Progressive Views Are The Majority's Views

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Wednesday December 30, 2009 · 9:52 PM PST

2009/12/30 · 21:52

When I asked last weekend if anyone noticed the 1990s were over, one of my core points was that progressives needed to stop being afraid of our own shadows, stop being hesitant and scared to be honest about what we believe in, and quit believing what our enemies say about us. This is one of the most important things we need to keep in mind, no matter what we believe about the health care bill, President Obama, progressive activism, or whatever other issue dominates our conversations.

That's why I was saddened to see CatM make that error in her otherwise fine diary.

eugene

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Sunday December 27, 2009 · 2:44 PM PST

2009/12/27 · 14:44

As we reach the end of the Zeroes, the first decade of the 21st century, it may seem an odd question to ask whether anyone has realized the previous decade, the 1990s, are over.

Yet judging by the discussions in recent days about the health care bill, progressive activism, left-right alliances, corporatism, etc, it is quite clear to me that way too many people are still trapped in obsolete political thinking more appropriate to the 1990s than to today. By doing so they've lost touch with fundamental changes that require us to shift the way we think about our politics if we are to get the things done that we entered politics to achieve.

eugene

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Thursday December 17, 2009 · 11:10 AM PST

2009/12/17 · 11:10

My good friend thereisnospoon has been getting a lot of attention, deservedly so, for his brilliant diary No One Is Going To Save You Fools. In it, he makes the point that progressives need to learn to do the hard work of getting our message out there, to challenge the marketing dominance of the right-wing.

Well, that's exactly what the Courage Campaign is doing. Earlier this week I told you that we were going to produce and air an ad about Meg Whitman, a Republican who wants to be governor of California, and how her views on the climate crisis are exactly the same as Sarah Palin's.

eugene

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Tuesday December 15, 2009 · 11:06 AM PST

2009/12/15 · 11:06

Sarah Palin, WaPo op-ed, December 9, 2009:

Meeting [carbon reduction] targets would require Congress to pass its cap-and-tax plans, which will result in job losses and higher energy costs... The last thing America needs is misguided legislation that will raise taxes and cost jobs.

Meg Whitman, San Jose Mercury News op-ed, September 16, 2009:

In January, the first AB 32 mandates take effect and will lead to higher energy costs at a time when we can least afford them. They will discourage job creation and could kill any recovery.

eugene

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Tuesday December 08, 2009 · 8:22 AM PST

2009/12/08 · 08:22

teacherken is one of this site's great diarists. But unfortunately, in his recommended diary on the draft, he makes a number of unforgivable errors and misinterpretations about the political and social impact of a draft. Were it almost any other topic, I might let it pass. But the draft, which is essentially legalized kidnapping and enslavement, is too important a topic.

I first wrote this about 3 years ago for the site in an earlier wave of misguided and uninformed pro-draft sentiment. While I recognize teacherken is not embracing a draft, his diary repeats a number of previously debunked assertions about what a draft would do. So, before we see another "yay draft!" wave of sentiment here, I thought I'd offer these points yet again, in the hopes that evidence, facts, and common sense will win out over assumptions and fantasy.

eugene

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Sunday October 11, 2009 · 5:12 PM PDT

2009/10/11 · 17:12

Crossposted from Calitics

There is a hostage crisis unfolding in California's capitol tonight.

Think that headline is over the top? Think again. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to turn the normal legislative process, intended at one point in our state's apparently distant past to be a deliberative process aimed at producing legislation for the public good, into a hostage crisis. The governor has demanded that either he gets a water bill by the end of the day today, or he's going to just randomly start vetoing bills, even bills designed to do things like help pregnant women get health care.

eugene

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Wednesday October 07, 2009 · 10:09 PM PDT

2009/10/07 · 22:09

This diary is indeed a reply to my good friend, colleague, and fellow California progressive activist thereisnospoon, who argues that the "opt out" public option compromise is a good idea.

My view, as laid out in very brief detail in this comment to TomP's diary earlier today, is quite the opposite. Not only is this a bad idea because of the policy and political costs of throwing "red states" overboard, it dramatically understates the very real risks that even so-called "blue states" would choose the opt-out.

