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"There is a world out there where we the people control government; where we send men and women of good will to office who support what the majority wants." (Photo: Peoples World/flickr/cc)
Inchoate Anger Is the Animating Force in Politics
Now people can do something about it
Aug 21, 2018
We've known for a decade now, that people are fed up with Washington and with politics. We've known that they consider politicians to be little more than lackeys to the uber-rich and corporations; and we've known that the facts bear them out when we look at the legislation they pass.
Republicans have both created and exploited this anger; Democrats have run from it, but both have fed it. The Republican's genius has been to direct that anger at government - the only force capable of addressing the injustices being heaped upon average Americans.
Democrats had an easy answer to the blame the government game - specifically that the only solution to bad government is good government; that the only antidote to a nation of, by and for the oligarchy is a government of, by and for the people. And while they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
While they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
This is all you need to know to understand why Democrats went from a majority party for most of the second half of the 20th Century, to a shrinking minority party in the 21st.
Well, you might need to know one other thing: why they refused to advocate for an effective government capable of restraining the growing economic and political power of the ultra-rich and corporations.
In a word: money. Starting under Bill Clinton, they embraced the third-way-DLC corporate sell out in order to get campaign contributions from the people they used to regulate and constrain.
In 2018, Republicans in general and Trump in particular have made the grotesque racism and greed that dominates their party stunningly obvious. It could be a turning point in 21st Century politics - a moment when the Democrats lead an effort to return power to the people, but it looks like the Party's neoliberal establishment would rather retain their hold on the party than win elections.
So it's up to the people to take over the party. Often when you write a sentence like that, commenters will respond with justifiable cynicism, saying government has always been in the pocket of the rich and that the people don't have a chance in hell of taking over the political process. And if all you've ever seen is 21st politics, then that's a reasonable conclusion.
But those of us who are of a certain age know that it is possible. We've seen a time when government constrained the rich, corporations and oligopolies; when it imposed policies assuring an equitable distribution of wealth; when even Republican administrations invested in public infrastructure and advocated environmental policies; when government strengthened social security; adopted Medicare and Medicaid; worked to limit the power of money in politics and elections (remember McCain-Feingold?); and advocated laws assuring racial and gender justice.
It was a concerted and organized assault on government and the very concept of governance that changed that, and that assault was funded by billions of dollars from ultra-rich right wingers and corporations.
The oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
But the oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
There is a world out there where we the people control government; where we send men and women of good will to office who support what the majority wants; where they pass legislation authorizing single payer health care, a living minimum wage, affordable education, tax policies that are fair and equitable, a rational budget with a reasonable defense expenditure, an end to endless wars, protection of our environment and our climate, and racial and gender justice.
To claim that world, we need only show up in primaries and in the general election and choose people who advocate those things.
And here's a hint - most incumbents don't. Check out govtrackusa, a non-partisan organization, to see if your current Congress member, governor, mayor or council member supports these things. If they don't, boot them out and put someone in who does.
For the first time in a long time, Americans actually have that choice.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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John Atcheson
John Atcheson, 1948-2020, was a long-time Common Dreams contributor, climate activist and author of, "A Being Darkly Wise, and a book on our fractured political landscape entitled, "WTF, America? How the US Went Off the Rails and How to Get It Back On Track". John was tragically killed in a California car accident in January 2020.
We've known for a decade now, that people are fed up with Washington and with politics. We've known that they consider politicians to be little more than lackeys to the uber-rich and corporations; and we've known that the facts bear them out when we look at the legislation they pass.
Republicans have both created and exploited this anger; Democrats have run from it, but both have fed it. The Republican's genius has been to direct that anger at government - the only force capable of addressing the injustices being heaped upon average Americans.
Democrats had an easy answer to the blame the government game - specifically that the only solution to bad government is good government; that the only antidote to a nation of, by and for the oligarchy is a government of, by and for the people. And while they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
While they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
This is all you need to know to understand why Democrats went from a majority party for most of the second half of the 20th Century, to a shrinking minority party in the 21st.
Well, you might need to know one other thing: why they refused to advocate for an effective government capable of restraining the growing economic and political power of the ultra-rich and corporations.
In a word: money. Starting under Bill Clinton, they embraced the third-way-DLC corporate sell out in order to get campaign contributions from the people they used to regulate and constrain.
In 2018, Republicans in general and Trump in particular have made the grotesque racism and greed that dominates their party stunningly obvious. It could be a turning point in 21st Century politics - a moment when the Democrats lead an effort to return power to the people, but it looks like the Party's neoliberal establishment would rather retain their hold on the party than win elections.
So it's up to the people to take over the party. Often when you write a sentence like that, commenters will respond with justifiable cynicism, saying government has always been in the pocket of the rich and that the people don't have a chance in hell of taking over the political process. And if all you've ever seen is 21st politics, then that's a reasonable conclusion.
