[blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

  • From: "Roger Loran Bailey" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
  • To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Sat, 24 Nov 2018 21:30:39 -0500

Rather than take a lot of time giving you a long list let's just look at one that has gotten some prominence in the bourgeois news media lately. I suppose the killing of Jamal Kashoggi is only one person and not millions, but he is not the only one being killed by Saudi Arabia. What is happening in Yemen, for example? And just how profitable is all this killing to the Saudi oil moguls? Just how profitable is it to the billionaire owners of the war planes that the U.S has sold to the Saudis? The chief administrator of the American bourgeois state is not going to let the death of one journalist stand in the way of that profit and he sure isn't going to let the deaths of many many more Yemenis stand in the way of that profit either.

_________________________________________________________________

Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in 
telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after 
death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst 
out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, 
and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how 
wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous 
something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
―  Isaac Asimov


On 11/22/2018 11:02 PM, Evan Reese wrote:

Okay, given the Asimov quote in your signature, I have no doubt that you have solid evidence to back up your claim that:
"there are millions of people around the world who are killed in the billionaires' pursuit of greater profits."
I look forward to seeing that evidence.
Evan

-----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2018 8:37 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

I don't think they would hesitate to kill you if there was a profit in
it for them. You might want to consider whether you will defend yourself
if it comes to that. After all, there are millions of people around the
world who are killed in the billionaires' pursuit of greater profits.

_________________________________________________________________

Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
―  Isaac Asimov


On 11/19/2018 3:17 PM, Evan Reese wrote:
Nope, not a billionaire, I simply don't use the word "enemies" to describe people who have more money than I do.
The word "enemies" is used for people one wants to go to war with, i.e. kill. If you're into that, then count me out.
Evan

-----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2018 3:09 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

Oh? You are a billionaire?

_________________________________________________________________

Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
―  Isaac Asimov


On 11/14/2018 8:46 PM, Evan Reese wrote:
Your class enemies perhaps, not mine.
Evan

-----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2018 8:12 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ; Evan Reese
Subject: Re: [blind-democracy] Re: [blind-democracy] Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

If you know anything about Socialist Action you will realize that the
author of this article is not advocating that the Democrat party be run
in any way. That is the business of the Democrats. Rather, the author is
pointing out that the Democrat party is just generally not in the
interests of the large majority of the population at all. That is, the
Democrat party is a party of our class enemies.

_________________________________________________________________

Isaac Asimov
“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death?
No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no.
One person recently, goaded into desperation by the litany of unrelieved negation, burst out "Don't you believe in anything?"
Yes", I said. "I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be.”
―  Isaac Asimov


On 11/9/2018 2:32 PM, Evan Reese wrote:
Quoting the article in part:
"But the candidates within the Democratic Party “big tent” ranged widely in their views—from Democratic Socialists of America members to conservatives like party hack Joe Manchin in West Virginia—who shamefully voted for Brett Kavanaugh to join the Supreme Court...."
Now I don't like Kavanaugh at all, but I hope the author doesn't think that only people with a narrow range of views should be elected, as beginning the sentence with the word, "But", implies. That doesn't sound like a very intelligent way to run a party or a government. That's what's happening to the Republican party. I do not want the Democratic party to become a mirror image of that. We are talking about the House of Representatives after all. And whatever I think of many other peoples' views, there are a wide range of views out there. The House is supposed to represent those views, not be a forum for a narrow set of them.
Again, quoting the article in part:
"Evidence that the “blue wave” did not flow significantly to the left can be seen in the fact that a quarter of the Democratic Party candidates in the Nov. 6 election have a background in the CIA, the military, the State Department, or national security...."
The fact that a quarter of them had such backgrounds is a problem? Does the author mean to say that only people ignorant of such matters should be elected?  If the fact that only a quarter of them had such backgrounds is a problem for him, that would seem to be what he's saying. Again, that doesn't sound like a very intelligent way to make decisions. Whatever one's positions on matters of the military, the CIA, the State Department, or national security might be, it seems hard to justify ignorance as a good approach to making decisions about matters involving them. Ignorance is Donald Trump's approach to running things. I hope this author isn't advocating a similar approach for Democrats.
Evan

-----Original Message----- From: Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2018 11:24 AM
To: blind-democracy
Subject: [blind-democracy] Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

https://socialistaction.org/2018/11/07/midterm-elections-democrats-blue-wave-falls-short/


Midterm elections: Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ falls short

/ 2 days ago


Nov. 2018 Ocasio Cortez (AP)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of
America, was elected to Congress on the Democratic Party ticket. (AP)

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER

“This is the most important midterm election in the modern history of
this country,” said Senator Bernie Sanders, and many politicians and
pundits agreed. President Trump spoke similarly during his week-long
campaign tour, aimed mainly at shoring up Republican candidates in
so-called Red States. “Everything we have achieved is at stake,” Trump
declared to his cheering admirers.

