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Forum Post: yeah - I know we are suposed to be a-political, but the truth is more important

Posted 11 years ago on June 4, 2012, 7:13 p.m. EST by bensdad (8977)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

http://www.congressmanwithguts.com/media/video/category/8

I'm not exactly a fan of the Tea Party. When a debate among Republican candidates was marred by Tea Party members in the audience urging the uninsured to die, I called that "sadism." I said on national TV that: "It's the same impulse that led people in the Coliseum to cheer when the lions ate the Christians."
The year before, I said that teabaggers attending a Glenn Beck rally "were wearing sheets over their heads 25 years ago."
At around the same time, when a reporter compared Ron Paul libertarians to Tea Party members, I said: "Many of the libertarians are physicists, and many of the Tea Party people don't bathe. There's really not much in common there."
Nevertheless, there is one thing that I like about the Tea Party: They get their people nominated. And very often elected.

I had a ring-side seat to a Tea Party take-out in 2010, because I served on the same House Committee as Mike Castle, a Republican candidate for the Senate. Castle had been the Governor of Delaware for eight years. Then he served nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the ninth most-Democratic state in America, Republican Castle won every House race after his first one by at least 17 points. But the Tea Party deemed Castle disturbingly normal. So they dumped him in favor of Christine O'Donnell, who is not a witch. At least she says that she is not a witch.
Here are some other things that Christine O'Donnell said:
"It's not enough to be abstinent with other people. You also have to be abstinent alone." On the same subject: "If he already knows what pleases him and he can please himself, then why am I in the picture?"
"One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar."
"There is just as much, if not more, evidence supporting" creationism as evolution. "You know what? Evolution is a myth."
Having women in the military "cripples the readiness of our defense."
"American scientific companies are cross-breeding humans and animals, and coming up with mice with fully functioning human brains."
Christine O'Donnell didn't pay her taxes. She didn't pay her mortgage. She used campaign contributions to pay her rent. She lied to the Federal Election Commission. She lied about her education.
And yet, for all of that, Christine O'Donnell defeated Mike Castle. Because for Tea Party members, all that mattered was that Christine O'Donnell was a Tea Party member, and Mike Castle was not.

Same thing with Robert Bennett and Mike Lee, in Utah. Same thing with Trey Grayson (no relation) and Rand Paul, in Kentucky. Same thing with Richard Lugar and Richard Mourdock, in Indiana. The Tea Party puts its own people in, and puts everyone else out.

I respect that.
I want to see more progressive Democrats in office. Not only more Democrats, but better Democrats. Tomorrow, there are primary races in California and New Mexico. There are good Progressives in many of those races, and they need our help to pull this off. I have told you a little bit about three of them:
Norman Solomon, who had an FBI file when he was 14. (I didn't tell you about the time that Solomon stood in the path of a freight train that had a nuclear weapon on board.)
Eric Griego, who grew up dirt-poor, and hasn't forgotten what that was like. (I didn't tell you that when Griego was asked to identify the most important issue today, he didn't say jobsjobsjobsjobsjobs like everyone else, but rather the iron control that corporate special interests have over politics and government.)
Lee Rogers, a distinguished doctor, professor and medical researcher. (I didn't tell you what an utter dirtbag Rogers is running against.)

The Tea Party puts worse and worse Republicans in Congress – selfish, bigoted tools. The only way that we can counter that is for us to put better Democrats in Congress, Democrats who will fight for justice, equality and peace.

These primaries are tomorrow. If you want to help, VOTE. Defeat Gov Walker in Wisconsin VOTE_ Courage, Alan Grayson

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[-] 3 points by ericweiss (575) 11 years ago

The teaparty locked up the republican party and locked up progressive change in America. The only way we can unlock it is to vote

[-] 1 points by stevebol (1269) from Milwaukee, WI 11 years ago

The only reason the Tea Party exists is because Oswald was a bad shot. When he tried to shoot the real founder of the Tea Party- discraced General Edwin Walker, he missed.

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

very perceptive!
a friend of mine gave me a 1963 newspaper clipping about the Walker shooting
I I turned it over - to see a photo of JFK

[-] 1 points by stevebol (1269) from Milwaukee, WI 11 years ago

Kind of ironic isn't it? The Tea Party owes everything to Lee Harvey Oswald, who was more than likely a communist, at least early on, and General Walker.

