Resignation letter from Framingham DemCommittee Chair (quitting party & going undeclared)

[Robbien]

Friends and members of the FDTC,

I am writing this letter to tell you that as of this morning I have switched my voter registration from Democratic to Unenrolled and hence am resigning as the FDTC chair.

I am a lifetime Democrat so this has been a very hard step for me to take but I've come to the conclusion that the Democratic Party no longer stands for anything I believe in.

The reasons are many and have been accumulating since the Democratic takeover of the House in 2006 and have only come faster and more furious since the 2008 elections giving the Democrats full control. Here are some of these reasons:

1. Our state of Perpetual War is continuing and even expanding. Next thing you know we'll be in Yemen. Our resources are being spent, horrible atrocities are being committed by US troops, and the wars are pointless and unwinnable. See Western troops accused of executing 10 Afghan civilians, including children.

2. The bailout which favored the very people who were to blame in the first place and has left in place the deregulation and too-big-to-fail institutions, while doing very little for the bottom 95% of us.

3. The continuing erosion of our civil rights to the point where American citizens are no longer guaranteed due process or habeas corpus, which basically means anyone the government deems as troublesome can be "disappeared". See One day we'll all be terrorists.

The final straw was the travesty of the Health Care Insurance Reform bill that was passed in the Senate on Christmas Eve. Not only is this a huge giveaway to Insurance companies, not only will this leave millions uninsured, not only does this bill include no cost controls and is structured as a means-based entitlement, which means that like welfare it will constantly be under attack from the Right, the 30% co-insurance will leave many families unable to utilize their insurance without going into bankruptcy. Just like today, except that today they aren't forced into buying something they can't afford.

much more . . .

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/framingham/2010/01/dem_comittee_chair_resignation.html

[dkf]

1. Damn all my complaints wrapped in a resignation

I'm beginning to wonder if the people most upset are the regulars who do the grunt work. Where will Obama and the party be if the manpower is walking off?

[nykym]

3. Standing there smiling

with their hands in their pockets and saying 'Hey Where'd everybody go'!

[Hello_Kitty]

7. Yep. All the people who point to the polls showing 85% approval among Dems are missing the point

The people who do the grunt work are less than 1% of the voting populace. If they're discouraged you have a big problem. Activists are FURIOUS about all the things in that letter.

[burning rain]

30. They'll have a grand time getting rich making speeches to fat cats.

.

[ShortnFiery]

41. Agreed dkf ! It's an excellent resignation - both clear and concise. eom

[jtrockville]

2. A canary in the coal mine.

[shireen]

48. this canary did a little singing too ...

;)

When i get calls from political organizations and charities soliciting donations, i immediately cut them off and politely ask to be removed from thire calling list. By law, they're supposed to stop the pitch and agree to not call again; most of them comply.

Yesterday, I got a call from the DCCC, and decided not to do my usual 'remove me' routine. From now on, i am going to derive a lot of pleasure out of saying NO to any Democratic organization soliciting money, and telling them why. The man I spoke to was quite sympathetic to my reasons. We had a friendly chat during which i told him that my donations to campaigns were, from now on, going to be sent to DFA. He was glad to hear i would be still supporting candidates i believed in. There are some good people behind those calls.

:hi:

[NoUsername]

84. I had a helluva time getting them to remove me from their email list.

I made the mistake of volunteering during the 2004 election and giving them my email addy, assuming they would only use it to contact me regarding volunteer needs, etc. WRONG. They gave/sold my email addy to all sorts of Dems and Dem-related organizations and I was forced to unsubscribe from a huge number of mailing lists. But the kicker was state Dem party. They wouldn't unsubscribe me no matter what. I started out with polite requests and got more and more insistent as they continued to spam me. Finally, I had had enough. I told them that since my repeated requests to be unsubscribed were being ignored, they could go ahead and continue to spam me. I also informed them that from that point on, for each and every contact from them, whether by email, mail, or phone, I would make a donation to a third party. I never heard from them again.

Money talks. In the end that's all they care about. Dem or Republican, makes no difference. In fact, I bet the party bigwigs laugh their ass off at all the "small" donors (e.g., those that can only afford to donate a few bucks) because they see them as complete suckers. Oh, they love to brag about them during the election season but once that is over, they're tossed aside. It's time for the "big" donors to cash in and get their ROI. At everyone else's expense, of course.

The whole political system is fucked up and the only fix is publicly-funded elections. But that will never happen because that would require our so-called "elected representatives" to vote for it and we all know that will never happen. They love the power and money too much to ever even consider it.

[shireen]

90. very true

we're the suckers. i've never been so discouraged by the process ....
:(

[girl gone mad]

4. This is why those "liberal Democrats are still thrilled" polls are worthless.

They don't take into account the people who have simply left the party and now consider themselves to be Independents. I would say that most of the young people I know do not identify with either party right now.

[FiveGoodMen]

6. Even so, no one who remains thrilled should be considered a LIBERAL Democrat.

Otherwise the word liberal means absolutely nothing.

[Hello_Kitty]

9. You beat me to it!

And it doesn't matter how happy Dem voters are if no one is going to organize to get them to the polls come November.

[still_one]

21. Most of the young people I know identify with the Democrats /nt

[still_one]

5. fine, you don't want to work within the party, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out /nt

[rurallib]

8. Maybe better yet, like Harry Truman once said about politicians

who are like donkeys - ya gotta hit them between the eyes with a 2X4 to get their attention.
Maybe, just maybe, dem politicians will begin to realize that republican lite don't play very well anyplace.

[dflprincess]

81. Truman also said that if you give the voters a choice between a Republican

and a Democrat who acts like a Republican, they'll pick the Republican everytime.

We may see that big time come November and the Democratic party will only have itself to blame.

[NoUsername]

85. I'd rather see some third party emerge.

Hopefully people are starting to realize that the "two-party" system is nothing but a dog-and-pony show put on by the two wings of the corporate party to maintain the status quo.

But you're probably right. The Republicans could very well prevail in the next election because that's the best scenario that would allow the illusion to continue. "We WANT to change the HCR bill but those pesky Republican are blocking us. The solution is to elect more Democratss in the next election. If you want to help, please consider making a small contribution of $$$ to help us in our effort of electing more Democrats to office which would allow the Democratic Party to continue the important work of representing the needs of the people in this great country of ours."

And on it goes.

[depakid]

86. That one burned...

:thumbsup:

[Robbien]

10. Then you agree with the Dem party standard party line

as this resignation letter so clearly points out the Dems in charge say the solution are:

1. Elect more Democrats

2. The bill will be improved later - Like Nafta? Or the Patriot Act?

3. The other side is worse - Yes, the Democrats are better than the party of rabid conservatives the GOP has become, but not enough to matter, not enough to make the changes this country so desperately needs.

4. There is no other choice



Letting the door hit us in the ass is much better than being part of a party whose only goal is to make the rich richer.

[still_one]

13. Put words in my mouth, that isn't what I said, but the distortions on this board are terrific /nt

[left is right]

16. I agree with the sentiments in the resignation letter and I am frustrated

by the so-called solutions that you have reported. I am at the point that I am willing to throw away my vote (at least in the primary) by writing in "any liberal democrat". If they want to claim my vote they will have to declare themselves as liberal. And maybe using truth in advertising laws, I can initiate a class-action suit if they fail to live up to their claim.

[still_one]

19. Then throw your vote away, the Democratic party will survive without you, and those of us who remain

will make a difference

[girl gone mad]

22. "the Democratic party will survive without you"

Exactly how many people are you willing to sacrifice?

[still_one]

26. My response was not to you /nt

[left is right]

24. and that is exactly the problem despite your good intentions you will not be able to make a diff

Too many of the our Democratic representatives are too beholden to big money. It's no their fault they have to raise vast sums to stay in office. And a third party candidate can't win. The only message that we can send is that we will support the candidate that attempts to hold to the once proud traditions of the Democratic party. I am not a rebel, I just recognize that something has to be done and rather quickly or we will be forced to accept the fascism that we are heading toward

[still_one]

27. At least that not giving up /nt

[CoffeeCat]

40. Excellent post...

We are truly marching toward a frightening situation. It worsens every day. By now,
anyone who is paying attention understands that the process has been perverted by
corporate money and how campaigns are financed.

If you want to know if our politicians are owned by the corporations, all you have to
do is look at the legislation that is passed. It is truly frightening.

This is NOT the Democratic party. Anyone who believes that the Democratic party is
about politicians who are bought off by large corporations--has lost their way.

We have to fix things. We can't stand around waxing poetic about how marvelous the Democratic
party is, and how we should be loyal. Loyal to what...corporatism? A healthcare bill that
is a giveaway to big insurance? The decimation of our civil rights? That's not the Democratic
party. That's the corporations talking.

[ShortnFiery]

44. We don't have enough representatives who see office as SERVICE rather than A STEPPING STONE

to further their personal careers for increasing wealth.

When was "public service" made to be something that we, as Americans should be ashamed of?

Oh right, it began under Saint Reagan. :(

[salguine]

89. Actually, when they control both houses of Congress and the White House, and

are therefore ostensibly in a position to legislate the corporate money out of our electoral system, then it IS their fault that they "have to raise vast sums to stay in office".

[saracat]

29. Nice way to presuade folks to stay. You may not realize it but the Party NEEDS these folks.

They ARE the Democratic party. They are the ones that GOTV and knock on doors. They call and walk for candidates. The democratic party exists because of them and it should exist FOR them, not for itself. Without these peopel you say they do not NEED, the democratic party ceases to exist. But have it your way. Let them go, and be left with nothing.

[Hawkowl]

31. EXACTLY!!!

Rahm has apparently convinced Obama that the democratic party is composed of corporations and investment bankers. It is because those are the only democrats that Rahm knows. The backbone of the democratic party is being alienated--nay destroyed!

Apparently the the rethuglican party is going to be reborn as coalition of conservative dems and moderate rethuglicans, and named the Democratic party. The teabaggers will take control of the current Rethuglican party and what happens to us homeless, progressive/liberals remains to be seen.

[ShortnFiery]

43. Do you understand how much SORROW working class people will have to suffer because

our party PRESENTLY serves only the rich?

I'm heartbroken at the callous disregard for the welfare of hard working people. BOTH parties are only interested in enriching those who are ALREADY PROVIDED FOR.

May God have mercy on our selfish souls ... The USA is in for a long, cold Winter of Discontent.

[NoUsername]

87. Aw, stuff like that doesn't matter.

Don't you get it? It's just like team sports. Winning is EVERYTHING. Even if your team sucks.

[freddie mertz]

49. How many are you willing to lose? Big election for Senate in MA coming up.

I would think Dems would want to reach out to every voter.

One way is to be consistent and honor campaign promises and fundamental Democratic principles.

Do that, and we can win.

Lie, cheat, and sell out to big money, and we shall surely lose.

[DisgustedInMN]

64. Instead...

.. the arrogant fools thumb their nose at us.

[dflprincess]

82. The way the Democrats have always reached out to voters is by using

the activists to knock on doors, make calls, etc. Those are the people, myself included, who are ready to walk away. Some of us have been active for years - we're not giving up, we're fed up. I'm sure most of us will find some other party or cause to get involved in.

Once we're gone, the party won't have anyone to do the grunt work and I really doubt that those who are so anxious to see us leave will pick up the slack.

[frylock]

50. and then when the dems lose seats in 2010 you'll piss and moan..

because you didn't get our votes. i've been throwing away my vote for eight fucking years now.

[fascisthunter]

55. It's this Type of Arrogance that is Destroying the Party within

even in light of so many facts, you push people out of your party because they do not agree with this administration. You are pushing folks away, and not helping the party as a whole.

[katkat]

56. still_one

Waiting to hear what that difference is. Seriously. Because if there's a difference between Obama's policies and Bush's, I'm not seeing it.

[peace frog]

62. BINGO

I'm thinking we'll wait in vain for that explanation.

[John Q. Citizen]

67. you sound as if you are working for the Repos. The more people you alienate, the

better off the Repos are.

[flyarm]

75. when the Dem party has lost all the union memeber in this nation..how will you feel then?

remember..Union people always vote..unlike the youth that show up sporadically..and seniors vote....so when the two big groups that are going to be fucked by this health care bullshit don't vote..tell me how the dems retain both houses and the White House??????

And don't forget ..the union folks are a huge part of the GOTV and the grunt work for the dem party!

[salguine]

88. Looks to me like a vote for Obama was the vote "thrown away". I voted for him, and I've

never felt so punked in my life.

[truedelphi]

32. I agree with you and so well stated. n/t

[CoffeeCat]

39. The corporatism has taken over our party...

We are the in the majority. We have the Presidency. And yet--we don't have Habeas Corpus.
We have immunity for the telcos. Bush and Cheney will never be held accountable. We're
dealing with healthcare reform that has no reform--it's just a big paycheck for the insurance
companies and it is revolting!

We can't do it within the party--because our party has been ravaged by people who are not
upholding the basic tenant of our party. They're owned by the corporations.

You can be loyal to the Democratic party--but step outside of it to enact change. It seems
impossible to make change 'within."

Who are the Democratic politicians who are standing up and speaking out against this corporate
corruption--and screaming as loud as we are about the injustice and demanding change????

The system is broke.

[ShortnFiery]

42. "The Party" has become a corporate entity and autocratic.

I can't get excited to go out and canvass for people who keep transferring my hard earned tax dollars up to the bloated and forever greedy 1%.

Sorry, but sure = I'll shag my democratic peasant ass to the polls to vote the party line because the thought of GOP control is nothing short of "horrific" - but don't ask for MONEY or MY TIME. :thumbsdown:

[bkozumplik]

69. didn't.

And you, turn off the lights when you're the last one left and you are leaving. Don't need to be wasting power on top of everything else.

[T Wolf]

11. It is so god-damned obvious that unless the politicians suffer consequences for their

betrayal of Democratic principles, they will continue to side with the pukes in moving the US into out-and-out fascism.

They do not need our dollars, since they get all they need from the corps.

They think they do not need our "effort" since they think they can simply hire people (at minimum wage) to do the grunt work.

They know they need our votes but think that there is no where else for us to go, since only a fool would vote for a rethug.

On the first two points, they are probably correct.

On the third, they will learn that more-and-more Democrats who have been the base of the party for decades are fed up. I doubt if anyone can accurately predict how many of us will "stay home" come November '10 and November '12, but there will be some.

Each person has their own breaking point. The politicians whom we voted into office just think that we will continue to swallow their shit because we are stupid and, in fact, have NO point beyond which we cannot be pushed. After all, we have fallen for their BS time and time again. What's "one more time" to finish the wonderful job they are doing?

[still_one]

15. and /nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. Whatever you do, don't stay home

if only to have some influence on your local offices, which are much more important to your everyday life than any national office. For example, Creationists could take over the school board if all the left-of-center people stay home. You could end up with privatized this and privatized that. You could end up with a governor like Tim Pawlenty, who tried to slash all kinds of assistance for the poorest of the poor on the grounds of "needing to balance the budget."

Try primary challenges to incumbents first, and if some DLCer gets nominated anyway, then mark your ballot as your conscience sees fit, but mark your ballot somehow.

The reason is that politicians care only about the people who show up.

If only 10% of the public voted, and the Dems won 60% of that total and the Republicans 40%, that would still be only 6% of eligible voters, and yet, the Dems would claim a "landslide" and a "mandate," just as Reagan did when he won 27% of the eligible voters.

Of course, if the Dems lose, the DLC will immediately declare that the party has been "too liberal," and they'll try to persuade Bill O'Reilly to run.

