Dear Fellow Travellers,
Feel crazy looking at the election map?
I believe that crazy feeling is about to go away. No-- this isn't a rant about the election being hacked-- it might have been stolen, but we don't know right now.
This is about displaying accurate maps of reality.
Some University of Michigan researchers put the political maps we have been seeing that rationalize Bush's REAL MANdate with some punchy graphics that should make you smile. You aren't crazy.
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/
(or if that link is not working see Crooked Timber for same map
http://www.crookedtimber.org/ posted by Henry)
Next steps for working class progressive tax and energy policy...and then back to our maps
My two cents on Demo tax policy:
CUT FICA: If Bush leads with more tax cuts for the rich, we lead with cuts to FICA.
Give working America a tax break.
We support working people but never really go to work for them. Show them this party stands for a tax shift back to the rich and offer working people serious tax relief NOW after we lost.
Cut the HIdden Taxes from VISA/MC: I also want to see agressive economic support for working America with big cuts in interest rates banks and Visa/MC can charge.
Right now they are gouging people high interest rates ,and if you are late you get a $29-$40 fee on your cash advance or credit card statement. Bank of America charges customers a fee that works out to 40% on as little as $25 cash advance.
Cable bills: I don't know any of my working class friends who aren't paying through the roof for cable bills. Our neighbors pay $140 a month for cable.
If Koreans has a $20 monthly cable bill and twice the through put, why can't we?
Democrats need to put a lunch bucket of economic tax relief together, including the big kahuna health care for working people. Speak the lingo -- it is about what our check books are up to every week. We are them. You and me. We are not different from our brothers and sisters in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Florida.
We just don't go out and get the brimstone levels up high enough. This election with Kerry and Edwards was great. We got more people voting than ever before Against Bush-- more voted for Kerry than Clinton, Carter, Reagan, or Kennedy.
The Map links: cut working class taxes and hidden corporate royal fealty taxes we stand a chance of pulling the suburban voter, women and hispanics that turned toward Bush back to us.
A progressive kitchen table menu that wins starts with working class tax cuts we see taken out of our paychecks every week, hidden taxes -- corporate taxes we pay in the form of credit cards, cable bills, energy bills, loan shark Money Trees)
Do you realize the gas prices we're paying has resulting in a $300 Billion dollar transfer of our hard earned money to Saudi arabia and Exxon-Mobil?
Just since January 2004.
Good grief-- how can we possibly create jobs here when all our money is going out the tailpipes?
Our new highway bill is energy independence:
The next big Democratic initiative-- the energy independence Apollo Project. that Jay Insley and others have promoted.
http://www.lightparty.com/ApolloProject.html
You have more to say...
or not.
basta,
timothy