THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR
Opinion: On Electoral Bribery in America
Special Opinion by Paul Plante
AUGUST 22, 2021
As to electoral bribery in America today, which I posit is how Joe Biden managed to win the white house, by bribing the electorate with all sorts of extravagant and grandiose free government give-aways that Joe would provide them if only they would put him in the white house to save the soul of America, in an academic article entitled “Electoral Bribery in The Roman Republic” by Andrew Lintott published online by Cambridge University Press on 24 September 2012, we learn about the term “electoral bribery” in the political context as follows:
In Western Europe to-day we tend to assume automatically that electoral bribery is pernicious, in that it distorts the democratic process, the selection by the people of their own representatives, by shifting whatever power lies in the generality of the electorate back into the hands of the people who seek office, so that a democratic procedure becomes in effect oligarchic.
We even term bribery the presentation of attractive policies to the electorate by a person or party, which we believe will not be in the people’s long-term interest or will be rapidly discarded in favour of policies which suit those in power.
end quotes
That, of course, is precisely what we observed regarding the Biden/Harris campaign in the run-up to the 2020 presidential elections in this country, and it well can be said, and should be said, as I stated above, that Joe Biden is the president because of successful electoral bribery made possible today because of the impact of “social media” as a propaganda tool for politicians, where electoral bribery is considered to be bribery of masses of people, as opposed to the old tried-and-true Democrat Party tactic of buying individual votes.
For a good example of electoral bribery by the presentation of attractive policies to the electorate by a person, Joe Biden, and party, the Democrats, which have not been shown to be in the people’s long-term interest, nor can such a demonstration be made, let’s go to Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Speech Transcript from Crystal Lake, Illinois on July 7, 2021, to wit:
Those of you who have children under the of seven, you’re going to get three and depending on your income and your income taxes, you’re going to get a cash payment back up to now.
And guess what?
You get $2,000 is declared a dependent.
If you have two children you get $4,000 off a $10,000 tax bill, it’s important.
But if you don’t make enough money to be able to owe that kind of tax you don’t get a tax credit, you don’t get anything.
While under this proposal guess what?
You’re in a situation where if you have a child under the age of seven, you get back $3600 in cash.
In addition to that those of you are in that situation are going to start to see that coming in by the end of this month on a monthly basis.
It can change the lives of people.
Starting next week families will begin to receive one of the largest ever single year tax cuts aimed at families and children.
And every child under the age of six is $3,600.
Every child between six and 17 is 3000.
And not as a credit against your taxes, but as a direct payment.
You’ll get cash.
Cash that’s what we’ll get.
For example middle-class family with two children – … cash, that’s what you’ll get.
For example, a middle-class family with two children can expect to receive $7,200.
You get the first half, the $3,600 paid out at $600 a month between July and December.
And you get the rest between January and tax day.
end quotes
And of course, we will be told in response that that is simply how American politics works – people are going to vote for who makes the most outlandish and extravagant promises if they believe that it will result in free money in their pocket, regardless of the true costs to the nation of what is in reality a huge welfare scheme, like the Corn Dole in Rome, to buy votes.
For another example of electoral bribery as a political strategy, let us go to the political document “Resistance Rising: Socialist Strategy in the Age of Political Revolution – A summary of Democratic Socialists of America’s Strategy Document – June 2016” from June 25, 2016, where we have as follows:
Free public higher education is a key example of what we might call a “transformative” reform that helps to popularize the idea of socialism and to make further, more dramatic reforms possible in the future.
Free public higher education would mean taking what should be a universal public good out of the marketplace, putting it under democratic control and guaranteeing it as a right to all citizens — and funding it by a truly progressive tax system that makes the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of government revenue.
Beyond its inherent benefits, such a campaign would also show people that socialist policies are both desirable and achievable.
Gaining free public higher education could serve as a crucial step in making democratic socialist politics more attractive to a wider cross-section of the U.S. public.
end quotes
There is electoral bribery as political strategy, and guess what, people, it works, as we can see from the Washington Examiner article entitled “More Democratic voters favor socialism than capitalism in major shift: Poll” by Zachary Halaschak on 13 August 2021, to wit:
Democrats have grown considerably more accepting of socialism since the coronavirus pandemic began, according to a new poll.
A survey by Fox News conducted this week found that 59% of Democratic voters hold a favorable opinion of socialism, compared to 49% who said the same of capitalism.
Furthermore, 44% of Democrats hold an unfavorable view of capitalism, compared to 31% who view socialism negatively.