After the election, however, the mood quickly subsided; there was no
evidence that substantial changes had come onto the political landscape.
For one thing, the hoopla that Democrats had drummed up to create a
mighty “blue wave” produced merely a ripple of elected candidates. In a
Nov. 7 news conference, in fact, Trump boasted that his campaign rallies
had “stopped the blue wave.”

The Democrats’ lackluster finish came despite the fact that they had
received the bulk of Wall Street donations. The securities and finance
industry backed Democratic congressional candidates 63 percent to 37
percent for the Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive
Politics.

Of course, the Democrats did succeed in winning a majority in the House
for the first time since 2011, and made gains in many relatively
affluent suburban districts that had leaned Republican in years past.
And here and there, a few rookie Congress members were elected who
consider themselves to be “progressives” or even “democratic
socialists.” More women, LGBTQ people, and people of color than ever
before were elected on the Democratic ticket.

But the candidates within the Democratic Party “big tent” ranged widely
in their views—from Democratic Socialists of America members to
conservatives like party hack Joe Manchin in West Virginia—who
shamefully voted for Brett Kavanaugh to join the Supreme Court. The
crook Bob Menendez was also reelected as a Democratic U.S. Senator from
New Jersey, despite having been censured by the Senate Ethics Committee
for accepting bribes from a wealthy businessman.

Evidence that the “blue wave” did not flow significantly to the left can
be seen in the fact that a quarter of the Democratic Party candidates in
the Nov. 6 election have a background in the CIA, the military, the
State Department, or national security. They included, for example,
Elissa Slotkin, who won a congressional seat from Michigan’s Eighth
District. Slotkin is a former CIA operative in Iraq, who also served as
Obama’s Iraq director on the National Security Council. Later, she
worked at the Pentagon, looking into drone warfare, “homeland defense,”
and cyber warfare.

All in all, despite the addition of a few “progressive” Democrats to
Congress, the complexion of U.S. politics has changed very little since
the election. The policies of the capitalist Democratic Party have not
been altered one iota from the pro-corporate, pro-war,
anti-environmental ones of the past.

The social issues that the Democratic Party candidates addressed in
their campaigns were exceedingly narrow. “Medicare for All” was a
central plank of the Democrats this year, though we can expect that the
proposal will be watered down; as under Obama, the needs of the
insurance industry will have to be catered to before the proposal ever
reaches a vote in Congress. The Democrats also spoke about repairing the
country’s roads and bridges—always a safe bet at election time—but
ignoring the need for efficient mass transportation and the use of
renewable fuels.

Major issues of an international scope were ignored, such as climate
change and out-of-control environmental pollution, and pouring more
money into the military (most Democrats in Congress supported this
year’s $716 billion military budget). Likewise, questions such as the
sanctions against Iran, trade wars with China and other countries, and
the endless U.S. wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East were virtually
absent from the platforms of Democratic candidates for Congress.

Moreover, important domestic issues such as raising the minimum wage to
be enough to live on; the right to low-cost housing; securing the rights
of women, immigrants, and LGBTQ people; and stopping police violence
against people of color generally received no more than a nod by the
Democrats.

A referendum on Trump

The main issue that the Democrats ran on was simply “stop Trump.” CNN
and AP VoteCast polls on the eve of the election both showed that close
to 70% of voters hoped to send a message to Trump with their vote; about
26% to 28% of the respondents were for Trump, and 38% to 40% were
against. Trump readily agreed that the election was a referendum on his
administration. He told potential voters in Mississippi, “Pretend I’m on
the ballot.”

The Republicans held onto their “strongholds” in rural districts and in
areas of discontented white workers who had voted for Trump in 2016.
Accordingly, the Republicans increased their edge in the Senate and won
several key governor races. In general, right-wing and Trump-supporting
politicians were elected, while more mainstream Republicans did not do
as well. In a Nov. 7 tweet, Trump acknowledged the fact, saying, “Those
that worked with me in this incredible Midterm Election, embracing
certain policies and principles, did very well. Those that did not, say
goodbye!”

One loyal Trump supporter who followed the formula, Marsha Blackburn,
was elected to the Senate from Tennessee. “I’m going to work with
President Trump all of the way to build that wall,” she affirmed to
voters. A Blackburn commercial started with a shot of the immigrant
caravan crossing Mexico. “I’m going to stop the criminals who are going
toward our border,” Blackburn stated in a voice-over.

