At this point the only reason I remain a Democrat is to vote in the primaries. Obama fooled me once, broke my heart, and left me awfully skeptical. Who's gonna stand up for working Americans? We have a governor who ran on a platform of going after unions and a presidential candidate who talks school closings, opposes a living wage, and says we're never gonna get single payer. Who've we got left to support?On the larger scale it may mean we are revisiting the 1920s-40s of a century ago. Are the dictators coming? Hitler was once a funny little man with an even funnier mustache who was ridiculed.
Here are a few notes I took yesterday as the Brexit story unfolded:
Does history repeat itself? Will it?There is a lot of anti-Democratic Party and anti-Hillary stuff floating around today. I mean Cuomo is the NY State chair for the convention? Vomit now.
Are we entering a version of global politics of a century ago? Will the 2020s be like the 1920s? Will the 2030s be like the 1930s?
Isolationism
coming apart of 70 year post ww2 euro unity?
resurgent nationalism
economic dislocation helps the right - dictators all over the place
Separate Trump the man from some of the ideology. Imagine a slicker Trump? Marine la Pen disavowed her Trump-like father to slicken up the message. Hungry, Poland, etc. on the right.
Have Al Quada and ISIS won by destabilizing the west? Putin too?
Elites in all countries flourished while manufacturing and other jobs disappeared - elites - Dems and Rep - said or did nothing - didn't care.
I have too much to say in one post. There are a few things floating around that should be of concern to Hillary and her Randi acolyte, especially after the Brexit vote. I know the things we hear about the differences from here - Britain is 85% white and we are 66% white - and that is a big difference. If the Republicans had a slicker less onerous candidate than Trump it would be a landslide for them and might come close to wiping out the Democratic Party - my only hope that something new could rise in its place - shades of the 1850s.Dear Democratic Party, I’m Leaving You and I’m Taking the Kids
I want to believe we can save the Democratic Party…
But if we can’t, we will walk away..
And build something new and inspiring.....
https://theindependentthinker2016.wordpress.com/2016/06/23/dear-democratic-party-im-leaving-you-and-im-taking-the-kids/
There are lots of comments on my post: Does Brexit Shock and Awe Forecast POTUS Election - and UFT Internals too
One comment said:
Trump is a "slicker" Ross Perot. Remember how right Perot was ? "That giant sucking sound" you hear are all of the jobs that will leave the U.S. with acts like NAFTA. Well, he was completely correct ! Now that giant sucking sound is the entire country now, across the board.Good point - except for the followup comments that Obama is a racist - like saying Obama is a socialist. Even if you believe that don't share it because it negates the good points made. Obama leaned over backwards to minimize race - and why do you consider him black when he is half white? He may look black but he was brought up white - and the very fact that he had to deal with issues which related to how he looked on the outside is the very essence of why people of color have different experiences. Do you doubt that if Obama looked like his mother his life would have been different? Then you'd recognize the essence of institutional racism. And imagine how so many white people who think of blacks as lower than them are seething every time they see the WHITE HOUSE in the hands of the Obamas.
A comment from Roseanne McCosh on why she is voting for Trump:
If Trump wins, it will be the anti politics-as-usual wave that carries him to the White House. I rode the wave with Bernie and will now ride the wave with Trump. I truly see it as the only way to wake up the Democratic Party. I understand that people may disagree with those who think like I do but what I can't understand is how you can't understand why people like me are voting for Trump. Claims that we aren't "thinking people" or mocking his hair and his speech impediment don't matter to Trump supporters. Some buy his rhetoric. Others, like myself, are willing to accept whatever comes our way with him because we are tired of being told by dems that they are on the side of working and middle class people while their actions contradict their words. Obama was bad for teachers. Clinton will be bad for teachers. Cuomo is bad for teachers. Dems have not been good for unionized workers at all. So there really is no difference between them and the republicans other than the republicans tell us up front that they hate us. As I said....I get it if you disagree. If you think Clinton will be a better president than Trump, you have your reasons and that's your right. But to claim you don't understand why Trump has more than neandertals and racists supporting him means you just don't want to understand. Plenty of teachers and other unionized workers I know are voting for Trump--and they are not racist idiots. They, like me, are tired of the democrats and their bullshit. And as a result, we are willing to back the other guy because we genuinely believe that a vote for Clinton is telling the democrats it's okay to screw us anytime you want because we will give you our vote regardless of what you do. I'm not willing to do that anymore. And I'm also no longer willing to give my vote to a third party that has zero chance of winning. The mere fact that Clinton was endorsed by Randi, who sells us out time and time again, is reason enough for me to vote for Trump. If every teacher committed to voting for the guy/gal Randi doesn't want us to vote for, her political clout would be gone. Agree or disagree but please stop saying you don't understand why. Roseanne McCosh reply to EdNotes: Does Brexit Shock and Awe Forecast POTUS ...":Roseanne is not voting for Trump because she loves him but because she hates the Dems more. I and many others agree with her - floating around now is: the lesser of 2 evils is still evil. [Make sure to read the loyalty oath signing Unity slug comment on how MORE can accept a Trump supporter].