The new results are a marked shift from February 2020, when 40% of Democratic voters said they held a favorable view of socialism, compared to half who said the same about capitalism.
The poll comes as the House has become imbued with a vocal contingent of socialists and those who support socialist priorities.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was elected in 2018 after a shocking primary upset and has since championed policies such as “Medicare for All” and the Green New Deal.
Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts made waves after entering office, with the self-proclaimed “Squad” having outsize influence within the party and attracting much media attention, at times to the chagrin of party leadership.
Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York and Cori Bush of Missouri, both members of the Democratic Socialists of America, were sworn into Congress after last year’s election.
end quotes
Yes, indeed, promise them the sun, moon and stars for free and you win their hearts and minds every time, and if the result is destroying the economy, hey, that’s the cost of doing business in politics today, where what you gave them the last time is now not enough, which takes us to the academic work “Electoral Bribery and the Challenge to the Authority of the Senate: Two Aspects of Dio’s View of the Late Roman Republic (Books 36–40)” by Marianne Coudry, where we are told that electoral bribery or ambitus, was a fatal weakness of the Late Roman Republic, and so it turned out to be, given the Roman civil war after Dio.
As to ambitus, Lexico defines it as the action of seeking to obtain an office or position through underhand means; especially the use of bribery to gain electoral support, which takes us to Wikipedia, as follows:
In ancient Roman law, ambitus was a crime of political corruption, mainly a candidate’s attempt to influence the outcome (or direction) of an election through bribery or other forms of soft power.
The Latin word ambitus is the origin of the English word “ambition” which is another of its original meanings; ambitus was the process of “going around and commending oneself or one’s protégés to the people,” an activity liable to unethical excesses.
The Lex Baebia was the first law criminalizing electoral bribery, instituted by M. Baebius Tamphilus during his consulship in 181 BC.
The lex Tullia was passed in the consulship of Cicero (63 BC) for the purpose of adding to the penalties of the Acilia Calpurnia.
The penalty under this lex was ten years’ exile.
This law forbade any person to exhibit public shows for two years before he was a candidate.
It also forbade candidates hiring persons to attend them and be about their persons.
end quotes
Which brings us back to present time and a Wall Street Journal article entitled “Pelosi Braces for Showdown With Moderates Over Infrastructure Vote” by Andrew Duehren and Eliza Collins on 18 August 2021, where we have yet another clear-cut case of electoral bribery by the Democrats in the making right here in America, to wit:
WASHINGTON—Top House Democrats said the chamber would move forward with voting on the budget blueprint for a $3.5 trillion healthcare, education and climate package next week, rebuffing demands from a group of centrist Democrats to first vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill and urging their caucus to stay unified around President Biden’s agenda.
“I would hope that none of us, that none of us, would do or say anything that would jeopardize passing these bills.”
“These bills are critical for us maintaining our majority, and that must reign supreme,” Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) told members on a Tuesday telephone call, according to a person listening to it.
end quotes
Translation: if the Democrats aren’t able to loot our treasury with which to gain the money they need to buy off enough voters to keep them in power, they will lose the majority.
So they are not doing anything for America.
To the contrary, all their efforts are aimed at solidifying their grasp on power in America, and what better way to do that than to lavish free gifts on the electorate?
Promise them the sun, the moon, the stars, free education, and guaranteed money in their pocket each month, even of they don’t work and refuse to work, and you own their vote!
That is what electoral bribery is – buying votes through policies that are attractive to the voters, but not good for the nation in the long term, as the Romans found out to their detriment.
So what will the future bring us?
Stay tuned!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-447331
ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
Re: ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR OCTOBER 17, 2021 AT 10:12 PM
Paul Plante says:
So, yes, people – electoral bribery as a sure-fire means of winning elections here in the United States of America, and as we can clearly see in an article in The Hill entitled “Progressives say go big and make life hard for GOP” by Scott Wong and Mike Lillis on 16 October 2021, the Democrats are making no secret whatsoever of their plans to bribe the electorate once more with taxpayer dollars in order to win the 2022 congressional elections to further cement their hold on government here in the United States to our collective detriment, to wit:
Progressives have a new argument for why their push for a broad array of social benefit programs is the right approach for President Biden and Democrats: It will put Republicans in a prickly spot if they fight to end the benefits down the road.
