Hey Liberals, Democrats Are Evil, Too

[Modern School]

The left press and blogosphere have been ranting about the crazy, evil, greedy and/or stupid Republicans and mostly overlooking the fact that Democratic lawmakers, too, have launched a scorched earth policy against children, teachers, unions, and working people in general.


Consider these examples reported today on the WSWS:

The Democrat-controlled Colorado senate, by a 30-5 margin, approved budget cuts of $250 million from K-12 education, which will result in massive teacher layoffs, larger class sizes, and a shortened school year. The budget also guts higher education and Medicaid, while canceling a $3 million nutrition program for poor children. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper initially called for $375 million in cuts to K-12 education, but agreed to reduced education cuts in exchange for bigger tax cuts for the rich and corporations. Keep in mind, Colorado’s six billionaires with a combined wealth of $20.3 billion, more than 20 times Colorado’s entire $988 million deficit, have no need for a tax break.

Washington State, with a Democrat governor and Democrat-controlled senate and house, approved a budget that slashes $2 billion from public education, cuts pay for state workers and teachers by 3%, and strips funding from “underperforming” schools. Their budget saves an additional $1.2 billion by refusing to fund a voter-approved program to increase teacher pay and decrease class sizes. Washington is also planning to cut $530 million from higher education, which would cause tuition to increase by 16% at universities and 12% at community colleges. The budget also imposes furloughs and cuts funding for Medicaid. Washington’s six billionaires have a combined net worth of nearly $100 billion, which is 25 times the state’s budget deficit.

Or consider these examples:
California has a Democrat governor and Democrat-controlled state house and senate. Yet they are proposing to close their $25 billion budget gap by slashing $1.4 billion from higher education and $4 billion from k-12 education, according to the CTA. Additionally, Reuters and CNN report that the proposed budget would cut wages by 10% for many unionized state employees, while slashing Medi-Cal by $1.7 billion, Welfare-to-Work by $1.5 billion, and $705 million from the agency serving people with developmental disabilities. Yet, if just the richest 19 residents paid 10% more in taxes, the state’s $25 billion deficit would be completely erased. California has 80 billionaires, or 20% of Forbes’ richest Americans.

In New York, Democratic Governor Cuomo has proposed a budget plan calling for nearly 9,800 layoffs. The plan also calls for massive cuts to K-12 education (7.3%) and health care, in addition to 10% cuts to colleges and universities, reported NBC news. Additionally, CNN said that state agencies will have their budgets slashed by 20%. New York City, alone, has 58 billionaires who, together have so much wealth they could erase the State’s budget deficit without even noticing a change in their bank accounts.

In Maryland, Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley, who ran a pro-education and pro-labor campaign, and the Democrat-controlled state legislature, are now considering cuts to education and the state work force, according to the Baltimore Sun. Under the plan, current employees would have to increase their pension contributions by 25%, (7% of their pay), or they could opt to continue contributing about 5.6% of their pay, but would risk decreased benefits. WaPo reports that new employees would have no choice and their early retirement age would be raised from 55 to 60. Daily Censored says that $94 million will be cut from k-12 education, with $15 of it coming entirely from Baltimore City Schools.

Connecticut’s Democratic Governor, Dan Malloy, has pitted unions against the cities, basing his budget almost entirely on union concessions worth $1 billion over the next two years, according to CBS news. If the unions refuse to accept the cuts, he has threatened to slash state funding for cities. Hearst Connecticut Newspapers says that the losses to cities could be as much as $67 million for Bridgeport, $10.4 million from Danbury, $4.9 million Stamford, $1.8 million from Greenwich, and $5 million from Norwalk.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/

[provis99]

1. yeah, but this is D(LC)U, where only liberals are evil.

[cprise]

2. Which is why it is a mistake to

...have a movement identify as 'democratic-something' or 'democrats' etc. because most people will assume it means the Democratic Party.

It was a mistake not to defend "Liberal", and also a mistake not to defend or promote "Social Democrat" or "socialist".

And as far as DU goes there are some very good things about it, but the namesake translates into towing the party line during campaign seasons. It has a very negative effect on the Progressive movement in general.

[SammyP]

3. do you have a brain?

