As the 2010 elections are rolling around, it is time for us to ask ourselves have OUR Democratic Elected Officials adaquately represented us? When I say us, I am generally mean the small minority that makes under $250,000 a year. Lets go below the fold and list some of the accomplishments. If you feel I missed any important ones, please make a comment on it, I will try to keep this post updated.
The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was passed in January. I think most of us agree that this was a bill needed to be passed, especially if you are a woman, married to one, have a relative who is a woman or actually like females, either plutonically or romantically. This bill did not pass unamimously in either the House or the Senate, but the majority did support it so whatever hang ups people have they will just have to deal with it. My only worry is will SCOTUS rule that this bill is unconstitutional.
The Matthew Sheppard Act was passed into law in October 2009. Now, some religious and secular groups were opposed of this law. Somehow they were informed that they will not be able preach racism from the pulpit or at rallies to other likeminded "morans". But that was further from the truth. They could still preach hatred and racism. That was never taken away from them. It was acting on the speech to beat up, maim and murder that was enacted. Luckily not all of the Republican majority agreed that these groups had the right to act on their racism and the bill passed.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed in Febuary of 2009. This was a controversial bill because many on the right felt that it wouldn't work, wouldn't create one job and would be a big waste of money. Not one Republican voted for it in the House, only a couple Republican Senators voted for it. Governors like Bobby Jindal, Mark Sanford and then Governor Sarah Palin were saying "thanks, but no thanks, we don't want your communistic currency! We would rather have people in our states unemployed and living on the Streets than accept any help from the Fascists in the Federal Government!!!" Now I did paraphrase, but I think I cought the essence of their reply. But as cooler heads prevailed many Republican Senators and Congresspeople, (who voted against the bill) and Governors who said they would never accept the money, accepted the Fascosocialistic money. They even had their pictures taken giving the big checks to the little people and making speeches that if it wasn't for them, they would be SH*# out of luck.
So I won't, because I can't say that the Democrats did not DO ANYTHING in the 111th congress. But I will say, that they certainly did not do enough. There was so much to be fixed that what they really needed to do, they did fail miserbably.
The most notable failure is the healthcare bill. I consider it a failure because:
- It should have been Medicare For All
- They started in the middle with the Public Option then capitulated on
every aspect of the bill.
- They are taking too damn long.
Now, I expected the Republicans to be against this bill. The Health Insurance scam made 12 billion dollars in profit last year. The corporate constituents (better known as part of the richest 1 percenters in the country) made millions in bonus' alone in this racket. And better yet, it was legal for Health Insurance Companies to gouge their customers. The 107th, 108th and 109th congress made it ok. The 110th congress wouldn't, and couldn't, pass any laws to help the voting constituents even if they wanted to. The one percenters had one of their own in the Presidency. He found his veto pen and he was finally ready to use it. Plus he wasn't one of the brightest among them so they didn't have to worry about another traitor like Franklin Roosevelt.
But when, in 2008, the voting constituents said enough. We finally rallied were enthused by the message of change. Howard Dean and other like minded progressive worked on a 50 Stated strategy. I could go on,
but most here in Kosland know the rest of the story. ("YES WE CAN"). What we missed when we elected the Democrats to be the majority in the House, the Senate AND a Democrat to the White House. We missed the DLC Conseravdems. We left them in office and for some reason, most Dem's oin office still think they have the pulse of the Democratic Party. That loosing election anfter election after election for 10 plus years was just a run of bad luck. DLC'ers like Bob Shrum, Terry McCaulliffe, Lannie Davis, Mark Penn and James Carville were the ones to go to get elected. They must know something, the right wing media always has them on the air for the Democrat(ic) point of view. Just ask President Hillary Clinton, former President John Kerry and former President Al Gore what a bang up job the DLC did for them.
We felt, naively, that a democrat is a democrat and he or she believes in the Democratic agenda and values of our party. We were just young and foolish in those days. We watched Max Baucus capitulate to Grassley and the Republicans and water down the bill even further in the Finance committee. We watched in horror of a Senate that could not accomplish anything because they only had a 58 to 60 vote minority and when you are a corporate democrat that just isn't enough to overrule the 40-41 vote majority.
Now we again have a delay on passing healthcare for the bi-partisan summit at the end of the week. Another delay and another chance for the party of no to add changes that will just benefit the corporations AND then vote no.
So I say this to our Democratic Elected Officials. It is time you decide between your corporate constituents and your voting constituents. Until you pass laws for net neutrality, a fairness doctrine, the Employee Free Choice Act, a Healthcare Law WITH A STRONG PUBLIC OPTION, Laws that regulate the banking industry, a better jobs bill than the watered down version just passed, and punishment for companies that send jobs overseas to countries that have no child labor laws, labor laws, workman's comp and livible wages.
Not one red cent from me until you actually start passing laws that will benefit the middle class.
Update #1
By some of the comments, I can see that many do not agree my post. But my question is should we support those who will say they the right things to get elected, let those who represent the corporate interests, such as the DLC, run our elections and then capitualate the the rethugs almost every single time?