I think she is wrong to vote for Trump - she may not be a racist but she is joining racist KKK people with her vote --- white supremacists will vote in droves for Trump -- if I went into a voting booth and voted for him I would feel their slime. If your conscience won't let you vote for Hillary there has to be a conscience about a Trump vote.
But some of Roseanne's rationale for the "benefits" of a Trump win are not nuts. Hillary wins and we are now talking lesser of 2 evils in 2020 - and she could easily lose in 2020. Roseanne puts forth the Trump-apocalypse theory -- he can destroy the Republican Party while the left undoes the Dems.
I disagree with Roseanne on the 3rd party vote -- The Democratic Party will not change - they will keep putting up phony fronts. Only a growing 3rd party can really stop them - it happened very fast in Italy over the past few years. I don't know if Green is the answer but if the Bernie people get active there is a chance. Jill Stein is polling 7% right now - the difference between Hillary and Trump. So a vote for Green builds the cache and influence of a 3rd party - only that threat will force change om the Dems. And really, if Trump turns into the North Korean guy you may not want your vote for him on your conscience.
Here is food for thought:
https://theindependentthinker2016.wordpress.com/2016/06/23/dear-democratic-party-im-leaving-you-and-im-taking-the-kids/
Dear Democratic Party, I’m Leaving You and I’m Taking the Kids
This is probably naive, but this belief is a huge part of the foundation on which I build my happiness.
This is not simply an entitlement.
It is a right paid in blood by the warriors who came before me and one I have a duty to pay forward.
Millions gave their lives for democracy.
America invades developing nations in the name of democracy.
Our country was founded on the idea of giving liberty to those who were oppressed by tyrannical governments.
Democracy is the cornerstone of what makes us America and if we are even to begin to make the argument that this is the greatest country in the world, then we must first be willing to fight for the rights of all citizens to have a say in this social contract we are all engaged in.
Rigging an election, rather it is done in a blatant manner, like actually using machines to flip votes or in a more subtle manner, like working with the corporate media to convince Americans that one candidate has already won, in an attempt to discourage citizens from exercising their voice, is more than just a slap in the face to the American voter, it is an assault on the sacrifices of the brave women and men who laid down their lives for our right to participate in a democracy.
It is the ultimate in cowardice.
It is a crime against our ancestors.
The blood of heroes means nothing to those who feed on power.
The cries of the poor and evaporating middle-class disappear into a bottomless, corporate void.
They see an America where you have to pay to be heard.
They see an America where money buys power and the poverty stricken fight for the crumbs of a faux democracy.
I spent my life going to rallies and protests, writing letters, raising awareness on liberal issues and trying to help those in need.
The Democrats aligned themselves closely with the issues that were near and dear to my heart.
For 25 years I fought for LBGT+ rights, fair immigration laws, a woman’s right to choose, gun control and fair working conditions for all Americans.
Although I am a cliche vegetarian, bleeding-heart artist, who boycotts Monsanto, WalMart, Chic Fil A and Hobby Lobby…
Although I am a steadfast ally for equality for all humans..
Although, I am in every way, a liberal..
I am no longer, in any way, a Democrat.
My former party has aligned itself with corporate greed and although you won’t find them pounding The Bible or fighting against Roe v Wade, they are every bit as reprehensible, in the fact that they are now loyal only to corporations and they no longer represent the will of the people.
When my party decides to build A WALL(!!!) around their convention, in fear that perhaps democracy might find a way in, then they are no longer my party.
When my party crowns an Empress, before the first vote is even cast, then they are no longer my party.