We democrats wouldn't have to make these hard decisions if it weren't for republicans screwing everything up. Liberals have been saving republicans butts since this country was formed.

[freshwest]

13. Tell it.

:thumbsup:

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

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

[Veri1138]

17. Ahem...

Lincoln was a Republican. LOL.

[Galraedia]

23. Lincoln Would Actually be a Democrat

In modern America Lincoln would actually be a Democrat. Today's Democrats are the old Lincoln Republicans because they are willing to use federal power for good aims while the individual- and state-rights-pushing Republicans of today are the same as slave-owning Democrats who protected their private property by all means.

[JimmyS1985]

28. Lincoln was a Republican Liberal

By todays standards, he was a liberal. Remember there has been a lot of switching of party lines between liberals/Republicans and Democrats/Conservatives over the past 150 years. Jesse Helms was originally a Democrat. So was David Duke, so Was Strom Thurmann. They all switched to Republican not long after LBJ passed the civil rights act of 1964, and the South scarcely voted Democratic ever again after that act.

Lincoln was a liberal because he believed in change, and not maintaining the status quo. When the Teaparty says we need to take our country back, what they really mean is "Take our country back - to 1954" Right before Brown v. Board of education that allowed for integrated schools.

[Citizen Worker]

4. We just need to vote in more democrats. What's not clear about that?

[Sadena Meti]

6. What we need is more leftists, not more Democrats

If you are ever evaluated the political stances of Democrats, they are not leftists, they are just left of Republicans. They are at BEST centrists, and worst center-right (as opposed to mid-right Republicans).

Consider this chart of the Senate.

http://www.politicalcompass.org/charts/statesbysenator.php?sl=al,ak,az,ar,ca,co,ct,de,fl,ga,hi,id,il,in,ia,ks,ky,la,me,md,ma,mi,mn,ms,mo,mt,ne,nv,nh,nj,nm,ny,nc,nd,oh,ok,or,pa,ri,sc,sd,tn,tx,ut,vt,va,wa,wv,wi,wy

Blue is Democrat/Democrat states, Red (Orange) is Republican/Republican states, Gray is Democrat/Republican states.

There is no left in America.

[TBF]

21. Meti is right about lack of leftists -

The big purges were the Palmer Raids (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmer_Raids) and McCarthyism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare#Second_Red_Scare_.281947.E2.80.9357.29). So we are scrambling to catch up, educate, and organize.

[MB149]

26. The is a Left in America, it's just very hard to find in the Democratic Party.

The is no Left in office in America. To be very frank, the Democratic "talent" we have around here are about as intelligent and moral as Karl Rove. Just because you vote liberal doesn't automatically mean you're intelligent.

[caseymoz]

5. Both parties have been trained to avoid raising taxes on the wealthy.

At all costs. Deficits were a minor thing until Reagan got a hold of the tax rates. That's when they began to climb out of control.

And we've been trained, too. We've been trained to think that if we tax the wealthy, they won't provide us jobs. People have taken their eye off the ball. The object isn't jobs, the object is to be able to gain enough wealth or resources for our families.

So, the public is always thinking in terms of how to cooperate with the wealthy, while they think in terms of how they can hire fewer of us or otherwise pay us less so they could keep more of their wealth. Or as I say about trickle down economics: they fix the leaks. Not that leaky pipes was ever an inspiring metaphor for an economy, and all the other images evoked are worse.

It's unsustainable. That political paradigm is cracking and is ready to crumble.

[Spinny Liberal]

7. Naaah

GOP is still way ahead on the evil scale.

[AnnieK401]

22. True

I agree! Democrats/Liberals aren't perfect but, compared to Republicans, their amateurs at being evil.

[Thrawn]

8. A Reply In Protest from Seattle

I finally decided to register on Democratic Underground when I saw this post. As a resident of Washington State, I can tell you that this piece of writing about 'evil' Democrats is half-baked.

Our Governor was literally in tears as she signed these cuts, calling them 'inhuman.' The reason they had to be made, beside a budget crisis, was because of two populist, anti-tax efforts.

The first was against I-1098, a progressive ballot initiative - sponsored by some of our state's billionaires - to begin a state income tax on rich people (we have no state income tax here). Though this would have injected billions into our state economy over the next few years, it was rejected.

