Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Electoral College Map...we need a centrist candidate to win the rustbelt to stop Trump. [View all]Luvapottamus
(31 posts)Democrats can win the rust belt by returning to American System Economics.
Henry Clay
In Defense of the American System
February 2, 3, and 6, 1832
From the nation's earliest days, Congress has struggled with the fundamental issue of the national government's proper role in fostering economic development. Henry Clay's "American System," devised in the burst of nationalism that followed the War of 1812, remains one of the most historically significant examples of a government-sponsored program to harmonize and balance the nation's agriculture, commerce, and industry. This "System" consisted of three mutually reenforcing parts: a tariff to protect and promote American industry; a national bank to foster commerce; and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other "internal improvements" to develop profitable markets for agriculture....
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Speeches_ClayAmericanSystem.htm
American System (economic plan)
Main points
The establishment of a protective tariff, a 20%25% tax on imported goods, would protect a nation's business from foreign competition. Congress passed a tariff in 1816 which made European goods more expensive and encouraged consumers to buy relatively cheap American-made goods.
The establishment of a national bank would promote a single currency, making trade easier, and issue what was called sovereign credit, i.e., credit issued by the national government, rather than borrowed from the private banking system. In 1816, Congress created the Second Bank of the United States.
The improvement of the country's infrastructure, especially transportation systems, made trade easier and faster for everyone. Poor roads made transportation slow and costly.
This program became the leading tenet of the Whig Party of Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. It was opposed by the Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan prior to the Civil War, often on the grounds that the points of it were unconstitutional.
Among the most important internal improvements created under the American System was the Cumberland Road...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_System_(economic_plan)
Democrats opposed it initially, but the New Deal changed that.
Middle America will vote for New Deal.
Not necessarily a Green New deal, but some elements of that.
We need to reinstate Glass-Steagall, put in door to door fiber optic internet, expand AMtrak to every medium sized city(it doesn't even go to Wyoming and some other red states yet)
And reinstate tariffs.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided