Why I fight

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Crossposted at Daily Kos

    What needs to be done in 2010? What can the left do in 2010 to ensure a better, stronger America for ALL Americans?

    Before deciding what needs to be done, first we must remember what we are fighting for.

Paul Wellstone

July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002

    The people of this country, not special interest big money, should be the source of all political power. Government must remain the domain of the general citizenry, not a narrow elite.

                  ~ Senator Paul Wellstone

    “Politics isn’t about big money or power games; it’s about the improvement of people’s lives”

                  ~ Senator Paul Wellstone

    “I think this is really a good example of the commercial calculus and ties taking precedence over everything else. It’s sort of like the almighty dollar is triumphing over a lot of other values that we have as a nation.”

                  ~ Senator Paul Wellstone

     More below the fold . . .  

     I will allow the late, great Senator Paul Wellstone to speak for me, but I am also curious to learn what you are fighting for as well. As far as I am concerned, this statement sums up perfectly what I am fighting for, politically.

    “Politics isn’t about big money or power games; it’s about the improvement of people’s lives”

~ The Late Sen. Paul Wellstone

    I fight for equality, the rule of law and justice, but above all accountability.

    I fight so that ALL Americans may prosper.

    I fight for good paying American jobs that afford Americans the right to Unionize if they so wish.

    I fight for quality education and health care for ALL Americans.

    I fight FOR peace and AGAINST unjust wars.

    I fight FOR a clean environment and AGAINST polluters.

    I fight FOR the Truth.

    I fight for many things and against many things, but always my goal is to fight for a better America FOR ALL Americans, not just the Super Wealthy, the Special Interests and the Corporate America that seems to do best when average Americans are taken advantage of.

    And that is just the start of it . . . .

    In 2010 we must not only choose what we as a political movement are fighting AGAINST, but also what we are fighting FOR.

    The Right Wing of American Politics HAS NOTHING that they are fighting FOR, they only have an AGAINST. They are the Party of NO!, and they are political Nihilists who stand for NOTHING.

    Against the morally bankrupt political nihilism of Conservativism, the left of American Politics MUST have something to fight FOR.

    I believe that the Left MUST unify around a symbol of what we are fighting for or against. On the against side there is a lot to choose from, but the top four things to fight against in my opinion are . . . .

1.     Dick Cheney and the War Criminals of the previous administration and their failed foreign policy. As failed as it was illegal, this should be our No#1 attack point if we wish to attack Republicans/Conservaitves where they wish to appear strongest.

2.     The economic policies of Unfettered Free markets and the Reagan/Bush/Bush Jr legacies of FAIL that have bankrupted working class America while enriching only the wealthiest people among us.

3.     Fox News and the Right Wing Propaganda machine, because without the constant LIE FACTORY of the Conservative Corporatist propaganda machine the job of making America a stronger, better place for ALL Americans, and not just the wealthy and powerful, would be a LOT easier.

4.     C Street and “The Family” – It’s not everyday that a Christofascist, free market Conservative cult in Government is exposed. We should do more to shed some light on this group and use that to our advantage in 2010 and beyond.

     These are just starting points I would like to draw attention to. I think the left serves itself better when we are attacking Conservatives, Corporatists and War Criminals, not each other. Yes, there are lots of problems in the Democratic party and on the left which only the left can address, and that is a matter for much discussion, but on the whole the issue of which direction America goes in after the 2010 elections is of the utmost importance in my mind, so we on the left should do as much as we can NOW to state clearly and effectively what we are fighting FOR.

    Conservatives wish to “shrink the Government down to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub”, this leaves the Government incapable of helping victims of a Hurricane Katrina, incapable of helping Americans who have lost their jobs or their health insurance, and it means nothing at all can stop Wall Street when it decides to destory the economy again so that the wealthiest 1% of Americans may profit. Conservatives wish to DESTROY. That’s it. The Club For Growth is concerned with growing their profits and their power, not yours. They are AGAINST everything, especially Good Government. The American right of politics are NIHILISTS, they believe in NOTHING, or, if anything, a free market trader Jesus who supports torture and wouldn’t recognize himself in his own mirror.

    Now, we can be against the Republicans, the party of George W. Bush (because that is what they still are), we can be against them and everything they stand for, or we can be FOR something else, something totally different than the America of Yesteryear that the Party of Zombie Reagan is still selling America on when they aren’t shrieking about some new insane conspiracy theory or hand wriniging over the latest underwear bomb wearing 1 in 300 million freakshow who hates freedom. Fear will no longer work, neither will 19th Century solutions solve problems in a 21st century world. This is something we need to say over and over again to the American public if we wish to break the Conservative Propaganda stranglehold on average Americans.

    But more than something to stand against in unity, the left needs something to stand FOR. It should be simple and easy to understand bumper sticker style politics, but we MUST choose something to stand FOR, because if you stand for nothing you will fall for anything, and against the political nihilism of the right, we on the left DO stand for something, something profiund and meaningful, and something that will benefit ALL Americans, not just the wealthy and well connected.

    What that thing that we stand for is, how to frame it and sell it to the rest of America in order to benefit EVERYONE, is what we must decide for ourselves.

    That is what I am fighting for in 2010.

And the late, great Senator Paul Wellstone says it best for me.

    “Politics isn’t about big money or power games; it’s about the improvement of people’s lives”

~ The Late Sen. Paul Wellstone

    So what are you fighting for? And how do we work together to make America a better place for EVERY American?

Cheers, and my best to all,

http://twitter.com/JesseLaGreca

   It’s time to come together or be divided and conquered.

So come together

    Also crossposted at The Progressive Electorate.com