The second, I-1053, was another ballot initiative that essentially tied the hands of the Governor and legislature by requiring a 2/3 majority in order to raise taxes.

[draa]

9. A Reply In Protest from Seattle - I agree

This "Democrats suck" narrative really get's old. They use examples without using any context so let's say it's "Breitbarted" from the beginning. Until there's a "socialist" or "liberal" party, or at the very least more than two political parties, the Democrats are the not just the best option but the ONLY option. I believe we can do better, but not without a major political change in our system in the form of more party choices.

[guyton]

10. veto?

so if she was in tears, why not a veto?

Seriously? It doesn't help to be the exec unless you have a backbone!

[freshwest]

12. Rossi would have been a great improvement, laughing as he signed it.

:sarcasm:

[freshwest]

11. I know. Those who trash us are simply trying to discourage us from voting.

My representatives are desperately trying to save lives and jobs but are surrounded by GOP who do a victory dance every time they screw 'the people' over.

It is talk like this that keeps the GOP's electoral advantage. We have enough of that along with vicious lies from RW radio and television. We know who the Koch brothers and the US Chamber of Commerce poured money to defeat, and it was not Republicans. Because there is a difference.

Every voice arising to make us discouraged is funded by the ocean of money our opponents have at their disposal. If we give up they will win. And that's what the negativity is about because a discouraged heart does not have the energy to be involved.

Thanks for your comment.

[av8rdave]

14. And by the way, Modern School....

California, Washington State and Colorado do NOT have Democrat Governors and/or Democrat legislators. They have DEMOCRATIC politicians and public servants.

Here at DU, we do not buy the right wing rebranding and relabeling of our party.

In fairness, you got it right in part of your post. Progress.

[Johnny Morales]

16. The Democratic Party does NOT claim to be perfect or sin free

But making such a claim is required for such a stupid post to have any validity.

If the Democratic party were always asserting it's perfection or goodness, and everyday Democrats accepted this without question there'd be a point to this post.

BUT the Democratic party nor do many Democrats claim perfection.

What Democrats do know is we're a far better choice than Republicans warts and all.

[tcaudilllg]

29. Not a good enough choice.

Either get rid of the options and start fresh, or go the darker, more troublesome road. En mass.

[Veri1138]

18. Well, when you put it that way...

Of course Democrats are evil, to. President Obama is a Wall Street toady. We know this.

Also recognize that The States are facing budget short falls to to a Recession that was germinated during a Republican controlled Congress and Presidency. Raise taxes and Republicans are elected, if you are a Democrat. That is how the electorate usually panders - to self-destruction. That and idiocy such as 'tax cuts create jobs', 'Reagonomics', 'NAFTA and free trade creates jobs', 'innovate over here, build over there', 'Iraqi WMDs', 'Mission Accomplished' (should read, '...By Obama').

Or how about Republican Presidents adding $10 trillion of that $14 trillion total to the deficit? I would just about say that Democrats are less evil than Republicans.

California is a special case. They cannot raise taxes as that requires a 2/3rd majority of their legislature. And Democrats are not a 2/3rd majority. So, Republican block raising taxes.

The sad reality is that both parties are beholden to Wall Street and Globalism.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

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[Kurmudgeon]

20. Well duh!! That's why you vote the lesser of 2 evils and not GOP!

[millych3]

24. That's Extreme

Every legislature cuts things once in a while.

[PaulUdouj]

25. The rise of the True Grit Democrat!

Well the Democratic Party no longer just has a "Liberal" section. Now the "True Grit Democrats" believe in a more efficient government. Why "TRUE GRIT"? Just as Rooster Cogburn and the Texas Ranger hunted down their problem before he caused more harm so must the True Grit Democrats attack the problems ailing our government before they destroy more lives.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/197365236990167/

Join us!

[MB149]

27. I'm sure...

this will be taken as a "conservative" post, but it would actually be supported on the hard left, if only in private. We need to correct the current economy for the majority of people anyway that works. Only after that can we make permanent structural changes to benefit the vast majority. Some seem to think that the taxpayer (the people who really pay the taxes that support the government, not just a term for citizens) is just a stupid cow that will be milked with increasing frequency forever. That is a VERY dangerous notion.