In order to rally his supporters in the weeks leading up to the
election, Trump relied almost exclusively on scare tactics, using racist
descriptions that are commonly employed by the ultra-right. Trump
described the Central American migrants traveling through Mexico as
“invaders” and “terrorists,” and he endorsed a campaign ad that likened
them to Luis Bracamontes, an immigrant who had been convicted for
killing two police officers.

Polls showed that the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court
was a key issue for Trump supporters in the election. Only a month
before the election, Trump spread the conspiracy theory that people
protesting Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination (“elevator screamers”) were
being paid for by billionaire George Soros—a figure who is frequently
denounced in anti-Semitic literature.

In the South, with its long history of injustices against Black people,
racism was merged with anti-immigrant prejudices in Republican messages
against the Democrats. In Georgia, Trump said that Democrat Stacey
Abrams, a Black “progressive” running for governor, was “unqualified”
for the office, and that she “would turn Georgia into a giant sanctuary
city for criminal aliens, putting innocent Georgia families at the mercy
of hardened criminals and predators.” The National Rifle Association in
Georgia put out a message, “Defend yourself. Defeat Abrams.” And ABC
News reported that a robocall on behalf of her Republican opponent,
Brian Kemp, called Abrams a “negress.”

Should socialists work within the Democratic Party?

The elections reflected the broader polarization that has taken place in
the United States during the last few years, brought on in part by the
dissatisfaction and alienation that working people feel toward the
status quo in capitalist society. Some workers and middle-class people,
often in “rust-belt” districts that have seen better times, have been
hoodwinked by the anti-immigrant and racist messages of the right wing.

But likewise, there is no doubt that the reactionary pronouncements by
Trump and the right have had an electric effect in mobilizing people in
opposition. The last two years have seen massive rallies in the streets
against Trump’s policies.

Unfortunately, at the present time, working people have no authentic
voice in the political arena except in the streets. Some socialists
mistakenly adhere to the idea that it might be possible to change the
pro-big business nature of the Democratic Party by working within it, or
that it might be possible to break a “left wing” (such as Bernie Sanders
supporters) out of the party. But both scenarios are merely wishful
thinking.

Similarly, it is a deadly illusion to think that revolutionary
socialists can be elected to public office and work for significant
social change when using the ballot line of the capitalist Democratic
Party—always a “lesser-evil” trap for the unwary. History has repeatedly
demonstrated that the former party of the Klan, White Citizens Councils,
and Southern slavocracy serves the ruling class elite unfailingly.

That this “graveyard of all fighting social movements” can be considered
a vehicle for advancing working-class interests is preposterous. In
general, when “progressive” or “left” candidates run as Democrats, the
party hierarchy forces them to align their positions with those of the
mainstream, not the opposite.

Consider Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the member of the Democratic
Socialists of America (DSA) from the Bronx, who was just elected to the
House as a Democrat. At first, the party leadership viewed her with
suspicion, but after winning the primary vote, she became a celebrity,
the subject of talk shows—and even Barak Obama endorsed her.

Accordingly, the DSA enlisted Ocasio-Cortez to travel to California to
raise money and support for other “left” candidates running in the
Democratic Party. We can expect, too, that the Democratic Party
leadership will use her services in selected and “safe” locales as an
opportunity to refurbish the party’s image when it suits their needs.
They understand that Ocasio-Cortez and other DSAers are fresh faces who
can attract young people and activists with new energy into the
party—and thus channel dissident voices into the double-talking
capitalist mainstream. Sanders played a similar role in 2016,
shepherding the unwary first into his campaign and then into Hillary
Clinton’s.

At her acceptance speech on Nov. 6, Ocasio-Cortez told supporters, “We
can make change … We are here, and we are going to rock the world in the
next two years … This is not the end. This is the beginning.”

But real change will never be achieved from within the Democratic Party.
The beginning of a new day for working people in the United States will
arrive when they construct their own party, one that operates not only
at the ballot box but in workplaces and in the streets, and with a
revolutionary program to enable the working class to take political
power in its own name and abolish the rule of the capitalists.




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November 7, 2018 in Elections, Trump / U.S. Government.


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2002  (21) April 2002  (21) February 2002  (15) January 2002 (15)
December 2001  (17) October 2001  (24) September 2001  (18) July 2001
(19) June 2001  (18) October 2000  (17) September 2000 (21) August 2000
(19) July 2000  (16) June 2000  (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000 (22)
March 2000  (28) February 2000  (18) January 2000  (20) December 1999
(20) November 1999  (26) October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18) August
1999  (40) July 1999  (38) June 1999  (24) May 1999  (27) April 1999
(25) March 1999  (26) February 1999  (29) January 1999  (24) July 1998
(12)

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