The Loss of Populism and the Workers Fight

Well, I can't sleep and figured I'd make another post. I've been reading a lot of historic and current Populist documents. I consider myself a Progressive Populist. As I've stated earlier I left the Democratic party because I feel they have lost their roots. Partly to blame is them, the politicians, the other part is the system. A truly Populist platform would win a general election, in my view. The key sticking point? Money, of course. That gets back to the whole campaign finance reform...but that's for a different post. Why have the Democrats lost their Populist roots? Why haven't they stood up for the working class man, the middle-class, the working poor and the poor? What has changed? Why have they lost their roots? I don't believe that the people of America have lost their roots. I think that the Democratic party needs to fight harder for change in the system and that in itself will roll the power back to the hands of the people. Couple that with more civic involvement and the power will truly be back into the power of the people.

Ralph Nader was ripped, absolutely ripped, for saying that there isn't a "dime's worth of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans". And you know what? He was right. The de-industralization of America is killing this country. We are not only far more dependant on other countries but we are losing jobs hand-over-fist. That brings up another interesting problem, to me anyways. What will the fine line be between industrial jobs, that may pollute, and environmental concerns? That is a legitimate to concern for all of us. You know when Bush gives us that bull about the fine line between freedoms and security? We, us progressives, should be talking about that fine line between environment and jobs. I do, however, believe that environmentalism plays a huge role in modern populist politics. The growing market for green collar jobs would create more, to be sure. But what about the coal mines and other jobs? I came from a coal area. Most of my family are coal miners. I hate what it does to the environment, absolutely hate it. But it still serves a place in our economy. That place should be done the most environmentally friendly way, to be sure, but it still has it's place...for now anyways.

No one talks about the re-industralization of America either. NAFTA has to be fixed all the candidates say, but no one gives any specific plans. My personal thought? Get rid of NAFTA, and all free trade agreements. It simply does way too much harm to the economy, workers rights, and the environment. A "fixing" of NAFTA is not a viable option, in my eyes, but it's probably what we will be saddled with. There is absolutely nothing good to be said about what NAFTA has done to this country. Why can't anyone, besides Kucinich, step up to the plate and come right out and say it? Why must the Democratic candidates tip-toe around what everyone is thinking?

The infrastructure is getting a lot of press now. That is a great thing in my book, spurned by a terrible tradegy in Minnesota. Our infrastructure is falling apart, and it needs to be fixed. The sad part of all of this though is it was not on the top of the agenda before the bridge collapse. The Democrats failed in this aspect. They overlooked the need to fix the infrastructure, and all of the jobs that it would create.

The answers, to me, are simple. It all starts with us, the people, at the grassroots level. It is our responsibilty to get more people involved in civic activities. But you know what else is our responsibilty? Holding the Democratic candidates' feet to the fire. I refuse to vote another Clinton into office. I want a real change, a progressive change that will challenge the current establishment of the Democrats and most certainly the Republicans. We must make it clear to the candidates that we are the people they are fighting for. We aren't big business, we don't have the big money but we make up the population. We should start this immediately.

Ted Kennedy wrote an article in 1995 that was published in the Progressive Populist magazine. It was a fabulous article on what Democrats should be fighting for. The article really stands out to me, and this is in a nutshell what I think the Democratic party should be about and where it has failed. He states that "if we abandoan health care, or slash student loans and children's programs, or engage in a bidding war to see who can be the most anti-government or most laissez-faire then we will lose...and we deserve to lose." It seems that it took years for the Democratic party, but it is just beginning. He foresaw this in 1995, and just recently have the Democrats come back to play ball on these issues. The Bush adminstration ran all over these until recently, not to mention all the other travesties they caused. But we must push the Democrats further. To ensure that they continue being the leading party for change and that they come back to us, the common man.