When my party colludes with corporate media heads to falsify “the news” and deceive the American people into not voting, then they are no longer my party.
In August, when I arrive home from the “Democratic” Convention and the (not so) super-delegates hammer the final nail into the coffin of our democracy by anointing Hillary Clinton, then I will leave the “Democratic” Party and spend the remainder of my years fighting against them.
I’m a leftist in a conservative state.
I’m used to losing.
This is about defending democracy against a party that repeatedly used closed primary voter suppression and blatant electioneering to nominate a corporately-owned Oligarch, who does not represent the people.
This is about stopping the internal usurping of my party by lobbyists for the ruling elite.
This is about shining a bright light into the dark corners of a party that takes millions from those who exploit our citizens and then pretends to fight against those very entities.
This is about finally realizing that the lesser of two evils is still evil.
This is about fighting for something good and decent, before it is too late.
I cannot pretend to be innocent.
I have been complicit in their wily subterfuge.
I knew the system was rigged, but the “Democratic” Party are masters of marketing.
They knew that if they ran the right cult of personality, then well meaning fools like myself would fall in line smiling, feeling as if we had done some good by fighting against the Bush’s and Romney’s in the party of evil.
A good ol boy, who plays the sax and jogs to McDonald’s every morning?
“He’s got my vote!!”
A charismatic black man who promises hope and change and simultaneously placates my white guilt?
“It’s about time!!”
A female candidate to make me feel like I’m doing my part to overcome centuries of oppression aimed at women and an opportunity to elect someone my daughter can look up to?
This is the part in the movie where you hear the sound of the needle clumsily falling off the record.
I know about Hillary Clinton.
I know what she did and I know what she stands for.
I already said no to her in 2008 and what I have learned about her since, means that I could never, in good conscience, vote for her.
Sorry, I already bailed out the big banks.
I certainly won’t be supporting their candidate.
The Democratic Party has marginalized the poor and middle-class; the very foundation that once made them great.
They do not stand for the people, any more than Republicans do.
It is all one gigantic bi-partisan puppet show, where corporations pull the strings of party-aligned marionettes, in an off Broadway production designed to distract and amuse the American voter.
In the post Citizen’s United America, it is no longer about party representation.
It is about who signs your checks.
When a genocidal, sociopathic, racist, recently homophobic, Goldman Sach’s sponsored, TPP lobbying, wire-tapping, arms-trading, child-rapist defending, Henry Kissinger protege is now the face of my party…
Then I guess I’m at the wrong party.
I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and Barack Obama…
But I will not, under any circumstance, vote for Hillary Clinton.
And I am as much of a feminist as anyone you will ever meet.
If Bernie Sanders does not create a new party, then I will be voting for Jill Stein and that is based on policy, NOT genitalia.
My fear and loathing for Hillary Clinton is based on her past transgressions and the absolute danger that I know she will be to world peace should she be allowed to steal this “election”.
My fear and loathing for Hillary Clinton is based on the fact that I know where her money comes from and to hand over the keys to the kingdom to her is the same as handing them over to the multi-national corporations themselves.
“If you don’t vote for Clinton then we will have President Trump!!”
Yeah, yeah, I thought about this.
Better to bear down and tough it out with Trump and get another shot at a Progressive in four years, then to allow Clinton to ruin 2020 also (some may not realize that the President runs unopposed by their own party if running for a second term, so a Clinton presidency would ruin any chance for a Progressive Democrat to run in 2020).
As bad as Trump is, he would just spin his wheels for four years.
Both Republicans and Democrats would vote down everything he tried to do.
The insiders hate him.
He has no government experience.
He can’t navigate it.
He would just be a four-year Jon Stewart punchline.
Trump is not the answer, but four years of his buffoonery is infinitely better than losing two elections to Clinton and her war machine.
Trump only talks about doing awful things.
Clinton has a proven track record of actually doing them.
I will give my party one final chance to keep me.
I will load up my car and drive to Philadelphia.
I will support Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.
I will be a tiny dot in a sea of people who want to give their former party one final chance to save itself.
And if the party does not nominate Senator Sanders and right these awful wrongs perpetrated on the American people by this sham of an election, then we will form a new party from the ashes of the Democrats.
I will give the Democratic Party one last chance to keep me, because I want to believe that we can rebuild this from the inside.
I want to believe that all of this new blood that Senator Sanders brought into my old party will cleanse it of corruption and keep it going strong for another fifty years.