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

My view is that booth gave us the kkk & all of the segregation garbage for 130+ years

[-] 1 points by stevebol (1269) from Milwaukee, WI 11 years ago

I wouldn't doubt it one bit. If it's true that the Birchers/Tea Party did kill JFK it puts things in perspective.They will take over the republican party and that will be a big problem for the dems eventually. Wasn't Boothe an actor like Reagan? That makes sense, in a messed up way.

[-] 1 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

Booth was a very famous but not so great actor - in the shadow of his fathe Junius & brother Edwin

[-] 0 points by pork (8) from New York, NY 11 years ago

fuck. i just deleted half of what i wrote. oy. something about it not being about corporations. it's about the people behind the corporations. even if we abolish corporations wealthy individuals will find a way to influence our political process. we need to get money out of politics.

will voting for democrats accomplish this? come now. let's be real. i'm not saying we shouldn't vote. but we shouldn't expect that voting for one party over another is going to fundamentally change the system. in fact, constantly vilifying the right only serves to keep the 99% divided and powerless. what else can we do? how about reaching out to the tea party despite our great differences and trying to focus on what we have in common? like the fact that none of our elected officials care what any of us say if we don't have the money to make huge campaign contributions or hire expensive lobbyists. the fact that none of us have a voice. it's been stolen by the 1%. if, in fact, we ever had one. but we can reclaim our voices! if we only work together! can you imagine the explosion in washington if the tea party and occupy joined forces?! we can do it! but we need to look beyond our usual left/right bullshit and really embrace the top/bottom reality that is the .001%/99.99%.

[-] 3 points by bensdad (8977) 11 years ago

You are in NY - JOIN US!


Virtually everything we want hinges on disarming our opponent –
……………………………………………………..GREED
by stopping the flood of bribes into our government.


YOU WANT TO GET IT DONE ? ARE YOU SERIOUS ?
Join the NYC OWS
Corporations are not People and Money is not Speech Working Group


This is the first REAL step to REAL change .

government OF the people BY the people FOR the people

JOIN US >
Join the NYC OWS Corporations Are Not People and Money Is Not Speech Working Group
………….( even if you are not near NYC )

http://corporationsarenotpeople.webuda.com no signup or password check out our comprehensive analysis of
the 17 existing proposed amendments
and our detailed historical timeline of corporate personhood


http://www.nycga.net/groups/restore-democracy
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYCRDWG


We can continue,

as a movement of demands
as a movement of declarations
as a movement of marches

OR


Are you ready
.....................FOR ACTION ?
Are you ready
.....................TO DO SOMETHING REAL ?
Are you ready
......................TO JOIN 83% OF YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS ?


We must not
DEMAND that we WANT THEM.to give to US
We must
DEMAND GOALS THAT WE WILL ACHIEVE FOR OURSELVES


Because of the Supreme Court's decision,
we cannot accomplish anything significant, without FIRST -

Overturning Citizens United !!!
Ending Corporate Personhood !!!


83% of Americans already agree on it
as stated in the ABC/Washington Post poll

.........................................

In the the PFAW Poll -

85% of voters say that corporations have too much influence over the political system today.
77% think Congress should support an amendment to limit the amount corporations can spend on elections.
74% say that they would be more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who pledged to support a Constitutional Amendment limiting corporate spending in elections.


PLEASE COMMENT ON: MY "IDEAL - COMPREHENSIVE" AMENDMENT

Section 1 {A corporation is not a person and can be regulated}
The rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of natural persons { human beings } only. Artificial entities, such as corporations, limited liability companies, and other entities, established by the laws of any State, the United States, or any foreign state shall have no rights under this Constitution and are subject to regulation by the People, through Federal, State, or local law. The privileges of artificial entities shall be determined by the People, through Federal, State, or local law, and shall not be construed to be inherent or inalienable.

Section 2 { Money is not speech }
Federal, State and local government shall regulate, limit, or prohibit contributions and expenditures, including a candidate’s own contributions and expenditures, and may restrict all financing to “public financing” for the purpose of influencing in any way the election of any candidate for public office or any ballot measure. As above, all foreign contributions are forbidden.

Section 3 { Transparency & Disclosure }
Federal, State and local government shall require that any permissible contributions and expenditures be publicly disclosed less than 60 days after the transaction and before the election.

Section 4 { Voter Suppression }
Federal, State and local government shall not require any new forms of id for voting, beyond what was needed to register for previously registered voters. College photo-id ( including for out-of-state students ) must be acceptable. Federal, State and local government shall permit early voting for at least the 6 days before the election day.

Section 5 { Election Day & Registration }
Federal, State and local government may make election day a holiday. Federal, State and local government must allow simultaneous registration and voting on election day.

