SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends Women's March 2019 on January 19, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)
The big guns are out for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the charismatic first-term legislator from New York.
In an apparent swipe at Ocasio-Cortez, Donald Trump used part of his rambling State of the Union address to say he was "alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country."
"What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few."
Billionaire former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz cited Ocasio-Cortez's support for a 70 percent tax rate on income above $10 million a year as one reason he may decide to run as an independent for president, and not as a Democrat.
The young congresswoman isn't easily cowed. She called out Trump, saying "I think he's scared."
"He feels himself losing on the issues. Every single policy proposal that we have adopted and presented to the American public has been overwhelmingly popular, even some with a majority of Republican voters supporting."
Ocasio-Cortez is exactly right. Schultz may think calls for Medicare for all are "un-American," but the vast majority of Americans support it. Consider the following:
Reuters poll: 70 percent support Medicare for all, including 52 percent of Republicans.
Fox News poll: 70 percent support raising taxes on those making over $10 million a year.
Bloomberg poll: 62 percent support tuition-free college.
Kaiser Foundation poll: 92 percent support having Medicare negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices.
Hart poll: 63 percent support $15 minimum wage.
Yale/George Mason poll: 81 percent support the Green New Deal plan.
There is a wide gulf between the political center and the moral center.
Dr. Martin Luther King used to teach that "cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right."
Politicians worry about donors. They hear from lobbyists, from special interests, from corporations that can spend unlimited money in political campaigns without revealing it.
The moral center is concerned with what is right -- and what can work.
What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few. So Trump and Republicans and billionaires like Schultz yell "socialism," "Venezuela," "extremism," "radicalism." They need to spread fear to protect a discredited political center.
"Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative."
Don't fall for it. Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative.
We now suffer an extreme inequality not witnessed since before the Great Depression. It is time for the moral center to make itself heard.
And now a new generation of leaders is rising that just may be ready to take on the fight. Like AOC, they will come under intense fire. They will succeed only if we build a popular movement strong enough to overcome the resistance.
AOC is young and smart and charismatic, and she and her colleagues may help us begin to heal a nation.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. 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. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
The big guns are out for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the charismatic first-term legislator from New York.
In an apparent swipe at Ocasio-Cortez, Donald Trump used part of his rambling State of the Union address to say he was "alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country."
"What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few."
Billionaire former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz cited Ocasio-Cortez's support for a 70 percent tax rate on income above $10 million a year as one reason he may decide to run as an independent for president, and not as a Democrat.
The young congresswoman isn't easily cowed. She called out Trump, saying "I think he's scared."
"He feels himself losing on the issues. Every single policy proposal that we have adopted and presented to the American public has been overwhelmingly popular, even some with a majority of Republican voters supporting."
Ocasio-Cortez is exactly right. Schultz may think calls for Medicare for all are "un-American," but the vast majority of Americans support it. Consider the following:
Reuters poll: 70 percent support Medicare for all, including 52 percent of Republicans.
Fox News poll: 70 percent support raising taxes on those making over $10 million a year.
Bloomberg poll: 62 percent support tuition-free college.
Kaiser Foundation poll: 92 percent support having Medicare negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices.
Hart poll: 63 percent support $15 minimum wage.
Yale/George Mason poll: 81 percent support the Green New Deal plan.
There is a wide gulf between the political center and the moral center.
Dr. Martin Luther King used to teach that "cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right."
Politicians worry about donors. They hear from lobbyists, from special interests, from corporations that can spend unlimited money in political campaigns without revealing it.
The moral center is concerned with what is right -- and what can work.
What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few. So Trump and Republicans and billionaires like Schultz yell "socialism," "Venezuela," "extremism," "radicalism." They need to spread fear to protect a discredited political center.
"Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative."
Don't fall for it. Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative.
We now suffer an extreme inequality not witnessed since before the Great Depression. It is time for the moral center to make itself heard.
And now a new generation of leaders is rising that just may be ready to take on the fight. Like AOC, they will come under intense fire. They will succeed only if we build a popular movement strong enough to overcome the resistance.
AOC is young and smart and charismatic, and she and her colleagues may help us begin to heal a nation.
The big guns are out for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the charismatic first-term legislator from New York.
In an apparent swipe at Ocasio-Cortez, Donald Trump used part of his rambling State of the Union address to say he was "alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country."
"What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few."
Billionaire former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz cited Ocasio-Cortez's support for a 70 percent tax rate on income above $10 million a year as one reason he may decide to run as an independent for president, and not as a Democrat.
The young congresswoman isn't easily cowed. She called out Trump, saying "I think he's scared."
"He feels himself losing on the issues. Every single policy proposal that we have adopted and presented to the American public has been overwhelmingly popular, even some with a majority of Republican voters supporting."
Ocasio-Cortez is exactly right. Schultz may think calls for Medicare for all are "un-American," but the vast majority of Americans support it. Consider the following:
Reuters poll: 70 percent support Medicare for all, including 52 percent of Republicans.
Fox News poll: 70 percent support raising taxes on those making over $10 million a year.
Bloomberg poll: 62 percent support tuition-free college.
Kaiser Foundation poll: 92 percent support having Medicare negotiate with drug companies to lower drug prices.
Hart poll: 63 percent support $15 minimum wage.
Yale/George Mason poll: 81 percent support the Green New Deal plan.
There is a wide gulf between the political center and the moral center.
Dr. Martin Luther King used to teach that "cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right? There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right."
Politicians worry about donors. They hear from lobbyists, from special interests, from corporations that can spend unlimited money in political campaigns without revealing it.
The moral center is concerned with what is right -- and what can work.
What is different now is that the moral center -- what is right -- is also increasingly popular. The political class is running scared because more and more people understand that the rules have been rigged to benefit only the few. So Trump and Republicans and billionaires like Schultz yell "socialism," "Venezuela," "extremism," "radicalism." They need to spread fear to protect a discredited political center.
"Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative."
Don't fall for it. Medicare for all isn't socialism; it's common sense. A living wage isn't radical; it's a moral imperative.
We now suffer an extreme inequality not witnessed since before the Great Depression. It is time for the moral center to make itself heard.
And now a new generation of leaders is rising that just may be ready to take on the fight. Like AOC, they will come under intense fire. They will succeed only if we build a popular movement strong enough to overcome the resistance.
AOC is young and smart and charismatic, and she and her colleagues may help us begin to heal a nation.