[Larkspur]

12. I've decided to remain in my town's DTC

Our caucus is this Monday night. I live in Connecticut.

While I disagree with the pro-Wall Street behavior of the Dem Establishment in Washington, I believe that the best place to reform the party is from within.

In the early 1990's, I felt the same way about Clinton and the state CT Dems that the Framingham DTC chair does about Obama and the Dems today. I left the Dem Party, but it didn't make it any better. In 2002, I rejoined the Dem Party and became active in the party. Previously, I had only been a Dem voter. I volunteered for Rep. Courtney's first attempt at his current seat in 2002. My volunteerism got me the attention of my town's DTC Chair at the time. She got me into the DTC in Jan. 2003. I've been a member since. In 2005, I became my DTC's secretary and have been it since.

By being a member of the local party, you can help reform it. In 2006, I was a supporter of Ned Lamont against Joe Lieberman. By joining with other Dems in DTC's across the state who agreed with me about Lieberman, we were able to primary Lieberman and boot him out of the Party. Unfortunately, Lamont lost the general election, but we are more experienced now than we were in 2006 and many Dems who supported Lieberman during the primary finally saw Lieberman the way we did. If we didn't primary Lieberman in 2006, he would be worse today than he has been. The fact that current polls show Lieberman losing more support justifies our primary battle against him.

[still_one]

14. That is exactly what someone who really cares for the party should do

anything else is just nonesense

[bread_and_roses]

28. I don't give a good god-damn about the future of the Party - only about the future of my child and

grandchild and all the other children and grandchildren out there. And for a long time "the Party" has been selling out their futures as well as the future of the planet. Which is why I left "the Party" ten years ago.

[Larkspur]

46. So what choices do you have?

The Repukes make things worse than the Dems.

And because of our "winner take all" system third parties replacing one of the major ones is a complete fantasy. It costs lots of money to run a national party and support candidates across our nation. Why do you think no other third party has become a major force in our political system? And if they did, they would soon be corrupted by Big Money too.

If you want to change our "winner take all" system to a parliamentary one, so that third parties can participant in our government, then you have to change our Constitution and that is extremely difficult.

[bread_and_roses]

61. I do have another choice - two, actually

For one, pure luck: I live in NY, where we have the Working Families Party - and if you're not familiar with it, I can tell you that we ARE a force in NYS politics, despite being a third Party. However, that is only a partial choice, since mostly WFP uses "fusion" voting to support Democrats. Not much difference on the National level, although it can and has and does make a big difference on the local level.

For another, I can work to organize people instead of to elect politicians. Community and issue organizing - it's where I think we need to go. Because it has become plain as day that electing one Party over another is a losing battle - they care far more for their Corporate Paymasters than for their constituents, to whom they simply lie at election time. Witness Obama (who I supported and worked hard for - among the millions of others who did so because he ran as an agent of transformational change), for one.

[leveymg]

17. As a Democratic Committee Member, I agree with the sentiment but not the approach - here's why

We have nowhere to go if we leave Party organizations, at this time. There is no viable third-party, as yet. Further, we should not encourage the defection to a third party until the hard-core committed Republicans do the same thing, and simultaneously split the GOP.

Now, if the Democratic and GOP base were to agree to split the parties at the same time, then I could see myself writing a similar defection letter. But, not until there is some assurance that this doesn't just advantage the other side.

[still_one]

20. wow, someone who wants to be actively part of trying to make something better instead of giving up

my hats off to you, and I turn my back on the defeatists

Those who leave, will then have no say in the future of the party, what kind of thought process is that?

[FiveGoodMen]

23. That boils down to: We'll do something effective if and when the GOP cooperates.

[truedelphi]

33. Over the weekend I went to a New Year's party

The party was held at the home of a woman who I don't consider to be politically thoughtful or active.

But wow, while the cake was being served and the last of the eggnog guzzled, the other women started talking a mile a minute.

"Well I for one am so done with the Democratic Party that I could gag before I vote for them again." This from someone who has been quite serious about gaining new voter registrations for the Dems for the last five or maybe even ten years.

