“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
― Rob Siltanen
What is it about this election cycle? From it’s about ending the establishment hold on Washington DC to it’s about the outsiders. Whatever spin you want to place on the elections; I think it can be summed up as it’s main street.
Bernie Sanders isn’t the source of the movement that has captured the independent voter on the Democratic side of the political landscape. A yet Donald Trump seems to be for the Republicans. The source of these movements is those independent voters that can be called Main Street or Grassroots.
For ten plus years, from the first “Brunch with Bernie” airing on the Thom Hartmann show, I learned who Bernie is. I and over a million other listeners (I am not sure of an exact number but I know of enough who have heard the brunch segment.) listened to Bernie, heard him talk of the issues that we were concerned about. Those issues that the Democrats and to a certain degree the Republicans vacated as they stopped working for the main streeter’s and their undivided attention to the oligarchs
The movement wasn’t started by Bernie, it isn’t about Bernie. It’s about the raw deal the millions of Americans have endured and are suffering through. The demise of the greatest middle class in the world, the never ending loss of good and well paying jobs, the devastation of a healthy and secure retirement for those ageing workers who gave a lifetime of loyalty to their employer.
The main street American. He is us and we have a chance to return this country to the citizens who help build it and defended it. But again the movement isn’t Bernie. It’s us it came from us and Bernie pointed it out to us.
We, the main street, the grassroots American are the force of change. Collectively we have the power of change. We have to exercise it and we can’t if we don’t vote and work for that change. Yes we might not get our candidate in the general election but like the tea party we can elect a congress that is responsive to the movement for change. We can force the president to listen to the will of the people rather than the presumptive owners of our country, the oligarchs.
To do this we need to fulfill our commitment to the movement. Too be active in every election, those “midterm” elections have an impact on how the main street American prospers. in reality every midterm election is as important as the presidential election. the midterm shows the president where his policies stand and when we think that those midterms mean nothing and stop voting; we end up where we are now fighting for our birthright fighting for the basics of live, liberty and happiness.
Today I have taken a new title in the democratic party, one that I believe says it better than “blue dog” or Third way democrat or DLC democrat. I like the title Main Street Democrat. It sounds empowering, and speaks to who we really are.
So as a MSD I want all of those who have joined the movement, to join me in making the Party candidate work for us. We need to give them the house, both national and locally as well as the Senate and keep the pressure on that person to work for us.