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A Winning Message: Bring the Troops Home, Bust the Banksters, Democratize the Economy
Baraboo, WI - Decrying the excesses of big banks and Wall Street speculators, the Rev. Jesse Jackson told more than 7,000 cheering progressives at a county fairgrounds in rural Wisconsin Saturday that: "There is a contest for the soul of America.
Urged on by the crowd that had gathered for Fighting Bob Fest, the annual progressive chautauqua on the Sauk County Fairgrounds in this central Wisconsin community, the civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate declared that America would have to choose between being of a country where a tiny elite controls the vast majority of wealth or one where the great mass of Americans have a chance to survive and thrive.
"We cannot subsidize bankers and leave people homeless on the streets of America," Jackson said. "It's time for a change!"
"We will fight back!" chanted the crowd, which packed the grandstand and field for one of the largest Bob Fest gatherings in the nine-year history of the event.
For Democratic strategists who worry about an "enthusiasm gap" in this year's mid-term election season, Jackson offered the antedote. His adamant address had thousands of people -- many of them from rural and smalltown Wisconsin-on their feet and cheering. And this year's Fighting Bob Fest drew more than twice as many people as a highly publicized and expensively promoted "Tea Party" event-which featured television personalies, "Joe the Plumber" and Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Janesville-held the same day in Racine, Wisconsin.
The enthusiastic response for Jackson's populist speech offered a reminder that there is no enthusiasm gap. There's a message gap.
When the message is muscular, the enthusiasm is there.
Jackson wasn't the only one drawing cheers on a day that heard rousing speeches from former Texas Secretary of Agriculture Jim Hightower, Congressman David Obey, Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin and Gwen Moore, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett and other prominent speakers from Wisconsin and across the nation.
A Saturday that began with overcast skies and scattered rain showers ended with bright sunshine and a rollicking, old-school rallying of the progressive faithful in the tradition of Robert M. La Follette, the Wisconsin governor, senator and 1924 presidential candidate for whom the festival is named.
Jackson, who was honored with a lifetime achievement award by festival organizers, hailed the progressive movement led by La Follette, which campaigned for economic and social justice at home while opposing empire building abroad.
Sounding antiwar themes that were very much in the La Follette tradition, Jackson called for bringing US troops home and reallocating resources from fighting wars abroad to fighting unemployment at home.
"We want for America what we provide for Iraq and Afghanistan," said Jackson. "We want jobs for Chicago...jobs for Milwaukee...jobs for Sauk County."
Sounding economic justice themes that repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet, Jackson warned that: "We've globalized capital without globalizing human rights, without globalizing workers' rights, women's rights, children's rights. Let's democratize our economy!
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24 Comments so far
Show AllYea, tell it to OBama and the Dims. Reverend. They've had two whole yrs. to do some of these things u have suggested and what have they been doing. Basically, garnishing the already fat bottom line of the Fortune 500 and while @ it kicking their own base in the face whenever possible. They're probably going to lose Congress this fall and then the Presidency in 2012. Unfortunately, they're going to set back Progressive change for a generation because frankly they lied when they got elected.
Rev. Jackson appears to be keeping his tongue in cheek to avoid saying what he really thinks about Team Obama.
Seaglass. They lied when they got elected. " It is the first thing I will do. I will get our troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the bank ". Obama. October 27,2007
But Obama and his advisors already think they have the winning message. We should be glad that they are working for us and cutting the best deal possible on our behalf with the ruling elites. They are doing the best they can. We should be grateful. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a "f--king moron" who really does not understand how things work in Washington. Nichols and Jackson: if you dare to think otherwise, or that you have a better approach-- join the proud ranks of the naive f--king morons.
Great message! I'm sure that Oilbomber, up to his neck in the blood of Afghans, busting teacher's unions to "improve education," caving into oil companies, kicking people in favor of social justice in the head, allowing mountain removal to run unchecked, expanding the capacity of the executve to commit torture, murder, and all forms of injustice, is listening.
No disrespect to the memory and spirit of “Fighting Bob” La Follette, but the article suggests that this "progressive chautauqua" has been hijacked by the Democratic Party.
"For Democratic strategists who worry about an 'enthusiasm gap' in this year's mid-term election season, Jackson offered the antedote [sic]."
The manichean notion that “There is a contest for the soul of America", a familiar evangelistic theme natural to a preacher, may be more revealing than Jackson intended. It implies that, like Job of old, or hapless mortals in ancient mythology, citizens are pawns in a political chess game played by their Masters. And that to the extent that pawns have a say in the struggle, it's to choose between allying with good or evil, i.e. Heaven or Hell.
And as far as I can tell, for Nichols and the speakers he cites, the way to "Heaven" is through the Democratic Party.
It's nice to see non-wingnut crowds for a change, but unless this article is leaving something out, the event seems like more of a DemFest sweetened by the perfumed incense of nostalgia.
Incidentally, since this article was already published here on Sunday, check out the comments for "Buck"'s first-hand impression of the event; it confirms that the conflation of "progressivism" and Democratic Party apologetics is not merely an artifact of Nichols' own jaundiced eye.
I was wondering why this article was repeated too. Something's not right.
still within the lines of pay-to-play, though...
gotta have money if you don't want to be homeless...
no way to get money but to destroy the planet...
not a tenable position...
rather than the right to work for money to purchase land, we need the right to the land without charge...
the planet cannot tolerate our industry...