"Me too! How could they do that health bill to us after we worked so hard on their behalf?" said someone else.

And pretty soon, the talk involved how we would go about creating a third party movement. Maybe it won't change things nationally for a decade, but if these over sixty something women are this much up in arms, I can only imagine that the fervor is growing in other age groups as well.

[Larkspur]

47. It would take more than a decade to get a thrid party in prime time

None have done it so far.

It takes lots of money as well as thousands of committed activists and millions of supporters. And the need for money means third parties will be corrupted too.

[truedelphi]

80. The way I see it, I will be 10 years older in 10 years, whether I go after my dreams or

Remain enslaved by the Big Money Party of Republicrats. (Or I guess since Obama's
election, DemoRepugs.)

And who knows if it will take ten years? I didn't think a black man would be elected President last year, and didn't think it would happen until 10Pm on Election Night.

So who knows - if we work for real change, we just might get it sooner than later.

But if we don't work hard to see that our nation has the needed additional political parties, nothing good will happen.

[bvar22]

51. The current state of the Democratic Party....

...is forcing me to look at longer range strategic alternatives.

Continuing to support a Party that no longer represents my economic interests is NOT a solution.
It is merely prolonged suicide.

I will work for change I can believe in.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[katkat]

76. leveymg

If we stay we just perpetuate the current mess. I am now going to say something extreme leftists have been saying for years and I always thought they were crazy to say: burn the damn thing down. There is no way to fix it. Then maybe we can build something from the ashes.

[Dr.Phool]

18. I resigned from my DEC position 2 years ago.

I had several reasons, but our new majorities continuing to fund the wars we elected them to stop, was the main reason.

After a few more outrages, FISA was the deal-breaker, and I switched my registration to "No Party Affiliation". That's what it's called in Florida.

Other than a few twinkling lights, I can barely recognize the Party anymore.

[ShortnFiery]

45. For the life of me Dr. P, I do not understand these "WARS" and the Democrats who support them?

:(

[Goldstein1984]

34. I didn't just leave the Democratic Party ten years ago:

I stayed on course and watched the party go off in the wrong direction. I'm the same democrat was was when I registered in 1974, and the same person working outside the system that I was as a teenager.

From the letter:

”… there are 82 members in the Congress Progressive Caucus and only 52 conservative "blue dogs" but which side constantly prevails? The problem isn't in the numbers.”

“…almost all of the important achievements the Left has won for the people of this country have come from people working outside of the political system…”

“...the existing political system is too invested in the status quo to change without enormous outside pressure.”

So, in argument against all of those party loyalists who condemn those of us who don't stay in the party to change it: The problem isn't in the numbers, the system is too invested in the status quo to change from the inside, and significant achievements come from outside the system.

[truedelphi]

79. The system is not simply "invested" in the status quo - the Big Shot Dems rig

The system to be that way.

to run for office as a Dem inside the SF Bay Area, you have to be buddies with Diane Feinstein, or else a close friend of a friend of a friend.

People who are progressive are actively discouraged from seeking any type of leadership role.

I hate saying this, but politically speaking, I cannot see much difference between Schwarzenegger and Di Fi. They both support a woman's right to choose. They both are adverse to Single Payer Universal Health Care - Ahnold having vetoed the statewide bill several times, and Di Fi certainly will roll up her sleeves if she gets to be governor and should such a state bill come to her desk.

[HughMoran]

36. I hope you're not promoting the idea that Democrats leave the Party like this one did

Is that what you're promoting?

[Name removed]

58. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Vidar]

37. Bravo Ms. Sivan!

[CoffeeCat]

38. This is the BEST thing I've read in YEARS!!!!

This gives me hope. This tells me that there ARE democrats out there who get it.

Where are the rest of the Democrats who feel this way? Why is there not a movement
of leaders, politicians and unhappy Democrats who see the corruption and horrendous
policies--and no longer want to enable all of it??????

