Building a Country within a Country

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Friday November 05, 2004 · 5:33 AM PST

2004/11/05 · 05:33

Michael Harrington used to say that a country composed of Michigan, New York, Massachusetts, and several other liberal-leaning states would have a European-style socialist party in government. What sort of structures could we devise to enhance our political power in this region? There already is a Northeast-Midwest Institute focused on economic development issues. Perhaps we should take such an organization and push it in a more aggressive direction. The blue states would their send representatives to a blue regional Congress which would seek to build its own trade and political alliances abroad.

Casual Reading: "Internet Activism and the Democratic Emergency"

LeonBlum

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Thursday October 28, 2004 · 10:36 AM PDT

2004/10/28 · 10:36

While no one really has the time to read an essay at this moment in the campaign, here is something I am working on.

"Internet Activism and the Democratic Emergency in the U.S."

Abstract:
The Internet renders efficiencies in political organization and mobilization. Already, network technologies have assisted activists in protests of corporate-led globalization, facilitated union struggles, provided alternatives to mainstream news media, and generated a new on-line model of political fund-raising. The US presidential election of 2004 will be an opportunity to assess the effectiveness of Internet strategies as a means for non-management stakeholders to influence the course of American politics. Republican party dominance of the mainstream media and the three branches of government increase the challenges of stakeholder organizing, particularly given the evidence of a shift toward authoritarian rule. I intend to examine Internet activism with respect to such organizations as MoveOn.org and TrueMajority.org, each of which makes a claim that it represent workers, environmentalists, and allied stakeholders. Read More

2000 query -- how many votes denied?

LeonBlum

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Monday October 18, 2004 · 8:44 PM PDT

2004/10/18 · 20:44

I just heard Ralph Neas of People for the American Way say on NPR that 5 million votes were suppressed in 2000. So... it wasn't even close, was it?

I knew that the problems extended beyond Florida, but I hadn't really internalized the dimensions of the irregularities.

What was Gore's real popular vote margin?

Incidentally, Gore's MoveOn speech today was a classic for the ages, high in the Pantheon along with Bryan's "Cross of Gold"

Late Breaking Scandals

LeonBlum

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Thursday October 14, 2004 · 6:15 AM PDT

2004/10/14 · 06:15

Given the Republicans' abuse of their powers in state governments, corporations, and the media, we need a few events to break decisively in our favor.

More defections from the Republican party: one or two high profile defections by establishment Republicans with a shred of decency. Who is next? McCain doesn't it have it in him.
New revelations: Can we break open the voter fraud story and mobilize the un-registered in a display of numbers that raises the costs for Republicans?
Is there any life left in the National Guard stories?
What about the secret Cheney energy commission? Is there really a map of Iraq divided according to the oil companies' preferences?
The Chamber of Commerce endorsed Bush in a first for the group. Never before had they openly endorsed a candidate. What sort of plan do they have for throwing corporate power around?
What else is there? There are so many scandals brewing, but can we bring one to the fore and expose the datrkness at the heart of the Administration?

How Far Will They Go?

LeonBlum

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Sunday October 10, 2004 · 8:34 AM PDT

2004/10/10 · 08:34

The Bush-Rove-DeLay party is getting worried. It would be reassuring if we could rely upon a respect for due process and morality in politics to limit their excesses. However, we have plenty of evidence to demonstrate the authoritarian core of contemporary Republican politics.

Lest we forget:

Following the overwhelming Democratic victories of 1992, Senate Republican leader Robert Dole announced that it was he who represented the majority of Americans. He implied that he doubted the legitimacy of the new Administration. He set out to block Clinton's initiatives.

Special Prosecutor Ken Starr relied on the right wing network in the media and the judiciary to approve his fishing expedition into the Clinton Administration. He laid a trap for Clinton in the Paula Jones investigation. The self-righteous adulterers in the House Republican leadership voted to impeach Clinton over perjury with respect to the characterization of oral sex.

Justice Antonin Scalia gave the 2000 election to George W. Bush explicitly confirming in his opinion that the American people have no constitutionally guaranteed right to participate in the presidential election.

Colorado and Texas Republicans pulled off redistricting maneuvers that put Machiavelli to shame.

Republicans in power on the state level are laying traps to depress the 2004 Democratic vote.

Are we prepared for the next Republican scam?

Splits within the Establishment

LeonBlum

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Thursday October 07, 2004 · 10:57 AM PDT

2004/10/07 · 10:57

We are seeing multiple signs of anti-Bush mobilization within communities and professions that we might have assumed would be favorable to the Administration. Not just the diplomats and intelligence professionals but business professors and economists and new groups all the time. I think this trend will continue. The "establishment" is splitting, and we need to encourage these defections.

Here is another anti-Bush group of business professors. I must disclose that I have helped draft this statement.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION IS THE ALLY OF UNION-BUSTERS AND THE ENEMY OF WORKING AMERICANS

America needs a change at the top. As professors and scholars of management, we are charged with educating the next generation of leaders. As citizens in a democracy, we take seriously our responsibility to speak out on matters of public policy, especially when the common good and the long term viability of the economy are at stake. We cannot be silent while the Administration of George W. Bush attacks the gains of working people over the past hundred years. It would be bad enough if the Bush administration were merely trying to turn the clock back to the "good old days" of untrammeled managerial prerogatives and unfettered markets. In reality, however, this administration is forging an ever more noxious mix of private economic interests and covert public power. Our economic, social, health, and environmental security is threatened as never before.... Read More

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