Stagnation: The Curse of the "Occupy" Movement - Updated

One of the pitfalls of being a successful political movement is stagnation.  Once the original message of the movement has reached the desired audience, the movement needs to strike while the iron is hot and push for permanent inclusion in the political discussion.  The creators of the astroturf “tea party” movement knew that they had a very limited window of opportunity to get their movement permanent inclusion in the political discussion.

The creators of the “tea party” movement corralled the ginned up anger and put their money behind people willing to run for office under the “tea party” movement banner.  It was money well spent.  60 adherents of the “tea party” movement were voted into the House of Representatives, such as Congressman Paul Ryan, helping to sweep the Republicans into power.  A few “tea party” movement darlings also were elected to the Senate, such as Senator Rand Paul.

Even though the “tea party” adherents in Congress are a minority, even within the Republican House and Senate caucuses, they have been able to wield incredible power.  They have been able to force vote after vote on destructive legislation.  They have been able to include destructive amendments in must pass legislation.

But the destructive force of the “tea party” adherents hasn’t been limited to Congress.  In state legislatures and governor’s mansions, the “tea party” has installed itself.  With their new found power, they have inflicted almost irreparable harm to social safety net.  They have pushed for requiring food stamp and unemployment insurance recipients to be drug tested.  They have thrown tens of thousands of childless adults off of their state’s Medicaid rolls and capped enrollment. 

The “tea party” has targeted public and private sector employees by stripping them of their right to collectively bargain and by creating more so called “right to work states”.  They are pushing for the “free markets” not only to be taught as a class, but to be a requirement for graduation.  They are forcing schools to offer elective classes about the bible.  At the same time they are cutting school budgets.

This destruction is all due to the seizing of the moment to push candidates that support the “tea party” movement or are members by those who were the creators of the movement.  They didn’t fall into the trap of stagnation.

The “Occupy” movement, on the other hand, has become stagnant.  Although they once focused the nation’s political discussion on the massive income disparity in our nation, they have become stagnant and have failed to seize the moment.  They have yet to field one candidate to challenge a sitting Democrat or Republican.

Protests have their purposes.  But protests have a limited shelf life.  If they don’t evolve, the core message dies and people forget.  If the core message of the “Occupy” movement is to survive, the “Occupy” movement has to evolve and evolve quickly.  They need to field candidates.  But they need to field candidates who are going to push the core message of the 99%.

My fear is that they are all too happy being protestors.

*Update* I was sent a message during the night on Crooks and Liars that Nathan "Nate" Kleinman is the first "Occupy" candidate and actually had a write up in Politico. 

The "Tea Party" Movement's Disconnect With Reality

The Arizona Republic has been publishing Letter's To The Editor for the last couple of weeks slamming Democrats for being "uncompromising" when it comes to legislation supported by "tea party" movement Republicans.  Living in Arizona, its no surprise that there are those, such as Russell Howe, that the "tea party" Republicans can do no wrong:

Regarding the Aug. 27 letter "Other 'proud extremists' in the world": Can we just take a deep breath and look at "tea party" extremists from both sides?

When the Republican House of Representatives sent the "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill to the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tabled the bill and would not allow it to be debated.

In addition, President Barack Obama promised to veto the bill if it passed the Senate and came to his desk.

Does the writer really consider that to be compromise?

Of course, Mr. Howe, like so many of his "tea party" compatriots, completely disconnected from reality.   The so called "Cut, Cap and Balance" bill is and was always a political stunt.  Everyone knew in the House that it would die a quiet death in the Senate.  They all knew that is how the game is played and honestly, that's how the Founding Fathers designed Congress.

If the "tea party" Republicans truly wanted a balanced budget, they would stop with these political stunts and support rescinding the "Bush Tax Cuts" on the wealthiest two percent of Americans.  They would support ending subsidies for oil companies.  They would close the loopholes that give incentives to American corporations to offshore their workforces and their profits.

Hell, if the "tea party" Republicans were serious about governing and not just trying to make sure a Republican is elected president in 2012, they would knock off the games and introduce legislation that will help the nation.  But we all know that the "tea party" Republicans have no intention of actually governing.  Their sole concern is to weaken America by destroying our government and our economic well being.  It is only after achieving those goals that they can begin to build their theocratic "free market" utopia.