But those of us who are of a certain age know that it is possible. We've seen a time when government constrained the rich, corporations and oligopolies; when it imposed policies assuring an equitable distribution of wealth; when even Republican administrations invested in public infrastructure and advocated environmental policies; when government strengthened social security; adopted Medicare and Medicaid; worked to limit the power of money in politics and elections (remember McCain-Feingold?); and advocated laws assuring racial and gender justice.
It was a concerted and organized assault on government and the very concept of governance that changed that, and that assault was funded by billions of dollars from ultra-rich right wingers and corporations.
The oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
But the oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
There is a world out there where we the people control government; where we send men and women of good will to office who support what the majority wants; where they pass legislation authorizing single payer health care, a living minimum wage, affordable education, tax policies that are fair and equitable, a rational budget with a reasonable defense expenditure, an end to endless wars, protection of our environment and our climate, and racial and gender justice.
To claim that world, we need only show up in primaries and in the general election and choose people who advocate those things.
And here's a hint - most incumbents don't. Check out govtrackusa, a non-partisan organization, to see if your current Congress member, governor, mayor or council member supports these things. If they don't, boot them out and put someone in who does.
For the first time in a long time, Americans actually have that choice.
John Atcheson
John Atcheson, 1948-2020, was a long-time Common Dreams contributor, climate activist and author of, "A Being Darkly Wise, and a book on our fractured political landscape entitled, "WTF, America? How the US Went Off the Rails and How to Get It Back On Track". John was tragically killed in a California car accident in January 2020.
We've known for a decade now, that people are fed up with Washington and with politics. We've known that they consider politicians to be little more than lackeys to the uber-rich and corporations; and we've known that the facts bear them out when we look at the legislation they pass.
Republicans have both created and exploited this anger; Democrats have run from it, but both have fed it. The Republican's genius has been to direct that anger at government - the only force capable of addressing the injustices being heaped upon average Americans.
Democrats had an easy answer to the blame the government game - specifically that the only solution to bad government is good government; that the only antidote to a nation of, by and for the oligarchy is a government of, by and for the people. And while they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
While they channeled progressive rhetoric around election time, they embraced neoliberal policies when they were in power, and stood for nothing more than "they're worse than us," when they weren't, all while holding out their hand for handouts from corporations and the ultra-rich.
This is all you need to know to understand why Democrats went from a majority party for most of the second half of the 20th Century, to a shrinking minority party in the 21st.
Well, you might need to know one other thing: why they refused to advocate for an effective government capable of restraining the growing economic and political power of the ultra-rich and corporations.
In a word: money. Starting under Bill Clinton, they embraced the third-way-DLC corporate sell out in order to get campaign contributions from the people they used to regulate and constrain.
In 2018, Republicans in general and Trump in particular have made the grotesque racism and greed that dominates their party stunningly obvious. It could be a turning point in 21st Century politics - a moment when the Democrats lead an effort to return power to the people, but it looks like the Party's neoliberal establishment would rather retain their hold on the party than win elections.
So it's up to the people to take over the party. Often when you write a sentence like that, commenters will respond with justifiable cynicism, saying government has always been in the pocket of the rich and that the people don't have a chance in hell of taking over the political process. And if all you've ever seen is 21st politics, then that's a reasonable conclusion.
But those of us who are of a certain age know that it is possible. We've seen a time when government constrained the rich, corporations and oligopolies; when it imposed policies assuring an equitable distribution of wealth; when even Republican administrations invested in public infrastructure and advocated environmental policies; when government strengthened social security; adopted Medicare and Medicaid; worked to limit the power of money in politics and elections (remember McCain-Feingold?); and advocated laws assuring racial and gender justice.
It was a concerted and organized assault on government and the very concept of governance that changed that, and that assault was funded by billions of dollars from ultra-rich right wingers and corporations.
The oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
But the oligarchy's coup resulted in an obscene disparity in wealth; the complete erosion of democracy; the counter-factual rejection of science and reason; and the acceptance of xenophobia and racial prejudice, and in doing so, woke up a sleeping giant - the American people.
There is a world out there where we the people control government; where we send men and women of good will to office who support what the majority wants; where they pass legislation authorizing single payer health care, a living minimum wage, affordable education, tax policies that are fair and equitable, a rational budget with a reasonable defense expenditure, an end to endless wars, protection of our environment and our climate, and racial and gender justice.
To claim that world, we need only show up in primaries and in the general election and choose people who advocate those things.
And here's a hint - most incumbents don't. Check out govtrackusa, a non-partisan organization, to see if your current Congress member, governor, mayor or council member supports these things. If they don't, boot them out and put someone in who does.
For the first time in a long time, Americans actually have that choice.
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