tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762382.post7358759585913921714..comments2023-10-24T08:13:45.842-06:00Comments on Only in New Mexico: Food for ThoughtJim Bacahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14019944863771287149noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762382.post-54905603828037486812014-10-13T08:19:19.690-06:002014-10-13T08:19:19.690-06:00@Vicki,
I don't understand. The "working ...@Vicki,<br />I don't understand. The "working class" people you describe (I'm retired blue collar myself) like George Bush because he's a "regular guy", (he isn't) and think Clinton's fooling around was worse than lying the country into a war? So being a "good ol' boy" is more important than having sane policies for those very people?<br />And "family farmers" are not the base of the democratic party because there aren't many of them. Most farms are corporate. The new base of the democratic party is mostly urban, younger, and more educated and they mostly don't care about who is sleeping with who. They want decent jobs, infrastructure and affordable healthcare for all. And a lot of them aren't religious, which I think bodes well for the future. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762382.post-49212040428300899772014-10-12T11:19:29.346-06:002014-10-12T11:19:29.346-06:00Sorry, Bubba Munster for mistating your Blog name ...Sorry, Bubba Munster for mistating your Blog name (a thousand pardons for associating you to Susana's last name: Martinez) Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151347352054602839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762382.post-83185800578589968602014-10-12T11:15:47.218-06:002014-10-12T11:15:47.218-06:00Part 2: (continued from previous post)
"The r...Part 2: (continued from previous post)<br />"The repudiation of such moral behavior by the Democratic Party is absolutely necessary to retain the support of its core base. Instead, the Democratic Party chose to continue to appeal to the politics of expediency. The "middle class" and the corporations of this country excused Clinton's moral failings because “the economy was good!” Aside from the morality of its politics (of course you needn't lecture me on the absence of morality within the Republican Party with its lies and promotion of killing innocent people in unjust wars), the Democratic leadership continues to build its political basis on the "middle" as if marketing a product to the "average consumer." Everyone knows that a successful marketing campaign built on manipulating consumer desires instead of identified basic needs can be completely derailed by a single incident of bad news (viz a viz VIOXX). The basic problem with the Democratic Party is that it hasn't figured out what its base is since abandoning its core base of labor unions and family farmers. The Democratic Party Leadership has been co-opted by soft and hard campaign money and lobbyists like the NRA, the AMA, Israeli Defense Fund, Boeing, Microsoft, etc. Any politician taking a position against guns, against Israel's support of the East Bank settlers or against the latest multi-billion dollar war tool quickly became "dead" politically, so they tread softly and use double speak on such issues. And where were the great majority of Democratic politicians when it came to NAFTA and "free trade" or when giving away Congress' right to declare war? We need a political party that makes the preservation of government sponsored pensions and the establishment of universal health care the highest priority. We need to support government use of tax money for rebuilding the infrastructure of this country, developing clean, safe, and cheap energy solutions...this is how we create jobs and solve social problems. If the Democratic Party continues to make stupid mistakes by putting up candidates acceptable to corporate America like Kerry and Edwards so that most of us working people are confronted with voting for "the lesser of two evils" -- no wonder the American people see the Democratic candidate as a disingenuous choice. " (written 11/22/2004)Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151347352054602839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11762382.post-62516900646081386852014-10-12T11:12:15.371-06:002014-10-12T11:12:15.371-06:00Part 1: I have my differences with Bubba Martinez ...Part 1: I have my differences with Bubba Martinez who I often think he sees the world a bit too simplistically. However, on the question of the Democratic Party's abandonment of a "class perspective" as the reason for its ineffectiveness in elections, I agree with him. I wrote the following in 2004 right after George Bush defeated John Kerry. Not much has changed with the exception that a few million more people who thought of themselves as "middle class" have descended into poverty.<br /><br />"The 2004 election was more about class than anyone in the Democratic leadership will admit. Kerry's constant appeals to the "middle class" always grated on my ears because what I interpreted that to be was an appeal to those people who currently have a comfortable material basis but could lose it under Bush’s reckless policies - the ones who own a home (or two) and 2-5 cars (including at least 1 SUV, BMW, or Lexus), have one or more kids in college that they are supporting without government grants, have employer provided health and dental insurance, and have multiple credit cards and a credit limit of at least 25K most of which is maxed out. Now I worry about these people, too, but with comfortable incomes of about 100K and up, they are at the tip of the iceberg for “middle class” and most of the middle and lower class families are already under water.<br /><br />The Democratic Party too often sounds elitist and panders to the same corporate sources as the Republican Party for campaign funds. The "working class" in this country is actually pretty fiscally conservative by necessity. Their main organizations have been unions and churches. They go to work, pay taxes, and help their neighbor; and resent anyone who doesn't. Most of them don’t have any employer-paid health or dental insurance or pensions. These benefits have gone away in direct relation to the disappearance of union-jobs. If they have 401(k) plans at all, too often they must choose buying kids clothes and making the rent or a house payment before they can contribute to a stock savings plan. Their homes, which are rented or if owned, are hocked to the banks in first, second, and home equity mortgages. They literally are about two paychecks from financial ground zero. They have values which they feel are threatened by technology, modern culture, and “liberalism” (which they see as the absence of values). Some of these people tell me they like George Bush personally because he seems sincere about his beliefs, doesn't waiver when the wind blows ill, and seems down to earth and basic. The Left has tried very hard to attack that image with its exposures of the real George W. Bush and the Bush family dynasty of privilege and wealth. There’s been a lot published about the draft-evading, National Guard deserter, drug and alcohol abusing Frat Boy, etc. What the Democratic Party and the Left has been unable to do is reorganize themselves into a solid political organization with inspirational leadership based on core values supporting the working class of this country. Mistakes of morality made by popular, charismatic Democratic leaders like President Clinton and Edward Kennedy are what remain burned in the minds of most working people, not the failings of a younger Bush. The repudiation of such moral behavior by the Democratic Party is absolutely necessary to retain the support of its core base. Instead, the Democratic Party chose to continue to appeal to the politics of expediency. The "middle class" and the corporations of this country excused Clinton's moral failings because “the economy was good!” Vickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06151347352054602839noreply@blogger.com