Section 6 { Eliminate the Electoral College – one man one vote } The electoral college is abolished and the President and Vice-President will be elected by popular vote. .

Section 7 { Eliminate the Filibuster } Unless specified in the Constitution , all voting in the House and Senate shall be based on a simple majority.

Section 8 Nothing contained in this amendment shall be construed to abridge the freedom of the press .

{NOTE: sections 4, 5, 6, 7 are not required to overturn CU – just my wish list }
COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED


IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO ACT ----> JOIN US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE


Our primary goal should be to pass a constitutional amendment to counter Supreme Court decision Citizens United (2010) , that enables unlimited amounts of anonymous money to flood into our political system.
We don’t have to explain or persuade people to accept our position – we only have to persuade them to ACT based on their own position. Pursuing this goal will prove to the world that we, at OWS, are a serious realistic Movement, with serious realistic goals. Achieving this goal will make virtually every other goal – jobs, taxes, infrastructure, Medicare – much easier to achieve –
by disarming our greatest enemy – GREED.


IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO ACT ----> JOIN US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE


THE SUCCESS STORY OF THE AMENDING PROCESS The Prohibition movement started as a disjointed effort by conservative teetotalers who thought the consumption of alcohol was immoral. They ransacked saloons and garnered press coverage here and there for a few years. Then they began to gain support from the liberals because many considered alcohol partially responsible for spousal and child abuse, among other social ills. This odd alliance, after many years of failing to influence change consistently across jurisdictions, decided to concentrate on one issue nationally—a constitutional amendment. They pressured all politicians on every level to sign a pledge to support the amendment. Any who did not, they defeated easily at the ballot box since they controlled a huge number of liberal, and conservative and independent swing votes in every election. By being a single-issue constituency attacking from all sides of the political spectrum, they very quickly amassed enough votes (2/3) to pass the amendment in Congress. And, within just 17 months, they were successful in getting ¾ of the state legislatures to ratify the constitutional amendment into law. (Others were ratified even faster: Eight —took less than a year. The 26th, granting 18-year-olds the right to vote, took just three months and eight days.)


If they could tie the left and right into a success - WHY CAN'T WE ??????????


IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO ACT ----> JOIN US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE


1
83% of Americans ( and 76% of the Rs ) have already opposed CU in
the ABC/Washington post poll and the above
IS THEIR POSITION ALREADY.
2
We don’t have to work to convince people on the validity of our position.
3
This Amendment { sections 1+2 }is REQUIRED to overturn CU.
And all other electoral reform can be passed through the normal legislative process. 4
OWS and the FORUM pages are chock full of ( mostly ) excellent ideas to improve our country.
All of them have strong advocates – and some have strong opposition.
None of them has been “pre-approved” by 83% of Americans !
Pursuing this goal – is exactly what Americans want.
What do we want? Look at that almost endless list of demands – goals - aims.
Tax the rich. End the Fed. Jobs for all, Medicare for all. So easy to state our demands! Can you imagine how hard it would be to formulate a “sales pitch” for any of these to convince your Republican friends to vote for any of them?
83% of Americans have ALREADY “voted” against CU. And 76% of the Rs did too.
All we have to do ask Americans is to pressure their representatives – by letters - emails – petitions.

Wanna take your family on vacation?
Convince the 7 year old and the 10 year old to go to Mt Rushmore.
Then try to convince them to go to Disneyland.
Prioritizing this goal will introduce us to the world – not as a bunch of hippie radical anarchist socialist commie rabblerousers – but as a responsible, mature movement that is fighting for what America wants.


IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO ACT ----> JOIN US TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE


I feel that using the tactics of the NRA, the AARP, the TP, the anti-SOPA – who all represent a minority – who have successfully used their voting power and political pressure to achieve their minority goals - plus the Prohibition Amendment tactics – bringing all sides together - is a straight path for us to success that cannot fail to enable us to create and complete one task that the MAJORITY want.

There are at least seventeen different Constitutional Amendments in the works.
Help us support these moves to get the money out of our political system.


Join the NYC OWS Corporations are not People and Money is not Speech Working Group
http://corporationsarenotpeople.webuda.com http://www.nycga.net/groups/restore-democracy
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NYCRDWG
http://bit.ly/vK2pGI

regular meetings Wednesdays 5:30-7:30PM @ 60 Wall St – The Attrium


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[-] 1 points by BoycottCoke (275) 11 years ago

I joined the yahoo group...I'm listening.

[Removed]