I want to believe that there are enough good people left in the party to wrestle it away from the corporate virus that has caused it to rot from the inside out.
But if we can’t, we will walk away..
And build something new and inspiring.
It's about the economy, I can't believe that the mainstream politicians can't see this. Universal healthcare and free (or very low cost) public college tuition would go a long way to giving people some breathing room. Right now, I know the most valuable thing about my job is the healthcare and the pension. I'd definitely pay more in taxes so that we all have that peace of mind.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/hillary-clinton-brexit-leadership-test-224798
It must be so disappointing to you, Norm, that your most articulate and loyal supporter, Roseanne, should have turned out to be such a stark, raving, lunatic. We knew it already because of her support of you, but now you know it, and it must sting.
ReplyDeleteI line up with Roseanne over you any day. I think you are the stark raving lunatic for supporting Hillary and Ed deform. What happened in England will one day happen to you guys. You are on the wrong side of history. And the fact you don't recognize Roseanne as someone whose pinky has more fight than your entire unity caucus just shows how elitist and arrogant you are. I love it that you are so clueless.
DeleteI'd rather be a stark, raving lunatic than a sucker for the Democratic party. Unity sycophants have been trying to label Norm crazy since I was a young pup reading the literature he distributed at delegate assemblies. It is an honor to now be attacked with him. If you're going to call names, you should at least have the balls to sign your comment. Norm is a lefty liberal. I am a centrist who at times will even lean toward the right. Yet I have the utmost respect for Norm Scott because he has the balls to fight for what he believes in. I know it's unfathomable to the Unity Kool Aid drinkers that people like Norm and me can disagree on various social and political issues and yet respect and support each other. No loyalty oath required by Norm Scott or me. You just can't wrap your head around that, can you? Thanks for the defense, Norm. You made a valid point about 3rd party voting in your post---I'm just too pissed off this election cycle to change my mind. But who knows...the election is still 4 months away... Roseanne
DeleteI would like to register as Norm supporter number two if I may. He championed me before he met me. I am not voting for Hillary either.
ReplyDeleteAbigail Shure
Now we're 3 lunatics who think taking money from Eli Broad or Bill Gates is not a good thing. since we won't punch you in the face it you take our common core we must be the lunatics.
DeleteWill read this entire post later. Im the "slicker Ross Perot" poster from yesterday. Though unrelated to this article you wrote today, I maintain Obama has been racist as President. Put it to you this way- he used race as a chip to manipulate masses and influence events. One reason why I wouldn't consider voting for him 8 years ago was that he never , or barely mentioned the white side of his background. He was marketed as a black man, the first BLACK President, the first BLACK President, the first Black President ! Yet, he is half white. His mother was whiter than a sheet. Also, his white grandmother raised him. The fact that he allowed his "white side" to be so minimized proved to me that he was not only a,fabrication and a con, but also a race monger and race manipulator. While in office, one way he fanned the flames of racism was the Ferguson situation. The P.O. In the Brown case was completely innocent of any wrong doing. That was a contrived event. Without going through a detailed summary of that case, that kid was a mad dog who had just robbed a store, was high, and then decided to attack a cop. The cop acted in self defense. Obama fanned the flames of racism, by deftly manipulating statements that practically encouraged rioters to burn, baby, burn. In the end, after a town was burned down, there were no apologies, or retractions on Holder or Obama's part to that officer. The only party who skated Scott free from that tragedy, was Obama. He's master at race mongering, to support his platform. All the while, he's whiter than you and I in practice, and on many issues like education, worse than a Republican. He was the Manchurian President.
ReplyDeleteDid Rush Limbaugh write this? You are an aggrieved white person with little race sensitivity. Did Obama spend his life being perceived as a white or a black man? Internally he may have started out white but the real world taught him a few lessons. Ironically blacks people supported Hillary initially bec Obama was seen as too white. He had to establish creds with that community to have any chance to win. You don't think the racists fanned the flames? One day actually try to see things from the point of view of a black person. If you were or are a teacher it makes a difference.
DeleteOne thing on Brexit...it STILL has to be formally approved by Parliament . It's not a done deal yet.
