He can’t name those particular oligarchs; actually I should have said he won’t, because doing so opens him up to being accurately accused of hypocrisy in being subservient to his own Party’s oligarchs in policy creation and implementation, from the financial sector, Big Pharma, and most despicably currently, the weapons industry. I agree…
He can’t name those particular oligarchs; actually I should have said he won’t, because doing so opens him up to being accurately accused of hypocrisy in being subservient to his own Party’s oligarchs in policy creation and implementation, from the financial sector, Big Pharma, and most despicably currently, the weapons industry. I agree with everything he said/read in this speech. But if he, and the rest of the Democratic Party establishment, can’t apologize and reject the influence of monied interests, and actually show they have a passion for democracy by, say, supporting ranked choice voting, instead of actively trying to suppress ballot access for third parties, then their words ring hollow to many of our citizens who Biden acknowledges are ‘frustrated’, etc. We cannot defeat this extremist GOP until one of two things happen: either the Democrats renounce the monied interests a la FDR (“I welcome their hatred”) and begin to passionate try to govern like it, with a full court press on things that the majority of the American people want (nationalized health care, ending the drug war, ending endless war, eradicating homelessness, electoral reform, sensible gun legislation, drastically reducing wealth inequality etc. etc. etc. the list is a mile long), or the GOP continues down the fascist road, and we have blood in the streets. Please don’t try to argue that the Dems can’t govern because the GOP sucks. They can’t build the coalition they need to govern until they can convince enough people that they aren’t also owned by monied interests. THAT is what breaks the logjam, because it brings the concentrated pressure on the politicians required to force the radical change we need; the policy implementation to show people we have a democracy.
You are absolutely right. Democrats have to take that next step and renounce the big money interests like FDR did. Biden walking the picket line was a toe in the water. But as a practical matter I don't think you can renounce taking the donations until the end of big money can be legislated by ditching Citizens United and the PACs. That requires winning back the house and keeping the senate and the presidency.
The news media is not going to be fair here in terms of coverage so that means you have to buy coverage through advertising and funding voter registration and outreach and get out the vote programs and unfortunately that still requires big money.
Do you see a way to do it before Citizen United can be reversed through legislation?
We have a Fl House Rep who takes NO corporate donations. She is a boots- on -the -ground ,millennial dynamo currently campaigning for her 4th and final term. She’s not ruling out running for governor. There is hope in Florida….
It can work in congressional districts with relatively safe seats. But my beloved representative here in NJ made that pledge and lost his bid for a 3rd term when he was was targeted by Republican dark money. It did not help that the Democratic machine in NJ redistricted him to make the other districts safer seats and packed the Republican areas into his hew district boundaries.
HJR-54. It’s worth contacting your representative and requesting that he/she co-sponsor, if they haven’t already. It will require legislation, but this is the only way to get the concepts of corporate personhood and money is speech away from precedent consideration by the Supreme Court. It’s not just Citizens United; the corporate personhood precedent started back in the 1880s. We have to circumvent the court, and the only way to do that is via Constitutional Amendment. More info here: MoveToAmend.org.
He can’t name those particular oligarchs; actually I should have said he won’t, because doing so opens him up to being accurately accused of hypocrisy in being subservient to his own Party’s oligarchs in policy creation and implementation, from the financial sector, Big Pharma, and most despicably currently, the weapons industry. I agree with everything he said/read in this speech. But if he, and the rest of the Democratic Party establishment, can’t apologize and reject the influence of monied interests, and actually show they have a passion for democracy by, say, supporting ranked choice voting, instead of actively trying to suppress ballot access for third parties, then their words ring hollow to many of our citizens who Biden acknowledges are ‘frustrated’, etc. We cannot defeat this extremist GOP until one of two things happen: either the Democrats renounce the monied interests a la FDR (“I welcome their hatred”) and begin to passionate try to govern like it, with a full court press on things that the majority of the American people want (nationalized health care, ending the drug war, ending endless war, eradicating homelessness, electoral reform, sensible gun legislation, drastically reducing wealth inequality etc. etc. etc. the list is a mile long), or the GOP continues down the fascist road, and we have blood in the streets. Please don’t try to argue that the Dems can’t govern because the GOP sucks. They can’t build the coalition they need to govern until they can convince enough people that they aren’t also owned by monied interests. THAT is what breaks the logjam, because it brings the concentrated pressure on the politicians required to force the radical change we need; the policy implementation to show people we have a democracy.
You are absolutely right. Democrats have to take that next step and renounce the big money interests like FDR did. Biden walking the picket line was a toe in the water. But as a practical matter I don't think you can renounce taking the donations until the end of big money can be legislated by ditching Citizens United and the PACs. That requires winning back the house and keeping the senate and the presidency.
The news media is not going to be fair here in terms of coverage so that means you have to buy coverage through advertising and funding voter registration and outreach and get out the vote programs and unfortunately that still requires big money.
Do you see a way to do it before Citizen United can be reversed through legislation?
Georgia, you may be aware of ➡️ https://endcitizensunited.org/about-us/
We have a Fl House Rep who takes NO corporate donations. She is a boots- on -the -ground ,millennial dynamo currently campaigning for her 4th and final term. She’s not ruling out running for governor. There is hope in Florida….
It can work in congressional districts with relatively safe seats. But my beloved representative here in NJ made that pledge and lost his bid for a 3rd term when he was was targeted by Republican dark money. It did not help that the Democratic machine in NJ redistricted him to make the other districts safer seats and packed the Republican areas into his hew district boundaries.
HJR-54. It’s worth contacting your representative and requesting that he/she co-sponsor, if they haven’t already. It will require legislation, but this is the only way to get the concepts of corporate personhood and money is speech away from precedent consideration by the Supreme Court. It’s not just Citizens United; the corporate personhood precedent started back in the 1880s. We have to circumvent the court, and the only way to do that is via Constitutional Amendment. More info here: MoveToAmend.org.
Citizens United screwed up our political process big time!