A Princeton Study conducted in 2014 found that
majority-rule democracy exists only in theory in the United States -- not so much in practice. The government caters to the affluent few and organized interest groups, the researchers find, while the average citizen's influence on policy is "near zero."
Is Congress supposed to serve “we the people”? Or is it supposed to serve the wealthy donors and corporations who contribute to their campaign coffers? According to the myth, the answer is supposed to be the former, but the Princeton study shows that in reality that is not how America actually works. And many of us are tremendously upset about it, because increasingly, the wealthy are engaging in predatory capitalism where they are the hunters and we are the hunted.
What do Americans most Democratic Voters care about right now? Our two top issues are:
- 96% of us are deeply concerned about the climate crisis
- 91% of us want our nominee to fight for Medicare For All (but I will leave that topic for other diaries)
The global climate crisis and Medicare for All are top issues for a large majority of Democratic voters, according to new polling results published Tuesday by CNN.
The survey (pdf), conducted last week, asked Democrats and left-leaning Independents how important they considered certain policy items.
Most people polled said it is somewhat or very important that the Democratic candidate for president in 2020 support party priorities like stricter gun laws, tuition-free public college, impeaching President Donald Trump, paying reparations to slaves' descendants, and restoring voting rights for all convicted felons.
But two issues stood out at the top.
Ninety-six percent of respondents want whichever Democrat runs for the White House to support "taking aggressive action to slow the effects of climate change."
In the second spot, 91 percent want the candidate to back "providing health insurance for all Americans through the government, a plan sometimes called 'Medicare for All.'"
More than almost anyone else in Congress, AOC has been leading the charge on climate change. Her first proposed bill was the Green New Deal. Guess who has been doing her best to dump cold water on AOC’s work? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; she refers to GND as “the green dream, or whatever they call it”. This current spat between Pelosi and AOC is really a battle over who the Democratic Party should serve. AOC believes that the Democratic Party should serve “we the people”, especially those who embrace the brand values that the party supposedly espouses. Pelosi apparently feels differently. She’s clearly not trying to serve the 96% who care deeply about the climate crisis, which begs the question: “If not her base, who is Pelosi trying serve?”
Timeline
November, 2018
Youth climate activists with the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats were arrested on Capitol Hill Tuesday for staging a sit-in at the Washington, D.C. office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—who is expected to serve as the next speaker of the House—to demand that congressional Democrats back a "Green New Deal."
December, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSqgsJsbsPY
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Published on Dec 11, 2018"This is going to be the Great Society, the moonshot, the Civil Rights Movement of our generation. That is the scale that this movement is going to require." –Rep-Elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Thank you to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for joining our groundbreaking town hall and for being a leader in the fight against climate change.
- Senator Bernie Sanders
February, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3SciPD1Lgk
Nancy Pelosi just threw some serious shade at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'Green New Deal'
Nancy Pelosi isn't all that impressed. Asked about the "Green New Deal" in an interview with Politico on Wednesday, Pelosi dropped this amazing bit of shade on it:"It will be one of several or maybe many suggestions that we receive. The green dream, or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they're for it, right?"I mean.Pelosi knows exactly what she's doing here. Her utter dismissiveness of the "Green New Deal" -- and, by extension, AOC, who is the member most closely identified with it, is entirely intentional.Pelosi knows that AOC is a rising national power -- particularly among the most activist and liberal left. Given Ocasio-Cortez's profile -- and her influence among young, liberal members -- Pelosi knows she can't just ignore what the New York Democrat says and does. But she isn't going to kowtow to AOC either.Earlier this year, Ocasio-Cortez was passed over for a spot on the powerful Ways and Means Committee despite the fact that Joe Crowley, who she beat in a primary last summer, had a seat on Ways and Means. That decision didn't come by accident -- and it didn't come without Pelosi knowing about it and likely directing it.
April 2019
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared to take another thinly veiled shot at the success of rising Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by claiming that a 'glass of water with a D next to its name' would have won her seat.
Pelosi, 79, was speaking at the London School of Economics on Monday where she said that the Democratic Party must avoid the 'menace' of liberal policies pushed by rising political stars if it wants to beat President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
She also used the appearance to set out a centrist vision she believes could help woo Republican voters frustrated with Trump's approach.
CONCLUSION
Polling shows that 96% of Democrats are deeply concerned about the climate crisis. We want our children and grandchildren to not be prematurely killed because planet earth can no longer support the human race. Because, duh, do I really need to explain why we feel this way?
Speaker Pelosi, on the other hand, appears to view the GND as a “liberal policy” that will result in a second term for Trump. At least she says that this is her reason. I’d like to see the evidence on why she holds this view, and why she believes her personal opinion is more important than what 96% of DEMOCRATIC VOTERS (i.e. her base) wants.
And did you catch the last part of the quote above: “She also used the appearance to set out a centrist vision she believes could help woo Republican voters frustrated with Trump's approach.” It’s the same failed strategy that DNC insiders tried in 2016.
“For every blue-collar Democrat we lose in western Pennsylvania, we will pick up two moderate Republicans in the suburbs in Philadelphia, and you can repeat that in Ohio and Illinois and Wisconsin.” — Chuck Schumer
Have to admit that it drives me livid to see DNC insiders like Pelosi and Schumer betray the very voters who put them into office, and instead work to woo Trump voters by engaging in climate denialism just like the Republicans do.
In my view, the most important rule in politics is to follow the money. Looks like that given the choice between human extinction and fossil fuel money, Pelosi and other DNC insiders would prefer to choose door #2. Un-fucking-believable.
December 2018
Democrats Just Blocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Push For A Green New Deal Committee
Instead, Democrats are sticking to their original plan, and channeled Exxon Mobil in an announcement refusing to bar members who take fossil fuel money.
Democratic leaders on Thursday tapped Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) to head a revived U.S. House panel on climate change, all but ending a dramatic month long effort to establish a select committee on a Green New Deal.
Castor’s appointment came as a surprise to proponents of a Green New Deal. The move also kicked off a controversy as the six-term congresswoman dismissed calls to bar members who accept money from fossil fuel companies from serving on the committee, arguing it would violate free speech rights.
Despite weeks of protests demanding House Democrats focus efforts next year on drafting a Green New Deal, the sort of sweeping economic policy that scientists say matches the scale of the climate crisis, Castor told E&E News the plan was “not going to be our sole focus.”
She then suggested that barring members who have accepted donations from the oil, gas and coal industries from serving on the committee could be unconstitutional.
“I don’t think you can do that under the First Amendment, really,” she said.
The U.S. House panel on climate change is staffed with members on the take from Big Oil? I weep for our children and grandchildren.
To be honest, I care more about what is in AOC’s heart and soul than the color of her skin. God bless her for being willing to take all of the arrows and mud that has been slung at her by corporate-owned Democrats. Shame on Pelosi for choosing to follow the money instead of working to save humanity itself.