Liberals maintain that once voters receive federal perks like expanded child tax credits and Medicare, family leave and free college tuition, they will demand that Congress extend those benefits when it comes time for them to sunset.
end quotes
And my goodness, of course they will, and who wouldn’t?
Just think of it – every time you turn around, there will be the PROGRESSIVES with something else that is free, and why would anyone want that gravy train to come to an end?
Getting back to that story, we have:
These progressives, many of whom represent solidly blue districts, also argue the embrace of those policies is the best way to win elections.
end quotes
And historically, people, bribing the electorate with taxpayer money has always been a sure-fire way to win elections!
Just ask the Romans, and if you can find them, they will tell you it is so!
Afterall, look what the corn dole did for them back when – people loved it so much they quit working and moved to Rome to get in the line for their own free corn, and as a result, Rome isn’t in existence any more, but hey, it was great while it lasted, which takes us back to the story of modern day blatant electoral bribery in America, to wit:
“Many of us believe that once families have access to child care, once employees have access to paid family leave, once we begin certain programs, that it will be very challenging for Republicans to cut them off – just as it was challenging for them to end the ACA,” progressive Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told The Hill.
end quotes
Just as once Rome started the corn dole, that was it – there was no way to cut it off without risking riots, which again takes us back to that story of reckless and irresponsible public spending by these PROGRESSIVES in order to buy the 2022 congressional elections, to wit:
Party leaders intend to move the social benefits package by a special budget process, known as reconciliation, which empowers them to sidestep the Senate filibuster and move the legislation without any Republican support.
But with the slimmest of majorities in both the House and Senate, they’ll need virtual unanimity behind the policy prescriptions to get the package – along with a less contentious infrastructure proposal – to Biden’s desk.
As mediator between the feuding factions, Pelosi is taking pains to resolve the differences and win an agreement that can pass through both chambers.
In a letter to Democrats on Monday, the Speaker seemed to side with the “less-is-more” camp, suggesting that some of the programs in Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion package might be eliminated altogether.
In doing so, she advanced the idea of prioritizing child benefits and efforts to tackle climate change.
“Overwhelmingly, the guidance I am receiving from Members is to do fewer things well,” she wrote.
The next morning, however, Pelosi appeared to change her tune, saying her first cost-cutting strategy will be not to prune benefit programs, but to scale back their longevity.
In explaining her reasoning, she cited pushback from liberal lawmakers who want to go broad in scope.
“Some members have written back to me and said, ‘I want to do everything.'”
“So we’ll have that discussion,” Pelosi said.
“The timing would be reduced in many cases to make the cost lower.”
Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) are pressing the Speaker to follow through with that design.
In a letter sent to Pelosi on Wednesday, more than two dozen CPC members urged her to keep the broad contours of the reconciliation package, even if it means squeezing the benefit timelines.
“If given a choice between legislating narrowly or broadly, we strongly encourage you to choose the latter, and make robust investments over a shorter window,” wrote the liberals, led by CPC Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
“It would be very hard for people to take things away, and that’s part of our goal,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), another leading progressive.
“Once people see how popular these things are … many of these debates are the same debates we had when you created Social Security and other programs.”
“And once people got them, you saw how wildly popular [they were].”
“We think some of these are going to be in that wildly popular category.”
“That’s why we want to keep them out there, even if it’s for a little bit of shortened time, because once people start to see it,” they will support it, Pocan continued.
“The child tax credit is a classic example.”
“I mean [look] how popular it is right now; it’s a lot easier for us to extend that out.”
end quotes
And isn’t social security today facing some “issues” with funding?
Do we want to see these PROGRESSIVES run America into the ground as they try to use federal taxpayer dollars to bribe the electorate with come November of 2022?
If so, vote Democrat, get all the free stuff you can from them, and you will be there sooner than you think!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-447331
Paul Plante says:
So, yes, people – electoral bribery as a sure-fire means of winning elections here in the United States of America, and as we can clearly see in an article in The Hill entitled “Progressives say go big and make life hard for GOP” by Scott Wong and Mike Lillis on 16 October 2021, the Democrats are making no secret whatsoever of their plans to bribe the electorate once more with taxpayer dollars in order to win the 2022 congressional elections to further cement their hold on government here in the United States to our collective detriment, to wit:
Progressives have a new argument for why their push for a broad array of social benefit programs is the right approach for President Biden and Democrats: It will put Republicans in a prickly spot if they fight to end the benefits down the road.
Liberals maintain that once voters receive federal perks like expanded child tax credits and Medicare, family leave and free college tuition, they will demand that Congress extend those benefits when it comes time for them to sunset.
end quotes
And my goodness, of course they will, and who wouldn’t?