"Tin soldiers and Nixon's come and we're finally on our own..."
Ohio - CSNY
Jackson has compromised himself too often to be a voice of moral stature in this country. The Nation has proffered too few good ideas too late and been too cozy with New York and D.C. corporate media elites for too long for its editors to remain trustworthy. We have a few scattered voices of alt/indie media sanity in the howling corporatist wilderness of New Dark Age plutonomy. The progressives are too scattered and cacophonous and will not organize a coherent resistance. The country is lost. The empire is teetering. Time to organize your neighborhood and community--if it is small enough to be organized and has enough arable land and clean water--for localized survival.
Thanks Metal,
We should organize our neighborhoods (and our jobs) for survival no matter what.
We can't know for sure whether the country will totally fall apart, or whether it will stay together enough for political influence to still be possible. But either way ORGANIZING IS INDISPENSABLE.
This September 23 to 25 there will be a Community Organizing Resource Exchange conference (The CORE Conference) in Richmond, California, near Berkeley and San Francisco. Check it out at: ... http://thecoreconference.com
If we can develop schools and seminars for organizers in every city, then maybe our "scattered and cacophonous" progressives can BEGIN to get it together and "organize a coherent resistance."
A week of organizing real people in real communities is worth a year of announcing our opinions on the internet. I'll see you at the conference. Maybe we can learn something we can carry home to our neighborhoods, schools and jobs.
Cicero: "Freedom is participation in power."
Thanks Lawrence for the info. I would love to attend but am now dealing with severe economic hardship and struggling to avoid homelessness. I no longer have the money to travel but will look at the site link and see what might be applicable to my locale.
This article is a reprint.
I attended the Mad Bob event in Madison last friday. It was democrat apologist garbage. The dems big platform was fear: the republicans are worse. Frankly, the republicans are more honest in their contempt for the masses. Screw 'em.
glad to know you attended...
what a strange, ongoing show, our party politics...
kaputilism kills...
gotta go, brother Buck...catch you tomorrow...
Tammons: What are 'f--king morons'? Are they anything like 'fucking morons'?
Get the gloves off. I've been saying 'fucking' on CD for some time now with no apparent ill effects. I assume that's because the editors at CD have a similar opinion as I do, that free speech means never having to say you're sorry for saying 'fucking.' And frankly, America has FAR WORSE PROBLEMS than people swearing full-bore on Common Dreams. I think the CD editors may agree. The situation in America is so completely grave and urgent that the discourse going through a little 'degeneration' here and there is not likely to worsen things much. And, also frankly, it's highg time there was a lot less politeness in America on dealing with the issues, because the people who need swearing at are giving it to the American people, and for that matter, the people of the world, UP THE ASS. These people have no trouble insulting you and me with their imperial, murderous, enslaving, 'fuck democracy' agenda, so I think it's time to cut the bullshit in a big way.
As Harold Pinter has said, 'Language is used to control thought.' So step one is to reclaim the language and where necessary dispense with politeness.
And the media in general engages in a nauseating level of politeness and nicety quite in order to avoid getting the fuck down on the carpet about any issue whatsoever. Witness the appalling travesty of 'journalism' represented by that goddamn cesspool of overpaid arse-licking propagandists, the White House Press Corps. The only person there with any 'balls' was a woman, and they ran her out on a rail recently, only proving that it may well be the ovaries that'll help save the day in the end. We've had enough of 'balls', thank you very much, and it's clear that Helen Thomas was fucked over precisely because she showed all those guys how goddamn ball-less they really were. And we can't be having that, now can we?
For further thoughts, see a comment about castrating the politicos and the media, et. al., I left on one of CD's articles yesterday.
Oh, and by the way, 'they' are not working for 'us', 'they' are not getting 'the best deal possible' with the ruling elites, and things do not 'work' in Washington, if by 'work', one's definition includes 'for the people', and in honour of the democratic principles.
Despite Jackson's drawbacks, the drawback of an event that isn't 'powered' by several million people, and anyone's naivete, it seems a clear implication of the article that the country is moving inexorably toward a serious new revolution, preferably non-violent, but if violent, then so be it. I don't say that this was Nichols' intent, but I rather claim the right to read it into the tenor of the event and reporting on it.
And after all, the crowd giving it to you up the ass are not going to stop without a fight. That much is clear.
Fuckin'-A, Barry!
Damn even a white trash mutha fuker like me could have told you that shit Rev. But I'm glad someone is saying it.
I had a very interesting conversation with an alleged conservative this summer while working in Denali Nat. Park. We chatted for about an hour bout politics and stuff, and were both suprised at how close our beliefs were to each other. I didn't buy into everything he said, nor he in what I said, but I realized we all want the same things, and I would put more trust in that young man that in the Obomer..he who bombs.
We need a real populist movement and we need it about 30 years ago. Shit has gotten way out of hand, and it looks bad. This however is not the time to give up...gotta fight back and don't give up the faith.
This article appeared on Sunday. Why is it being reprinted?
Elections are coming up, so democrat apologists will be making much noise.
What...the rainbow coalition fund running on Empty? Jesse out collecting donations. LOL
Jesse Jackson Sr is just plainly talking about the level playing field which blacks, other people of color and working class whites know about the need for first hand as they watch the phony "opportunity society" whose ladder the over wealthy power elites own high jacked from these same working people of all races, colors, and from every background. Rev Jackson knows whereof he speaks and much more.
I'm so proud to be a card carrying member of the RPC as a result.
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