Atlanta is looking pink! It is where the Democratic Socialists of America are having their two day convention (11-9 to 11-11)
At the root of our socialism is a profound commitment to democracy, as means and end. We are activists committed not only to extending political democracy but to demanding democratic empowerment in the economy, in gender relations, and in culture. Democracy is not simply one of our political values but our means of restructuring society. Our vision is of a society in which people have a real voice in the choices and relationships that affect the entirety of our lives. We call this vision democratic socialism - a vision of a more free, democratic and humane society.
Here is some highlights (copy and paste) of what my favorite elected pinko :) Bernie Sanders had to say at the convention.
We’re not radical. You know who’s radical? George W. Bush...Bush says we can’t afford money for food stamps... but we can afford $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can afford to repeal the estate tax. If anybody tells you we can’t afford health care for all or getting all children out of poverty... you look them in the eye and say Bernie Sanders is on the Budget Committee and it just ain’t so."
Greed should not be the dominant factor in our society today. People can come together to create a different world. We have a moral obligation to pass this vision on to our kids,"
"There is a war going on, a war that doesn’t get discussed in the corporate media. That is, a war against the middle class and working families. It’s time we raise this to the level is deserves,"
"I’m on the Budget Committee and every month or so, someone will come from the Bush Administration to tell us how well the country is doing. They’re right when saying the economy is doing very well... for the richest one percent. In fact, we have to acknowledge that for the millionaires and billionaires the economy is doing better today than in the 1920's,"
"The top 1% earn more than the bottom 50%. That means, the top 300,000 people earn more than the bottom 150 million people,That gap is growing wider."
"The US has the dubious distinction of having the most unfair distribution of wealth and income than any country in the world. People across the country are struggling. In my state [Vermont], people have two or three jobs, while five million more Americans have slipped into poverty,"
"Last year, 400 Americans increased their incomes by $290 billion [each], for a total of $1.54 trillion. We have the highest rate of child poverty in the world of any major country. 35 million people go hungry each year. Since Bush took office, 8.6 million people have lost their health care, 3 million people have lost manufacturing jobs, and another 3 million lost their pensions,"
What role I want to play in the Senate is to force a debate on these issues,
Bernie is right there is nothing radical about standing up to such a violent, reactionary, political Bush montrosity. (Although Bush is a radical reactionary and the current manifestation of the beast--- it is a beast that has it roots in colonialism, imperialism, and racism....)
So it is nice to have Bernie filling in the gaps in our stale two party corporate system. It is strange, America unlike other industrialized nations has never had a labor based social democratic party. Oh well, at least Democrats have the Progressive Caucus (created by Bernie).