Even states like California.

eugene

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Thursday September 03, 2009 · 8:06 AM PDT

2009/09/03 · 08:06

Crossposted at Calitics

There's an interesting generational phenomenon at work here. The age group that currently enjoys the benefits of a single-payer system, those over 65, are among the least likely to support health care reform. The age group most likely to support reform is the other end of the spectrum - people age 18-29, as the LA Times reported yesterday:

Adults 18 to 29 are the group most supportive of President Obama's plan to overhaul healthcare, according to a recent poll by SurveyUSA. They are also the age group that most supports creating a government-run health insurance option.

Young people account for 30% of the uninsured population, according to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, a health policy research foundation. They are least likely to be offered health insurance through employment benefits -- just 53% of working young adults are eligible for employer-based coverage. And since their incomes tend to be low, buying coverage on their own is usually too expensive.

eugene

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Friday August 28, 2009 · 5:17 PM PDT

2009/08/28 · 17:17

Crossposted from Calitics

All summer long the Courage Campaign has been mobilizing our members (I work for Courage as the Public Policy Director) to push Senator Dianne Feinstein to unambiguously and clearly support the public option. After our July action we started hearing from members that Feinstein staffers were telling people that DiFi backed a public option. But that wasn't quite strong enough. So yesterday we launched our most recent action on this front, asking the senator to uphold Senator Edward Kennedy's legacy and make a clear public statement for the public option.

Poll

1422 votes Show Results

Is DiFi's statement sufficient for you?

1422 votes Vote Now!

Is DiFi's statement sufficient for you?

Yes, co-ops are an acceptable substitute

40 votes

Yes, she offered a strong statement on the public option and that's what matters

46 votes

Yes, DiFi is teh awesome

6 votes

Yes, other reason

7 votes

No, co-ops are not an acceptable substitute

894 votes

No, I'm voting for her opponent in the 2012 primary

383 votes

No, other reason

12 votes

I have no clue - it's too hot in CA today to think

34 votes

How We Won the Monterey Town Hall Last Night

eugene

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Tuesday August 11, 2009 · 10:36 AM PDT

2009/08/11 · 10:36

Last night the health care fight came to Monterey, California. Congressman Sam Farr, the progressive Democrat that represents us in the House (CA-17), held his annual town hall at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Although the wingnuts succeeded in filling up about half the seats, we had no disruptions or violence. You won't find any stories of hate or violence here - but you will see how myself and several other progressives succeeded in getting our stories told, not only to the audience but to the local media, alongside other lessons.

You'll also see me on the TV!

After the recap of the town hall I'll offer my own thoughts on the event and what these town halls can and cannot accomplish for our movement. The key takeaway for me is that these events matter most for the media coverage, for holding our representatives accountable, and for making sure our stories get told. The way we win is by making sure our stories get told.

eugene

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Wednesday July 15, 2009 · 4:16 PM PDT

2009/07/15 · 16:16

Not content with having driven the state into the ground, Arnold felt the need to show the world that he just doesn't care about how much suffering his billions in budget cuts will cause:

Someone else might walk out of here every day depressed, but I don't walk out of here depressed. I will sit down in my jacuzzi tonight. I'm going to lay back with a stogie. (NYT, 7/5/09)

It was Arnold's Marie Antoinette moment - though to be fair, Marie Antoinette was never directly responsible for the suffering of the Parisian people. By insisting on massive cuts to health care, education, state parks, even the poison control center, Arnold will instigate widespread suffering across the state.

And now Californians are fighting back.

eugene

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Wednesday July 01, 2009 · 2:23 PM PDT

2009/07/01 · 14:23

There's a great diary up on the rec list about the devastating impact of the Illinois budget crisis. Here in California, where we seem to have invented the budget crisis, we're facing a similar catastrophe. Because Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Republican cronies blocked a solution to the state's looming cash crisis late last night, California is going to lose $7 to $8 billion in savings. And as a result of that, California's government is going to have to pay IOUs to those it owes for the first time in 17 years.

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Progressive Views Are The Majority's Views

The 1990s Are Over. Has Anyone Noticed?

How We Fools Can Save Ourselves

Meg Whitman: California's Sarah Palin

The Truth About A Draft

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Hostage-Taker, Misogynist

California Proves It: Opt-Out Public Option an EPIC FAIL

Why Young People Support Health Care Reform

Sen. Feinstein: Co-Ops Can Substitute for Public Option

How We Won the Monterey Town Hall Last Night

"Up In Smoke": Courage Campaign's New Video Takes On Arnold

Arnoldbucks and California's Crisis