Democrat Says Democrats Should Promote A Progressive Agenda!

[Itsthetruth]

The following are excerpts of a longer article by a Democrat who suggests that the Democratic Party ought to promote a progressive political agenda. What a shocking and radical idea! And to think this actually has to be said! Any chance the Democratic Party and most of its leaders will actually heed this good advice?

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CounterPunch
March 23, 2005

You're Doing Great, Mr. President
The More Bush Talks, The Less Popular Privatization Becomes
By DAVID SWANSON
David Swanson is a board member of Progressive Democrats of America. He can be heard every Monday on the Thom Hartmann Show. His website is http://www.davidswanson.org.

The Democrats can best gain strength if they continue to speak out honestly and refuse any compromise with a destructive proposal aimed at fixing a problem no more real than Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. Yes, many people do believe that there is a problem, but people's beliefs can change as they are given new information.

Democrats can head off any accusations of inaction in three ways.

First, they can say to Republicans: "You've invented an imaginary problem and proposed a solution that you yourselves admit will not solve it. What business do you have demanding that we propose solutions?"

Second, Democrats and reasonable Republicans can point out that there are inexpensive and popular steps that the congressional leadership could take if their concern were really for the future of Social Security. For one thing, they could require that Americans pay Social Security taxes on every dollar of income, not just the first $90,000. If wealthy politicians and Wall Street fund managers are truly concerned about Social Security, if they want to make it even more secure than it is now, then they should find it hard to tolerate paying a smaller percentage of their income into the system than most Americans do.

Third, Democrats can promote their own agenda. It's hard to find an area other than Social Security where there is not a real crisis. Democrats should be talking about Congressman John Conyers' bill to create single-payer health care, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's bill to bring the troops home from Iraq, Senator Edward Kennedy and Congressman George Miller's bills to protect the right to organize a union, and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.'s proposal for a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing citizens with the right to vote. Where is the Republicans' action on these issues?

http://www.counterpunch.org/swanson03232005.html

[papau]

1. Dave is one of the best - with a solid ear for union/worker problems

:-)