Forum Post: A New Social Democratic Party!!
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 10, 2011, 8:08 a.m. EST by Octangle
(17)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
We need a new Social Democratic Party. Changing one law or ten will not change anything, as history has shown. We need to band together and create structures that will fight for our beliefs for decades to come
Thank you all for fighting on; it is a long road ahead...
Do you really think that this or any other movement will have any lasting effects on the Republican or Democrats. We need our own party that can not be bought off and that represents the people.
Call it the AMERICAN PARTY. And use the American bison as our symbol.
Right on!
Looking at the US I don't think social democrats will get enough votes. In comparison to the social democrats in the EU Obama is extreme right. And even if people would vote for it enough, see now, also the EU is drowning in debts and going from one bank crisis to the other. The problem here is not the form of government per se.
I don't think we could get a majority at first. Not even close. I do, however, believe that we could get a lot of votes. There are more of us on the progressive side of the Democratic party than the media would have us believe. What I envision is a party that would form a coalition with the Democrats. This would push the Democrats to represent the ideals they should be representing while at the same time preserving a majority.
As far as Europe is concerned, the problem over there lies with some very irresponsible countries, most prominently Greece, and the effect their irresponsibility is having on European banks. Other countries, like Germany, manage to provide health care, paid vacations, etc. for their citizens without going bankrupt.
The need for change is immediate. It is also a long road to the big changes our government and economy needs. Let's keep the energy high and continue to increase our size and visibility. That will put pressure on the existing parties. I'm pretty sure which of the two will support us. If the Democratic Party supports us sufficiently, we can reciprocate. One thing we could do is go into all the states where Republican-led legislatures have restricted voting rights by requiring ID cards and help people register and get IDs and get to the polls. Let's first make sure things don't get worse. Let's channel our energy into the system we have and not get bogged down in long-term plans like a new party. It will be a long road to the big change we'd all like to see, so let's keep the energy high, and we'll figure out over time what course to take.
Thank you for your reply. I am very happy to get a reply that is positive and thought out even if it doesn't agree with my viewpoint. This is the kind of discussion that needs to happen for us to arrive at solutions. I love your idea about helping people get ID cards in states where there are these restrictive voting laws. The people must be enfranchised for us to get results.
YOU might need a social democratic party... but many of us here don't. This is not a political party. This is a movement of democratics, republicans, libertarians, and any other American that doesn't fall into those niches.
we just need to take the funding away from the world bankers.
Another frickin' party, give me a break
Yeah creating a new party is not really what we are about.
Agreed, we aren't creating anything new... we are merely opening the eyes to the world that we are fed-up with the corruption and crony lobbyists infiltrating "public servants" with greed and self-serving interests, not the best interests of the USA.
Sure not everyone marching will get what they are wanting, but democracy is about compromising ideals to find the BEST solution... when the Congress can't even pass a budget and work together, they either don't know how do their job OR have a hidden agenda...
This isn't a politically partisan movement. We're here to end corruption. We are not exclusively left, right, socialist, capitalist, marxist, etc...
STOP TRYING TO PUSH YOUR OWN AGENDA ON THIS GROUP.
How can one person "push" an agenda on our group? I thought this was a group looking for input from anyone and everyone on how to achieve our goals. As I said in my reply to aliyatrinity below, I have my own, very good reasons to believe that my ideas are the right ones for creating change in this country. One of the best things about these protests is that they are creating dialogue about these issues all around the country. I am participating in and creating that dialogue like everyone else. Change will only come through a long haul. I believe we should create long lasting structures to achieve that change.
As someone who espouses some socialist views, I say speak for yourself. This movement is about being inclusive and working together for a common goal, hence all the 99% rhetoric. Is the 99% pro-socialist? Not even close. This isn't the time to push a socialist agenda. If you think socialist ideas are the answer to the problem, then speak up about PARTICULAR ISSUES, not use the sweeping pronoun 'we' with regards to a political system most people in this country disagree with. Speak for yourself. This is not a pro-socialist movement.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to read what I wrote and respond to it. I believe that dialogue on these issues is what is important right now and that is what I am trying to participate in.
I AM speaking for myself. I do not claim that my views are the views of OWS, nor do I claim that they are the views of the 99%. I use the pronoun "we" because I do believe that they are the views of millions of patriotic Americans who have been marginalized by the media for years. I also use the pronoun "we" because that was how I was inspired to write the piece.
This is not a pro-socialist movement, that is fine. It is a movement that is open to all viewpoints I hope, and I am sharing mine. It is my strong conviction that the things I am talking about are the things that could better this country and all of the problems that people are protesting. I am simply doing my best to participate in my way.
By the way, I am not a socialist. I am a democratic and a capitalist, who believes that this country must also integrate much stronger social values into its politics in order to improve.
Fair enough. I think dialogue has been this movement's greatest accomplishment so far.
My largest concern for the continuation of this movement is that we are significantly lacking and actively alienating the conservative right. I don't agree with everything the right has to say, but I do believe that we can find common ground with them, most particularly in the area of campaign finance reform. I think we NEED to find common ground with them on this one, easily agreed upon issue.
I worry that conservatives see the word "socialist" and will scuttle away in McCarthyian fear. We need all the support we can get to legitimize this movement in the eyes of government, business and our fellow Americans.
We are making a choice to end corruption in our country - to make the corporations accountable to the people, to end their power and return our country to the people. We don't need a new political party. We need our elected officials to be responsible and respectful.
In order to end corruption in our country and make corporations accountable, we will need a political party that represents the economic interests of the people and to fight for those ideals for a long time to come. This will not happen in a day or a week or a month. Nor will it happen simply through protests. If we want our elected officials to be responsible and respectful, we will need to ELECT officials who are responsible and respectful. Democrats and Republicans are in the pockets of corporate America and have no motivation to act on our behalf. We need to create something lasting (imho a party) that will fight on for decades to come.
I believe that we can end the corruption in government by getting all of the money out of the political process by changing the political system. Separation of money and State. All campaigns should be publicly funded so that the 1% can no longer buy their represntation in government.
Yes!! I support this unequivocally. This is a critical point. Thank you.
Octangle, I'm so glad you agree. 1% buys their representation and the 99% are left with the scraps. This has destroyed our democracy. Of course our country is in a terrible mess today. Because 99% of the peoples voices are no longer heard by our governernment. This has been happening for a long time and we now see the terrible consequences of that to our society. There are many problems in our country, but all can be fixed when the 99% have a voice again!
If you believe this too, tell 2 people, 10 people, 100 people! This is how we unite the protest. We rely on eachother. Go help your local protesters on the street if you can. My sign says - "We want our democracy back, ask me about it"
I will do that. Thank you so much for fighting to save our country!
God bless you beautiful protester! Thank YOU so much for fighting for our country too!
How many tntitlements do they need to direct your way for you to define them as "responsible and respectful"? Or what redistribution of wealth qualifies for these adjectives?