How many Democrats here are afraid of the "class warfare" issue?

[kentuck]

How many think this is an issue that favors the Republicans?

I think the answers will tell us a lot about what is wrong with the Democratic Party?

[tosh]

1. **crickets**

[WCGreen]

2. I have no problem with making the rich and the power the them when

most of the people are we...

[AndyTiedye]

I am Having a Little Trouble Parsing That Sentence

I have no problem with making the rich and the power the them when most of the people are we...

Word salad that is.

[kentuck]

32. I understood it...

the rich and powerful are the "them" and most of the people are "we".

At least, that is the way I interpreted it. :-)

[ashling]

42. Did you mean to put quotation marks around "them" and "we"

or did you mean for your post to be entirely incomprehensible? :shrug:

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. Bring on the fight! n/t

[ixion]

4. I guess it depends on which side you're talking about...

when the wealthy folks start talking about class warfare because of a tax increase, I think it's ludicrous political framing, and nothing more.

When you talk about what that same group of people is currently engaged in towards the working class, I think it's true.

[lsewpershad]

26. Can,t agree more

We should be affraid of the "class warfare frame" be it is class warfare: The filthy rich against the middle and working class.

[Little Star]

5. Who initiated the class war? The rich that's who! .....

I don't see how this could possibly be a winner for Republicans.

[DesertFlower]

6. the rich were doing just fine before

the bush tax cuts. they'll be fine without them.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I don't think 'class warfare' harms the Dems. The GOP turns off people with this.

[CTyankee]

15. I don't agree. I've seen it fail before...

[TheKentuckian]

8. Are we going to finally strike back, or is just the mere expressed thought about

making any mealymouthed complaint considered "warfare"?

No, I'm not afraid in the least. That is the hill that I'm happy to die on.

[Ohio Joe]

9. Afraid?

Fuckin-A, I'm looking forward to it.

[AndyTiedye]

10. The Repigs Are Instigating Class Warfare Between the Middle Class and the Poor

[CTyankee]

11. WE are not the Dems who are afraid of the class warfare issue.

It's some of the Dems in Congress because they are hypocritical when it comes to accusing Republicans of being fatcats. Some of these Dems are pretty rich, too. For all the Rep. LaSalle's there are Democratic congress members who are making out pretty well. They don't want to risk the skeletons in their own closets being revealed. I don't think there are as many as in the repub. party, tho.

The larger issue is that the issue has failed us, the Democratic Party, in the past. I remember during the Reagan administration it was called "the working poor." The Dems tried to use that phrase to point out that people can work (as opposed to being lazy good for nothings on welfare) and still be poor. I heard republicans in my own family say "I'm sick of hearing about the working poor!" And my family wasn't rich.

[FarLeftFist]

12. I am SO READY for this fight.

[phantom power]

13. If you refuse to accept GOP framings, it favors Dems 100%

[DonCoquixote]

14. To quote a better man

To those who whine about class warfare..."I WELCOME THEIR HATRED!"

[Motown_Johnny]

16. My only fear is that we don't get out ahead on it and put the blame where it belongs

onto the change from progressive tax policies to regressive tax policies that started under Reagan and continued under both Bushes

[TalkingDog]

17. How does it favor the Republicans? I've always heard that phrase supporting the underclasses.

The rich/republicans think the poor are waging class warfare? With what exactly? What are our tools? Do we have media control and access? Do we have lobbyist?

They think we want class warfare? To that I say: Bring it, motherfuckers.

[randr]

18. We have been waging a class war since Reagan

but have never called it such. Once again the Repugs have framed a debate and have turned the argument on its head.

[we can do it]

19. Not Afraid of Chicken Shit Repubs In Any Way

stand up and fight people like there's no tomorrow...

[Scuba]

20. I welcome it. n/t

[TeamsterDem]

23. As do I. nt

[mulsh]

21. class warfare is on. I don't have any issue with the term or

telling people "HELL YEAH ITS CLASS WARFARE. WHAT CLASS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE A MEMBER OF?" because I'm a firm defender of the working and middle classes.

I refuse to apologize or back down from "Class Warfare" accusations because that's what it happening and has been over at least the last 30 years of corrupt conservative political insurgence.

[LoveIsNow]

22. Not I.

The phrase "class warfare" is a winner for the Republicans. We just need to articulate clearly that there is a class war going on all the time, but the Republicans only point it out when it looks like the lower class (there really is no middle class) might just strike a small blow. To those of us who have been paying attention, it's very obvious that Republicans are fine with participating in class warfare when it comes to helping business owners keep their businesses union free, subsidizing someone's factory farm, or kowtowing to anyone who can rub two dimes together with any tax cut they can imagine to "make sure they create jobs", but not when it comes to making sure mothers can feed their children, raising tariffs to keep manufacturing in America, or removing barriers to union membership so the American worker can take care of himself rather than depending on the government to mandate his minimum wage. We just need to educate people about that so they don't get caught in by these little catchphrases.

[SpiralHawk]

44. Nah - it's a total loser for the fatcat Republicons who started the war long ago

only Fox 'consumers' could imagine otherwise. They are still in the pathetic misinformed minORitee.

[bemildred]

24. Bring it. nt

[patrice]

25. Huh? Class warfare has already cost me 3 jobs in 10 years. What's left to be afraid of. BRING IT!!

[Brigid]

34. "What's left to be afraid of."

I think a lot of people are finally figuring that out.

[TBF]

38. Damned straight.

Whole lot more of us than them.

[bluestateguy]

27. We should not only not fear it, but embrace it

If this is class warfare where do I enlist?

[provis99]

28. I'm all in favor of a little class war.

[BR_Parkway]

29. I'm reminded of that phrase they loved so much during the Reign of W, the Stupider

"Lets Roll"

[awoke_in_2003]

30. Screw republicans...

class warfare has been going on for 30 years, and we are losing.

[lame54]

31. The class war has been going on for over a decade...

longer than that - but Clinton came out of nowhere to disrupt it

now it's back in full swing

[customerserviceguy]

33. All I know is

Rethuglicans have been damned good at making poor and middle class people align themselves with rich people, and I really don't see a lot of reasons that is changing in the next fourteen months.

But, as I stated on another thread, it is the last card Barack Obama has to play, so let him throw it down on the table.

[bottomofthehill]

35. not me, like POTUS says, its math

[Brigid]

36. Useless to be afraid of it.

Because it has already been going on for 30 years.

As TheKentuckian said, we can die on this hill. With honor.

[TBF]

37. There has always been class warfare - and it has always been because capital demands it.

They steal from us, century after century, and expect to get away from it. Some think it's their birthright.

Damned right it's an "issue". Afraid? THEY should be.

[Fresh_Start]

39. if class warfare is income distribution

then the GOP has been waging it for 30 years.
Just look at the redistriction of wealth from the bottom 80% to the top 20%.
If they weren't such a bad word polically...I'd argue that the lower and middle 60% deserve reparations.

[NashVegas]

40. Democrats Lost This One When It Didn't Fight NAFTA, Union-Busting

IMO. That's probably the single greatest reason.

Yesterday I spoke to a retired school teacher, maybe 50-55 years old, who informed me that college professors making $100k-$120k is killing the system, and they need to reduce their expectations. She went on to say that it was FUBAR that a college professor could make more money than a NASA engineer.

Back to my header. When we let blue collar jobs go South and overseas, when we didn't stand behind the air traffic controllers, we lost the argument.

You're worried about class warfare? All we have right now is intra-class warfare, with the various divisions of the middle class fighting each other. Until that stops, who's going to bring down Kochs?

[RagAss]

41. No !! The poor know they are poor and the rich know they are rich.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

43. I have a simple answer.

Yes it's class warfare. You assholes declared it on the middle class thirty years ago.

[philly_bob]

45. Republicans over-used the "class warfare" smear.

It was powerful when they first used it two or three years ago.

Now, it's meaningless.

[Matariki]

46. Bring. It. On.

Actually, a class war has been engaged against us for a long long time. When we fight back the other side starts screaming that we're engaging in 'class warfare'.

It reminds me of when I was young and my sister would be hitting me until I fought back, then she'd start screaming 'she's hitting me' in order to get me in trouble.

It is indeed class warfare and we need to be fighting back.

[H2O Man]

47. I think that

"class warfare" is an essential dynamic for grass roots Democrats to understand and use in all campaign efforts. I have a feeling that our Democratic Party elected representatives are fearful of using it, because so many of them are not invested on our side of the struggle.

[KoKo]

48. Your tongue is firmly implanted in your cheek...

in speaking that truth.