Just think of it – every time you turn around, there will be the PROGRESSIVES with something else that is free, and why would anyone want that gravy train to come to an end?
Getting back to that story, we have:
These progressives, many of whom represent solidly blue districts, also argue the embrace of those policies is the best way to win elections.
end quotes
And historically, people, bribing the electorate with taxpayer money has always been a sure-fire way to win elections!
Just ask the Romans, and if you can find them, they will tell you it is so!
Afterall, look what the corn dole did for them back when – people loved it so much they quit working and moved to Rome to get in the line for their own free corn, and as a result, Rome isn’t in existence any more, but hey, it was great while it lasted, which takes us back to the story of modern day blatant electoral bribery in America, to wit:
“Many of us believe that once families have access to child care, once employees have access to paid family leave, once we begin certain programs, that it will be very challenging for Republicans to cut them off – just as it was challenging for them to end the ACA,” progressive Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) told The Hill.
end quotes
Just as once Rome started the corn dole, that was it – there was no way to cut it off without risking riots, which again takes us back to that story of reckless and irresponsible public spending by these PROGRESSIVES in order to buy the 2022 congressional elections, to wit:
Party leaders intend to move the social benefits package by a special budget process, known as reconciliation, which empowers them to sidestep the Senate filibuster and move the legislation without any Republican support.
But with the slimmest of majorities in both the House and Senate, they’ll need virtual unanimity behind the policy prescriptions to get the package – along with a less contentious infrastructure proposal – to Biden’s desk.
As mediator between the feuding factions, Pelosi is taking pains to resolve the differences and win an agreement that can pass through both chambers.
In a letter to Democrats on Monday, the Speaker seemed to side with the “less-is-more” camp, suggesting that some of the programs in Biden’s initial $3.5 trillion package might be eliminated altogether.
In doing so, she advanced the idea of prioritizing child benefits and efforts to tackle climate change.
“Overwhelmingly, the guidance I am receiving from Members is to do fewer things well,” she wrote.
The next morning, however, Pelosi appeared to change her tune, saying her first cost-cutting strategy will be not to prune benefit programs, but to scale back their longevity.
In explaining her reasoning, she cited pushback from liberal lawmakers who want to go broad in scope.
“Some members have written back to me and said, ‘I want to do everything.'”
“So we’ll have that discussion,” Pelosi said.
“The timing would be reduced in many cases to make the cost lower.”
Leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) are pressing the Speaker to follow through with that design.
In a letter sent to Pelosi on Wednesday, more than two dozen CPC members urged her to keep the broad contours of the reconciliation package, even if it means squeezing the benefit timelines.
“If given a choice between legislating narrowly or broadly, we strongly encourage you to choose the latter, and make robust investments over a shorter window,” wrote the liberals, led by CPC Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
“It would be very hard for people to take things away, and that’s part of our goal,” said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), another leading progressive.
“Once people see how popular these things are … many of these debates are the same debates we had when you created Social Security and other programs.”
“And once people got them, you saw how wildly popular [they were].”
“We think some of these are going to be in that wildly popular category.”
“That’s why we want to keep them out there, even if it’s for a little bit of shortened time, because once people start to see it,” they will support it, Pocan continued.
“The child tax credit is a classic example.”
“I mean [look] how popular it is right now; it’s a lot easier for us to extend that out.”
end quotes
And isn’t social security today facing some “issues” with funding?
Do we want to see these PROGRESSIVES run America into the ground as they try to use federal taxpayer dollars to bribe the electorate with come November of 2022?
If so, vote Democrat, get all the free stuff you can from them, and you will be there sooner than you think!
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-447331
Re: ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR AUGUST 24, 2022 AT 9:46 PM
Paul Plante says:
Reuters
“White House says student debt relief price tag remains to be determined”
By Reuters Staff
AUGUST 24, 2022
(Reuters) – White House National Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice on Wednesday told reporters that the Biden administration has yet to determine the price tag for President Joe Biden’s newly announced student debt relief program, adding it will depend on how many people apply for relief.
“That remains to be determined and it will be a function of what percentage of eligible borrowers actually take up this opportunity,” she said at a press briefing.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-677365
Paul Plante says:
Reuters
“White House says student debt relief price tag remains to be determined”
By Reuters Staff
AUGUST 24, 2022
(Reuters) – White House National Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice on Wednesday told reporters that the Biden administration has yet to determine the price tag for President Joe Biden’s newly announced student debt relief program, adding it will depend on how many people apply for relief.
