My priorities for the Democrats

[hopes fire]

I received a questionnaire from the Democratic National Committee recently asking me various opinion questions. The first question was asking me to rank the issues they deem as very important in order of priority. Though they actually left a blank for a “fill-in-your-own” issue, I had a lot more issues to add to their list than would fill one measly space. So I wrote, “See attached” and sent them the following.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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November 2, 2007<o:p></o:p>
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To the Democratic National Committee:<o:p></o:p>
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My list of priorities is as follows:<o:p></o:p>
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1) Impeachment, impeachment, impeachment, impeachment. How many times do party members (and others) have to say it? Does the party leadership care about the ongoing decimation of our rights and the Constitution, the warmongering, the lying, etc., etc.? The situation worsens daily. It will not stop until this administration and its supporters are exposed, brought to justice, and removed from office. <o:p></o:p>
2) An independent, thorough, public investigation into 9-11, with subpoena power and all witnesses testifying under oath. The NYC 9/11 Ballot Initiative has set up an investigative panel that includes former Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee.<o:p></o:p>
3) Here’s one of your priorities -- get us out of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Completely. No permanent presence, no military bases, and no 21+-building embassy compound. <o:p></o:p>
4) Re-open dialogue with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They had been engaging in high-level diplomacy with us, ready to formally recognize <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> (see Esquire’s “The Secret History of the Impending War with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>”) but the Bush administration wanted an axis of evil and a pretext for a pre-emptive strike. The Iranian President’s comments about <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region> were mis-translated. Are you alright with the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country-region>, our neighbors, being attacked? <o:p></o:p>
5) Repeal the Patriot Act.<o:p></o:p>
6) Restore the status of the indigenous American people. Give them voice in our government; a council of tribal representatives should be involved in the policymaking of this country. Recognize their tribes -- all of them. Pay them all the back royalties plus penalties we owe them. Redress the enormous wrongs we have done them; name it the genocide it was. Turnover lands to them so that they may be self-sustaining again; in any base closure or land seizure, indigenous groups should be given first right to the land, and any toxic cleanup should be done quickly and at the cost of our nation. Enough is long past enough on this issue!<o:p></o:p>
7) Change direction on our foreign policy. Investigate and expose the “American interests”(AKA Big Business)-driven policies that have been going on for years. Expose the work of the CIA in promoting those policies by assassinations, bribery, covert wars, torture, kidnappings, coups, etc., etc. Purge the intelligence community of this terrorist element and bring them to justice. Expose and end black budget projects. Normalize relations with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cuba</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Condemn our past and present imperialism. We are just one nation among a world of other nations; advocate and demonstrate an egalitarian attitude of respect for other nations and their peoples.<o:p></o:p>
8) Get to work on the ecological disaster that is already happening. There can be no business as usual; that is what has gotten us into this mess in the first place. If the Democrats truly want to be leaders, then get the players, including the First Nations, to the table and get them talking about how we are going to radically change course to protect the future. Every aspect of our lives has to be brought to the table including population control. Our economy is not sustainable. Even the entrenched economic players have children and grandchildren for whom they want a future. Again, we can’t continue going the way we’ve been going.<o:p></o:p>
9) Expose and absolutely oppose the weaponization of space. <o:p></o:p>
10) Repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and any other “free” trade agreements. They have been and will continue to be a disaster except to the giant corporations that benefit from them.<o:p></o:p>
11) Affordable health care for all. If anyone can do it, we Americans can certainly figure out a way of making it work.<o:p></o:p>
12) Be a progressive party. Stop being a shill to Big Business. Practice transparency. Stop being virtually indistinguishable at times from the worst aspects of the Republican Party. <o:p></o:p>
13) Start being courageous and practicing some backbone. We out here want our leaders, Republican, Democrat and any other party, to stand for truth; we don’t want politicians and power brokers. If you stand for power, prestige, and business as usual, you are of no use to us and this great country. Many of us are active participants in this democracy, and we expect the leaders we’ve voted for to participate with us. <o:p></o:p>
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Several months back, you sent out a mailing with the theme “Enough is Enough”. I agree. Either revamp the Democratic party or get out of our way, because increasing numbers of the American people have had it with the people in our government and political system. This world needs leaders, truth, integrity, and justice. We voters are becoming more and more active as leaders in our communities and spokespeople for our struggling democracy. And we mean to continue being active participants; that’s what a democracy necessitates. We’ve delegated our voice to party leaderships and elected officials for far too long. But no more. <o:p></o:p>
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I hope this party can become a party of the people.<o:p></o:p>
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Sincerely,<o:p></o:p>

[Willie Lumplump]

I received a questionnaire from the Democratic National Committee recently asking me various opinion questions. The first question was asking me to rank the issues they deem as very important in order of priority. Though they actually left a blank for a “fill-in-your-own” issue, I had a lot more issues to add to their list than would fill one measly space. So I wrote, “See attached” and sent them the following.<o:p></o:p>
------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p>
November 2, 2007<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
To the Democratic National Committee:<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
My list of priorities is as follows:...

Great agenda! But I don't think it gets to the core of the problem, which is the institutionalized corruption of our campaign finance system. Members of both major parties are only puppets whose strings are pulled by the corporate elite who run this country. You can't have a real democracy with real reforms such as those you're proposing until you cut the strings. The Democratic Party, just like the Republican Party, is hopelessly enmeshed in this system of institutional bribery. The only way out that I see is a grass-roots movement like move-on.com to turn these s.o.b.'s out of office until they catch on. But first things will have to get worse--much worse--because the American people are in a trance that is maintained largely by the media arm of the giant corporate conspiracy against democracy. I hope I live long enough to see the entire rotten structure come tumbling down.

[Braggi]

The only way out that I see is a grass-roots movement like move-on.com to turn these s.o.b.'s out of office until they catch on. But first things will have to get worse--much worse--because the American people are in a trance that is maintained largely by the media arm of the giant corporate conspiracy against democracy. I hope I live long enough to see the entire rotten structure come tumbling down.


A mortally wounded dragon thrashing about can cause a vast amount of damage. I propose we approach this carefully and with a lot of consideration. This is one reason I've been hesitant to recommend impeachment of our current ... I'm at a temporary loss for words to describe them.

We will be unable to defang and declaw the beast so we must assume it will be fully armed. The only "soft" approach I can think of is a prohibition on corporate "gifts" to candidates.

I favor defining as bribes any gifts given to a candidate from any entity that can't vote for that candidate. Both parties to the bribe should be punished by death. Or at least by having their identification papers taken away.

-Jeff