We only need a handful of leaders to help guide us out of this mess. We ultimately
must fight for change---but when former Dems and party leaders refuse to play this
sick game anymore--that has power. That can change history.

I am so grateful for this...

[mdmc]

52. And this was a hardcore party person

willing to dig it out in the trenches..

[slay]

54. Let this be an example for ALL decent Democrats

we could finally find out which are real and truly care about the people, and which are DINO's who sold their souls to the corporations.

[yurbud]

53. my response to this posted at Boston Globe

In a two dominant party system like ours, the two parties don't exist forever. When one party no longer serves a sufficient constituency, it can disappear in a flash like the Whigs did. In the case of the Whigs, they failed to deal forcefully with slavery and left the would to fester into gangrene.

We are at a very unusual place where that is about to happen to both parties. While the right wing constituency doesn't seem to realize the problem, the left does all too well--our economy and political system is rigged to benefit a very, very few even when it harms or even kills (in the case of our wars and health care system) the vast majority of working and middle class Americans.

The Bush administration pulled the mask off this system, making even the slightly milder corruption of the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress intolerable to those of us who really believe our government should try to form a more perfect union and support the general welfare.

The problem is not individual politicians or even one party, but a system that makes profound corruption and amorality the norm. While there have been some campaign finance and ethics reform, the fact that politicians can leave office and go to work as lobbyists, CEOs, and board members for companies that have business before Congress and still be respected by their colleagues and even run for office again instead of being thrown in prison makes us look like a Third World kleptocracy.

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/

[kath]

59. Oops - crossposted my post below - while I was getting ready to quote/post your wonderful comment,

you posted it yourself.
Kudos! What a great comment -- happy to know it was from a DUer!

[flyarm]

68. What an incredibly intgelligent and wonderful response Yurbud!!

and you hit it out of the park!!

thank you!!

Fly

[yurbud]

72. you're welcome! Give it some love on social bookmarking sites: LINKS

http://buzzflash.net/story.php?id=1065453

http://www.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/anlju/response_to_democratic_party_chair_quitting/

http://digg.com/political_opinion/Response_to_Democratic_party_chair_quitting

http://www.jabberwonk.com/flinker.cfm?cliid=1aqt0u

[Dr.Phool]

73. I know what you're saying.

My former business partner and I have had that conversation many times.

We've managed congressional campaigns together. Other campaigns for now sitting congresspeople, and been active for a long time. We've seen the deterioration of the political system from front row seats. We used to have long discussions on which party would self-destruct first.

They are BOTH self-destructing right now. The Republicans are by far, much crazier. The Democrats just seem totally incompetent. We've dealt with almost every DEC in Florida, and the incompetence, and ignorance is astounding.

In one campaign in particular, we needed about 6,000 signatures on petitions to get a candidate on the ballot, instead of paying a $10,000 qualifying fee. I spent a lot of time outside a DMV office getting signatures, along with one of our primary opponents, and a Republican who was running for State Senate.
The Republican needed a lot fewer signatures to qualify than we did. About 1,500 or so. When he was done, he started helping us gather signatures, just for the hell of it. I knew him from before, when he used to be a Democrat. He was very conservative, but strong on labor, and we were very liberal.

Do you realize that that one guy, a Republican, gathered more petitions for us than EIGHT COUNTY DEC'S COMBINED?

That's the party competence you're dealing with. We went on to win a 3-way primary by 20 points. We lost the general to an incumbent who outspent us 20-1.

[lildreamer316]

77. WOW. We've got something serious to learn from that.

Thanks for sharing. I'm very interested in what you have to say; since it seems you've seen a decent amount inside the operations of these campaigns and maybe inside the beltway?
A lot of us outside the realm have a hard time grasping the realities of day-to-day politics and campaigns.
As Dems, or even as third party people if we decide to be so; we need to learn from people like that man.

[kath]

57. Thanks for posting this -- everyone be sure to read the comment at the link - also very well stated:

yurbud wrote:
In a two dominant party system like ours, the two parties don't exist forever. When one party no longer serves a sufficient constituency, it can disappear in a flash like the Whigs did. In the case of the Whigs, they failed to deal forcefully with slavery and left the would to fester into gangrene.

