displacedvermoter
displacedvermoter's JournalCan't argue with you there, and I have in the past contacted his office and Leahy's and other
Federal, state and local officials on the issue. But unless and until there is a collective reorganization of the economy towards investment in renewable energy, infrastructure, and other non-defense industries, the lobbyists and funding-circles will hold sway, and the MID we were warned about by President Eisenhower will continue to dominate all phases of our economy.
Places like Burlington -- and unfortunately politicians who represent these places, like Bernie -- are pretty much in thrall to weapons systems like the F-35 because defense dollars are one source of Federal funding that never seems to to dry out.
A Democratic Party with a forward looking plan should be leading that economic reorganization effort, hopefully in concert with non-Party Progressives. President Biden's spending initiatives on chip manufacture, renewable energy generation, electric vehicle production, and small business start-ups, must be continued and expanded in the decades ahead.
That the reorganization of the economy towards a non-militarized model, would tremendously help the working class, is clearly obvious.
And that leads me to one final way the Democratic Party could work towards the betterment of working class life. The Party must unify behind meaningful campaign finance reform.
Not just nationally, but at the state and local level as well, Democrats are often as reluctant as Republicans to enact laws that would lessen the impacts of the pressure that lobbyists can put on elected officials. Even efforts to make the lobbyists' work and that of the donors who work hand in hand with lobbyists more transparent, face opposition from both parties, and as a result much positive government action that could benefit society in general often fails to proceed. The status quo, like unending defense spending, continues space.
Again, a forwarding looking Democratic Party, the kind I hope we will be sweeping into power this November, should lead these efforts.
How about the Trillions of Dollars Democrats
continue to vote to spend on Defense spending? An appalling amount of money is poured out annually to fund a military machine that makes all manner of domestic spending impossible.
We cannot afford health care for our citizens, we cannot adequately rebuild our infrastructure (our efforts to do so are checked in part by Dems like Manchin), we cannot do so many things because our bloated Defense budget is all encompassing, and ever growing. And Democrats join Republicans annually in approving this spending.
Just saying...
Over history?
Bill Clinton's "welfare reform" created a tremendous rift in the Party and was a major step backwards in social policy. Hillary's 2016 campaign was -- fairly or not -- saddled with the legacy of that action of her husband's presidency.
The bail out of the banks that nearly destroyed our and the world's economies, financed by the tax dollars of people who had no say in matter, and had no hand in the mess, was aggressively pursued by the Obama administration. Banks to this day run unfettered in their gouging of working people, with the support of both Republican and Democratic legislators. Progressives like Katie Porter, and Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie often face a hell of a time trying to implement change as pro Wall Street Dems, like Chuck Schumer, defend forcefully these special interests.
Democratic Senators like Sinema, and Manchin, and apparently Tester and Kelly, vote against Pro-Labor legislation at the behest of their Anti-Labor funders.
How far back do you want to go?
The fight for the working class continues to this day, and that fight is taking place within the Party as we speak. A unified Party, behind a Pro-Labor, Pro-Middle Class President Harris will require a diversity of voices, and like it or not, one of the loudest of these voices belongs to crabby old Bernie Sanders.
If he is so unimportant why do you
care so much what he says? Is it because there really is a component of the Democratic Party -- including some of the "fund raising circles" who were leading the attacks on the President -- who honestly don't have working class people's interests at heart?
Or are we still fighting our own little post-2016 grudge fest, which if I understand correctly, we of DU are not supposed to still be engaging in?
In Vermont -- I know some folks hate hearing that prepositional phrase -- Progressive/Democrats are a thing with dual party standard bearers. Those here on DU who insist it is OK to continue attacks on Bernie because "he's not a Democrat" should perhaps broaden their perspectives and understand there is still, like it or not, a core of Progressive Dems who can, and apparently are, more than willing to support Vice President Harris AND adhere to loyalty to Bernie and the movement he continues to advocate for.
He and the most Progressive members
of Congress stayed with President Biden till the bitter end because they knew how much progressive legislation was passed over the last three years, as good as they have gotten since LBJ. Bernie said already he, and by inference, most very liberal members, will do whatever it takes to get the VP elected, but I assume there are some talks going on about a Harris administration continuing Biden administration pursuits of progressive goals.
To his very core Bernie mistrusts the kind of big money donors that were so vocal about the President stepping down from the ticket. I assume he may want to see how Kamala responds to pressures from these funders, on issues he finds important.
Bernie has had a very large behind the scenes role -- along with Senator Professor Warren (per Charles Pierce) -- in steering Biden/Harris economic and infrastructure policy.
He is not aging out of politics, he is working to make sure that the gains of the Biden presidency continue and grow.
And he won't, I hate to tell you, "be pushed out of the way" any time soon. Vermonters will overwhelmingly reelect him in November, his reelection win will be among the first calls of Election Night, along with our state going for Kamala. And come 2025, I am sure President Harris will continue to seek out his cranky but wise advice well through her presidential career.
Profile Information
Name: Bob DevinoGender: Male
Hometown: Burlington, Vermont
Member since: 2002
Number of posts: 3,231