Their disconnect with reality is their downfall, now if only the media and the rest of the nation would realize it.

A Nation Without a Leader

Speaker of the House Boehner has no control over his own fellow Republican congressmen.  Majority Leader Reid has no spine and President Obama prefers that conservatives like him instead of fighting for what's right.  We are a nation without a leader.

Nature abhors a vacuum and our nation's capital is the prime example of that simple rule.  Without true leadership, bad things happen and small groups, such as the "tea party" Republicans, can hold our nation hostage.  Without true leadership our nation can not move forward.  Without true leadership our nation will produce something that will make Japan's "Lost Decade" look like a picnic.

I have made no secret of my disdain for President Obama and his "milquetoast presidency".  His lack of clear and coherent leadership and his desire to start every debate with a compromise that gives the other side all that they want has created a clear and present danger to our nation.  His lack of leadership has allowed 60 "tea party" Republicans in the House of Representatives to fuck with the "full faith and credit" our nation.

Instead of calling in the leadership of both Houses of Congress and demanding a clean "debt ceiling" increase, he only brought in the Republican leadership and offered steep cuts in the social safety net.  This is, of course, President Obama's standard modus operandi: Give the other side everything they want from the start then cry foul when they accept and more.

We need a true leader and I am calling for a primary challenger for President Obama.  One who can not only beat President Obama but also the Republican nominee (whoever that might be) in November, 2012.  But I don't want a Democratic nominee who will be a tool of the right.  I want a Democratic nominee who will fight for Democratic principles of a strong social safety net, sound fiscal policy and equality for all.

Right now, the only person who I believe fits the bill is New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.  His leadership in getting his state's marriage equality bill onto his desk proves he can get things done.  That is the type of leadership we need.  That is the type of leadership we deserve.   Find me a better candidate and I will vote for them.

Who do you think should be President Obama's primary challenger who can also win in November, 2012?  Put your suggestions into the comments.

A Suggestion for Speaker Boehner

Speaker of the House John Boehner has a problem.  No, it doesn't have to do with the fact that he loves to cry or that his skin is the color of a pumpkin or his golf swing.  No, the problem is that he cannot lead his fellow Republicans in passing a "debt ceiling" increase that doesn't destroy the nation.  In fact, his days as Speaker of the House are numbered.

My suggestion is very simple: Offer the moderate Republicans and the Democrats a clean, stand alone "debt ceiling" increase.  There should be enough moderate Republicans in the House, along with all of the Democrats, to get the 218 votes he needs to pass the increase.  I know it will be a hollow victory for Speaker Boehner, but it would prove that he is willing to put the needs of the United States above the ideology of his "tea party" cohorts.

But its just a suggestion.

The Destruction of Full Faith and Credit

Those members of Congress, governors and state legislatures who were elected with the vast support of the "tea party" movement and/or are members of the "tea party" movement have never cared about governing.  Nor do they care about making President Obama a one term president, as is Senate Minority Leader's Mitch McConnell’s stated goal.  No, their only goal is to dismantle our government and replace it with one whose sole purpose is to benefit the wealthy, the privileged and corporations.

Yes, for years the ultra-right conservative movement, their theocratic fascist and corporate allies have been slowly moving us in that direction for at least three decades.  It wasn't until the election of 2010 that the damage was able to be done more quickly and widespread.  Ultra-conservative and theocratic fascist Republicans (UC/TF/R) took control of governorships and state legislatures across the nation, foisting upon their respective state's laws that make everything before them look like child's play.

In Arizona, the UC/TF/R dominated legislature approved and UC/TF/R Governor Brewer signed laws that give tax breaks and subsidies for corporations while kicking people off of the state's Medicaid rolls.  In Wisconsin the UC/TF/R dominated legislature and UC/TF/R Governor Walker rammed through elimination of the right of public employees to collectively bargain through their respective unions while also giving out tax breaks to corporations.

UC/TF/R Michigan Governor Snyder signed a law that gave him the authority to effectively dissolve local and county governments by declaring “economic” emergencies.  The law has been used for a “trustee” takeover of some of the poorest school districts with the intent to privatize some of the schools therein and to turn others into charter schools.

The path of joblessness, poverty and destruction across this nation left by the policies of the UC/TF/R is staggering.  Now they are on course to destroy the “full faith and credit” of the United States by demanding massive cuts in our social safety net in order for them to approve raising the non-Constitutionally imposed “debt ceiling”.  In other words, they refuse to pay the bills of the United States unless the poor, working poor and the middle class give up what past generations fought for.