ReplyDeleteThis is an election made for my hometown of Buffalo. As B-Lo sports fan we know our teams will be long gone by the finals. This reality has shaped many of us into schadenfreudean haters who root against rather than for a particular team. Now that Bernie has been muscled off the stage and we are left with the tangerine buffoon and the pantsuit it's a matter of which one you hate more. I truthfully hate Hillary a little more but its pretty much immeasurable. I think Freud called it the narcissism of the small difference. And in the end I will write in Bernie or go Green or maybe write in Heisenberg and Pinkman. Trump and Hillary are so awful I can't give either of them the time of day.
ReplyDeleteInstead of hurling insults, try sticking to the topic . Your race obsession is something out of a comic book-very primary. When anyone differs even slightly with your opinion, you hurl the "R" word, or something akin to it. On race, you only show your limited perspective, not a worldliness to judge what others think.
ReplyDeleteIt is primary with me -- and I think there is an exhiition of racial insensitivity from people who do not consider themselves racist. I know I have racist tendencies - it is how I was raised - I spend a lot of time fighting those tendencies and luckily have people in a group like MORE who have a lot of depth on that issue. I survived in the classroom teaching many black kids through my understanding of racism and its impact. Some of the most difficult kids that others had trouble teaching became some of the most delightful kids I had even with their problems. I am not talking out of theory but out of 35 years in the belly of the beast that I entered as a white kid who had not contact with black people before and could have gone in a number of directions but luckily connected up with a MORE Like group in 1970 - all white radicals - who taught me so much that I brought back to my job. Lucky me. If someone calls a black person a racist they exhibit a fundamental lack of sensitivity to the 400 years of slavery, the 100 years of post slavery lynchings and open discrimination and the after effects over the past 50 years. To say that a guy raised by white people should emphasize that when everyone else only sees a black man in front of them makes no sense. When he walks into a store and is followed they don't think of him as half white. Now Derek Jeter has the same parentage as Obama but on looks alone he can pass. You are not comfortable when a black man has a strong identity and uses that identity to gain political support that can win him an election - as if no one else uses what they have to do the same. Hillary as a woman.
DeleteThe race card has been pulled in elections since 1968 and when a black man pulls it he is a racist - but when white men do it is politics.
We all have racist tendencies. We live in a racist society. We are responsible for the control we exert over our racist tendencies.
DeleteAbigail Shure
Yes but sometimes people are not aware - I am over 70 and still learn about myself every day - and I have to say that being with people in MORE who are more focused on the race issue than I am has made me more sensitive to see things that I didn't see before. The rhetoric can be over the top and at times excuses are made for anything a person of color might say or do but I do now recognize that the fact I was born white automaticallly gives me some benefits. I am also more sensitive to women's issues than I was before. Given all this I believe that a vote for Trump even for reasons of "I'll show those Democrats" is a lack of sensitivity on many issues especially the white supremacist support for him. You can claim you can't control who supports him but if the KKK see him as acceptable then ask what does that mean? Today's reports show that the libertarian and Green parties are at around 16% and might approach the Perot totals -- I get that a vote for Green might still hand Trump the pres and if I were in a swing state I would still vote for Hillary -- but if we want to think about 2020 then a big 3rd party vote becomes the basis of building a counter to the Dems.
DeleteNorm has the right to hurl any insults he wants. There are other blogs that have their racist touch to read where you will feel perfectly comfortable.
ReplyDeleteLet's put Republicans in charge of everything. That is the thinking that got us Giuliani and then Bloomberg here in NYC. That worked out well didn't it?
ReplyDeleteWas the city council and state assembly and governor also republican under Bloomberg and Giuliani? Remember how Randi jumped on board initial Klein reforms? Ed notes chronicled it all.
DeleteCheck out Michigan or Wisconsin if you are interested in Republican only government. It doesn't get better after it gets worse as you guys hope. All you Nader voters didn't do much for the country by putting in GW Bush. It will only worsen under Trump with a Republican Congress. People will crawl further into their holes and not start some left wing revolution that your friends dream of.
DeleteThe left wing revolution is taking place and it's called the Bernie movement and it has exposed you guys. Watch what happens to the labor party in England which is as gutless as you democrats. Republicans have taken control because you guys abandoned labor and the working class. The clintons and obamas went global but never gave a shit about the wreckage left behind by pushing to give unions a shot and defending unions and you guys sucked at the teat of the dem party no matter how they shit on us. How about your pals de blasio and farina as they let principals run rampant. That is what is driving people away
Delete