopped listening to us, the voters. I think that the reason is that our elected leaders are so certain that they will be in office forever that they don't care about us. When the discussion of ideas by our leaders is replaced with ideology and slogans, we the people are the losers. I feel that the Democrats missed an opportunity when they chose ideology with the DNC Chairman and his second in command.The vast majority of Americans of all political persuasions are basically in the center, not tied to a particular ideology. What happened here was that party moved further away from the political center which is the way elections are won today. It is the way that things used to get done where members of both parties would find common ground on an issue and pass the legislation based on a consensus of ideas that (regretfully) has been lost. The problem is that the Democrats have squandered a golden opportunity as by not following the principle of "silence is golden" over the past couple of months, they could have changed the narrative.If they would have kept quiet until the Republicans came up with their version of Obamacare. After all didn't the Republicans promise that they would repeal and replace it as after all they had six years to come up with an alternative and look what they came up with at this time something that their own party members feel it is far worse than the existing legislation. So now the same voters who voted for the Republicans on this issue are disillusioned and may switch their vote the next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46Dover Posted March 12, 2017 Share #10 Posted March 12, 2017 Ellison as Deputy Chair isn't enough to win over the base. The Democrats lost the 2016 Presidential Election so bad that they are cannibalizing each other and struggling to find a cause to rally their supporters. The party was so complacent during the Obama years that it might take a long time for the Democrats to rebuild themselves. Exactly what I was thinking. Democrats were so lost in the woods to see through the trees for the past 8 years that they did not plan for Life after Obama. Bernie Sanders? One termer at best, given his age. Hillary Clinton was for all intents and purposes a roll of the dice. Anyone else of worth to run? In the end, as the saying goes: "Fail to plan, plan to fail"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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