The UC/TF/R wants our government to go into default.  By forcing our government into default on our debts and obligations they destroy a critical portion of our nation’s foundation: Our word.  By destroying our word, they can force not just reductions in the social safety net, but the complete dismantling of that net.  Once the net is destroyed, once the corporations have free reign, once only the wealthy and privilege have access to the newly reformed government, then and only then will the UC/TF/R be happy.

The Unholy Union

I think we can all agree that certain members of the "elite" are well benefited by the policies of the modern Republican Party and the current manifestation of social conservatives, the "tea party" movement.  We can also agree that the elite would like nothing better than a permanent underclass in this nation that can be used for cheap if not slave labor.  We already see the start of it with high unemployment and the refusal of companies to hire those recently unemployed.

Now the Republicans have systematically been attacking organized labor, in particular those civil service employees represented by unions.  We have seen the attacks on public sector unions in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Florida.  The attempts to weaken if not destroy the public sector unions is mostly allow for the privatization of services provided by the various governments.  If there are no unions to represent the workers, they can't fight against privatization.

With the unions representing civil service workers gone, the next step will be to more or less criminalize private sector unions.  This has been the dream of American corporations for over a century.  If they can break the unions by criminalizing them, then they will have removed the last impetus to wholesale slashing of wages and benefits.

But getting rid of unions isn't enough.  You need people to be truly terrified of being out of work by getting rid of the social safety net.  If there is no social safety net workers won't want to demand higher wages for fear of losing their jobs.  We already see element of this with Michigan cutting the number of weeks someone can receive unemployment benefits and Arizona looking to remove up to 300,000 people from the state's Medicare rolls.

With permanent unemployment of 20% or more and no social safety net, those who will be lucky enough to be employed will be too scared to fight for better working conditions, higher wages and benefits.  It has been a long process in the making, requiring the right economic disaster to foment the right type of fear.  The Republicans are laying the legal groundwork for the elite to have their permanent underclass.

It is an unholy union that must be stopped.  The question is: Can we stop it?

The Secret to Democractic Success

Democrats across the nation got their asses kicked in the 2010 election.  Republicans took over governorships and solidified control of legislatures in state after state.  Though the "tea party" movement of microwaved social conservatives didn't get a seat in Congress, they took several seats in various legislatures.

Some claim that the Democratic losses were due to the "tea party" movements ideology of cutting taxes and cutting entitlement spending.  Others claim the losses were due to the passage of controversial laws such as the Affordable Health Care Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act.  Still others claim that as our nation is "right of center", the Democrats tried to take us too far to the left.

I believe all of the reasons given are wrong.  Fiscally and socially conservative Democrats (Blue Dogs) lost 31 of their 54 caucus members.  Moderate Harry Mitchell was defeated in his reelection bid in Arizona's 5th Congressional district.  Even Jon Hulburd, who ran to the right of Ben Quayle here in Arizona's 3rd Congressional district was trounced.  The reason they all lost?  They weren't being Democrats.  They weren't being liberal enough.

You read that correctly.  I believe we Democrats got our asses handed to us because Democrats forgot what it is to be a modern Democrat and to be liberals.  Led by President Obama, Democrats gave us tax payer funded welfare for insurance companies.  They gave us Wall Street reform that was bereft of any real reforms and allowed the "too big to fail" companies "too big to fail".  They even failed to rescind the Bush tax cuts that have cost us over $3 trillion since inception.

If the Democrats had passed real health care insurance reform that included the ability to purchase into Medicare at any age, we wouldn't have lost the House.  If the Democrats had passed real Wall Street reform that separated investment and commercial banks once again, they wouldn't have lost so many seats in the Senate.  If the Democrats had passed real mortgage banking reform that actually helped homeowners, they wouldn't be wondering why they lost.

America is ready and needs strong liberal leadership and ideas.  We could never afford the ideology of the fiscal conservatives and we can ill afford them now.  The Democrats need to push for Medicare at any age.  They need to push for real Wall Street reform.  They need to push for real mortgage reform.  They need to push for a national high speed passenger rail network.  They need to be the liberals that the nation needs.  That is how the Democrats will win in 2012.