We are at a very unusual place where that is about to happen to both parties. While the right wing constituency doesn't seem to realize the problem, the left does all too well--our economy and political system is rigged to benefit a very, very few even when it harms or even kills (in the case of our wars and health care system) the vast majority of working and middle class Americans.

The Bush administration pulled the mask off this system, making even the slightly milder corruption of the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress intolerable to those of us who really believe our government should try to form a more perfect union and support the general welfare.

The problem is not individual politicians or even one party, but a system that makes profound corruption and amorality the norm. While there have been some campaign finance and ethics reform, the fact that politicians can leave office and go to work as lobbyists, CEOs, and board members for companies that have business before Congress and still be respected by their colleagues and even run for office again instead of being thrown in prison makes us look like a Third World kleptocracy.

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/

http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/framingham/2010/01/dem_comittee_chair_resignation.html?comments=all#readerComm

[yurbud]

65. thanks! I posted it on my blog too with links to social bookmarking sites to vote it UP:

http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2010/01/response-to-democratic-party-chair.html

[matt819]

63. Blah, blah, blah

Perhaps in an earlier time a Democrat or Republican could switch party lines to vote for a candidate he believed was better suit for the job. And definitely in an earlier time Democrat and Republican representatives and senators could cross party lines to enact legislation.

Sadly, that time is past. You can argue this till the proverbial cows come home, but the fact is that at the start of the second decade of the 2000s we are a hopelessly polarized nation, each side having nothing but contempt for the other. I could no sooner vote for a republican than I could voluntarily cut off a body part just for fun. So, while Dems and Progressives may be unhappy with the state of American politics, reform, etc. in general - and displeased with President Obama and the Democratic majority more specifically - the fact remains that a true Dem or Progressive probably feels the same as I do.

So, while the resignation letter cited contains the views that many here share -- and, believe me, I think we're on the way to becoming a truly ungovernable nation -- "unenrolling" from the Democratic Party is an essentially pointless gesture (and this without any reference to the fact that we're talking about party politics in a town with a population of 67,000), as I seriously doubt that this newly independent voter in predominantly Democratic Massachusetts is going to vote for Republicans.

[DisgustedInMN]

71. So, exactly how many lifelong Democrats...

..leaving the Party or refusing to play the "hold my nose and vote for the lessor of two evils" is enough to matter?

I haven't left the Party, it's left me. If it wants me back, it's going to have some serious soul searching to do. And I'm not alone, there are millions of us.

Ok, one of the blind cheerleaders can now step up and insult me, that seems to be the only strategy they have.

[yurbud]

78. what would be an unacceptable level of corruption to you? or is it good enough to just be

a few percentage points less corrupt than the GOP?

[Greyhound]

66. K&R.

[dpbrown]

70. This person speaks for me

I don't have much hope for "change" anymore.

[Dr.Phool]

74. Kick and rec!

[shopgreen]

83. it includes provisions stripping women of the most basic right of all - ownership of their own bodie

The final straw was the travesty of the Health Care Insurance Reform bill that was passed in the Senate on Christmas Eve. Not only is this a huge giveaway to Insurance companies, not only will this leave millions uninsured, not only does this bill include no cost controls and is structured as a means-based entitlement, which means that like welfare it will constantly be under attack from the Right, the 30% co-insurance will leave many families unable to utilize their insurance without going into bankruptcy. Just like today, except that today they aren't forced into buying something they can't afford. And as a final insult, it includes provisions stripping women of the most basic right of all - ownership of their own bodies. Note to Democrats - pro-choice is in the party's platform and you don't compromise on principles. Just a reminder - the U.S. spends far more than any other Western country per capita, has worse outcomes than most, and to top it off, leaves millions without access to healthcare. Interestingly enough, the rest of the world has no for-profit insurance companies, and no other national solution looks remotely like this mishmash................



The senate bill is what we will get folks.