Tricounty DFA Update: Wednesday Meeting Reminder & Dark Days Ahead
Hello Everyone—

In this update for August 1, 2011:

1. Meeting Reminder: Glens Falls DFA Wednesday 7pm
2. The Disaster
3. Concrete Action
4. The Real Democratic Party


1. Meeting Reminder: Glens Falls DFA Wednesday 7pm

We will be having our regular monthly meeting of Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area at the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe at 7pm, this Wednesday, August 3rd.

I'm sure it'll be a lively meeting, given what just happened in Washington.

The Cafe is one block west of the roundabout in downtown Glens Falls on the corner of Elm and Exchange Streets and Hudson Avenue.


2. The Disaster

It has become agonizingly apparent over the last few days that a disaster of epic proportions is happening in our nation's capitol. The so-called deal, which hands a right-wing faction of the Republican Party a victory that seemed beyond their reach even weeks ago seems to be in place, unless congressional Democrats lead by Rep. Pelosi can overturn it. She may. I would note the Congressional Black Caucus has now broken with Obama.

This "deal" puts on the chopping block, for certain destruction the entire achievement of the Democratic Party since the beginning of the New Deal, and liberals and progressives in all forms, since the administration of Teddy Roosevelt. A few key points:

*Tthis deal actually undermines the Constitution and American democracy itself. No longer do we have a system of government that translates the will of the people into action. A vicious minority can now rule over the many. Check out Paul Krugman today on this today, he characterizes it as surrender: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-president-surrenders-on-debt-ceiling.html?src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB
Also Robert Reich: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-reich/debt-deal-republicans-_b_914737.html

*This erasure of the New Deal and everything Democrats have stood for may be tied to Obama's reelection strategy, according to a piece in the NYRB that everyone is talking about— it is an extraordinary picture and if you only have to read one of these, this is probably it: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/aug/18/what-were-they-thinking/

*However, we need to resist the notion that Barack Obama is somehow the victim in this, or had no choice because of those "awful Republicans." He is a perpetrator. He could stop this madness in a moment by evoking the 14th Amendment, and end the fake crisis. He will not.

There is by now massive documentation that Obama went into this process determined to advance cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other programs. http://www.americablog.com/2011/07/larry-summers-in-2009-obama-will-launch.html

A fake crisis was used by Obama, the so-called "Shock Doctrine," to push through changes the American people would never have supported.
For more check out Arianna Huffington and Glenn Greenwald:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/the-debt-ceiling-impasse_b_909314.html
http://www.salon.com/news/budget_showdown/index.html?story=/opinion/greenwald/2011/08/01/debt_ceiling

Reagan economic adviser Bruce Bartlett put it starkly to Chris Matthews on Hardball: " the dirty secret is that Obama is a moderate conservative."
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/07/28/999759/-Hardball:-Bruce-Bartlett-desroys-every-Republican-fiscal-talking-point-in-5-minutes-?via=siderec

House Democrats could still shoot this deal down. Since we do not have a Democratic representative, you could try calling another. The Congressional switchboard is (202)224-3121



3. Concrete Action

Beyond this, what we do we do? First, we keep focused on changing legislatures and the next congressional election. We have to take back the House. But that does not mean we have to win any specific race, any Democratic pick up works for us, too.

RIght now DFA National is trying to win the Wisconsin recall elections. Channel your anger into that effort:

Yes! I'll make calls to Wisconsin voters on Tuesday.

Sorry, I can't make calls, but I'll contribute $5 to help air TV ads in these districts.



4. The Real Democratic Party

We must not despair about the Democratic Party. This was on Daily Kos, about the REAL Democratic Party:

"On the eve of what could be the biggest giveaway in the political history of the United States by one political party to another, I got to thinking -- where have all the Democrats gone? Because as surely as Washington is saying "Cut Social Security and Medicare" there can be none left in the three Houses (White, Yellow and Red) in the District of Columbia."

"And then the answer came to me.

• They've gone to Wisconsin, to fight in the State Senate recalls and to turn Fitzwalkerstan back into a first-world state.
• They've gone to Ohio, where they gathered 1.3 million signatures to overturn Kaisch's labor law.
• They've gone to Michigan, where they are fighting their own so-called Democratic Party torecall their own version of Scott Walker, Rick Snyder, and give democracy back to its towns and cities.
• They've gone to California, where they are desperately trying to save the state by enacting single-payer health care (e.g., Single Payer Now and California One Care).
• They've gone to Maine, where they've been working hard and long to convince Maine voters to reconsider their ban on marriage equality, and to undo their state's new law forbidding same-day voter registration.
• They've gone to Colorado, where they will be trying to put a marriage equality initiative on the ballot."


Thanks everyone! See you all Wednesday!

Larry

Labels: Democracy For America, Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area, DFA

- posted by Larry Dudley @ 12:46 PM