With liberty and justice for all... The Tea Party patriots have done a great job of trying to expand liberty as they see it, liberty from taxes and regulations mostly. But what they haven't done is delivered on the justice that is talked about by the Pledge of Allegiance.
And, as well all know, the Tea Party has changed the dynamics of Politics in the United States over the last 2-3 years. They have almost completely taken hold of the agenda of the Republican Party and pushed them into new and sometimes radical directions, even pushing the nation to the brink of default during the debt limit debate a couple weeks ago.
Meanwhile, liberals and progressives look on in great jealousy as the Tea Party continues to wield it's clout to set the agenda of Washington. Lots of whining and moaning here on Dkos and elsewhere, and no effective counter-strategy to achieve OUR goals.
Enter, the Justice Party.
I know people have kicked around the idea of a third (fourth?) party. Sometimes that is in the interest of leaving the Democratic Party, sometimes it's out of a desire to work within or across the major parties. But no one solution has caught fire. Exisiting 3rd parties (Greens, Libertarians) seem too marginal to many, and have been around long enough that they are not a story.
What is the uniting meme that can get a coalition together and get mainstream attention? I believe it is Justice... ripped right from the Pledge of Allegiance.
Here's the type of Justice I'm talking about:
- Hold the Banksters who destroyed our economy accountable. Who has been sent to jail yet?
- Bring to justice those who lied us into the Iraq War! Both Congress and the Administration have left this issue unaddressed
- No jobs, no justice, and there are a lot of people who don't have economic justice because there are no jobs. Time for a concerted push for jobs creation, which continues to be avoided.
- Bailouts for the fleeced homeowners, not Wall Street and auto manufacturers only. As major corporations continue to report record earnings, homeowners are facing bankruptcies and decreasing value of their homes, yet no one lifts a hand to help. Sure there have been a couple ineffective programs, but not enough to make a dent.
- Torturers in our midst must be brought to justice, and those who enabled them through twisted and weak legal arguments must be held accountable. How else can we be confident that they won't do it again?
- Fair elections - it's clear we have problems with our patchwork election system. Whether it be restrictive registration laws, gerrymandering of congressional and legislative districts, ignored sunshine laws, gutted (thanks Supremes!) campaign finance laws, no-paper-trail voting booths... enough said. We need uniformly fair elections if we are going to have justice.
- Filibuster reform - The filibuster is unconstitional. Say it with me again, the 60% majority required to overcome the filibuster in the US Senate is unconstitional. It must go. The majority rules in this nation, and it's time to get rid of this unfair provision that prevents progress and provides cover for gutless politicians.
- National Initiatives - Change you can believe in? Seems more like the same old, same old. National initiatives would surely change that. If Congress can't get off their butts to do the work of the people, we need a way for the people to step up and make the decisions. Time is long overdue.
- So on and so forth... think labor laws being gutted, GLBT citizens paying more taxes than their straight counterparts, seniors, low income and unemployed falling through our social safety net, immigrants that are criminalized when all they want to do is contribute to our society, etc. etc.
These are just a few ideas that I believe form a common thread of justice delayed in the United States. Sew them all together and you have a Justice plaform. Organize some people, and you have a Justice Party.
I've seen the diaries flying back and forth on Dkos about President Obama, but one thing we know for sure is that he responds to outside, coordinated pressure. Frankly, he asks for that pressure. But so far, working within the existing power structures is not making progress. So, maybe it is time to build a new platform and challenge both parties to say yes.