“That remains to be determined and it will be a function of what percentage of eligible borrowers actually take up this opportunity,” she said at a press briefing.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-677365
Re: ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR AUGUST 25, 2022 AT 10:01 PM
Paul Plante says:
Reuters
“Embattled U.S. Democrats riled over Biden’s student loan forgiveness”
By Richard Cowan, Joseph Ax
AUGUST 25, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s move to waive college loan payments for millions of Americans drew criticism from some of his fellow Democrats, especially members of Congress facing the toughest re-election contests on Nov. 8.
The White House may have thought the plan would provide a nice election-year gift to those grappling with monthly loan payments while also boosting the prospects for Democrats in November, when Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The White House has dodged questions about the cost, citing unknowns like how many borrowers would take advantage of the program.
Some non-governmental groups, however, have placed the total price tag at $300 billion to $600 billion.
Those on the left wing of the Democratic party applauded Biden’s move while calling for even more robust initiatives, such as free higher education.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal had urged Biden to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, though she said his move was a step in the right direction.
The non-governmental Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which describes itself as non-partisan, said that its initial review suggested Biden’s student loan plan was likely to increase inflation.
“Thanks to Tim Ryan and Joe Biden, Ohio workers are paying off the loans of Harvard Law students.”
“If this seems unfair and illegal, it’s because it is,” Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance said on Twitter.
But Ryan, a Democrat who is running against Vance, was similarly critical.
“Instead of forgiving student loans for six-figure earners, we should be working to level the playing field for all Americans, including an across-the-board tax cut for working- and middle-class families,” Ryan said.
Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, saw a silver lining for the Democratic party, however.
In an interview, he said Biden’s move could motivate young Democrats to show up at the polls in November, adding to the energy created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to eliminate a nationwide right to abortion.
“The abortion decision is 10 times more important than student loans, but student loans may augment the level of enthusiasm among young people,” he said.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-678556
Paul Plante says:
Reuters
“Embattled U.S. Democrats riled over Biden’s student loan forgiveness”
By Richard Cowan, Joseph Ax
AUGUST 25, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden’s move to waive college loan payments for millions of Americans drew criticism from some of his fellow Democrats, especially members of Congress facing the toughest re-election contests on Nov. 8.
The White House may have thought the plan would provide a nice election-year gift to those grappling with monthly loan payments while also boosting the prospects for Democrats in November, when Republicans are favored to win back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The White House has dodged questions about the cost, citing unknowns like how many borrowers would take advantage of the program.
Some non-governmental groups, however, have placed the total price tag at $300 billion to $600 billion.
Those on the left wing of the Democratic party applauded Biden’s move while calling for even more robust initiatives, such as free higher education.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal had urged Biden to cancel $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower, though she said his move was a step in the right direction.
The non-governmental Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which describes itself as non-partisan, said that its initial review suggested Biden’s student loan plan was likely to increase inflation.
“Thanks to Tim Ryan and Joe Biden, Ohio workers are paying off the loans of Harvard Law students.”
“If this seems unfair and illegal, it’s because it is,” Republican U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance said on Twitter.
But Ryan, a Democrat who is running against Vance, was similarly critical.
“Instead of forgiving student loans for six-figure earners, we should be working to level the playing field for all Americans, including an across-the-board tax cut for working- and middle-class families,” Ryan said.
Larry Sabato, the director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, saw a silver lining for the Democratic party, however.
In an interview, he said Biden’s move could motivate young Democrats to show up at the polls in November, adding to the energy created by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision to eliminate a nationwide right to abortion.
“The abortion decision is 10 times more important than student loans, but student loans may augment the level of enthusiasm among young people,” he said.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-678556
Re: ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR AUGUST 26, 2022 AT 10:15 AM
Paul Plante says:
Resistance Rising: Socialist Strategy in the Age of Political Revolution
June 25, 2016
A summary of Democratic Socialists of America’s Strategy Document – June 2016
2016 was a game changing year for leftists and progressives.
We are finally reemerging as a vital and powerful force after an extended period of stagnation and demoralization, and we face a political landscape more favorable than perhaps at any time since the 1960s.
Despite these challenges, once in a generation opportunities currently exist for taking the offensive and launching an assertive anti-capitalist politics in the United States.
The most difficult — and most important — question that remains, is how, specifically, to make democratic socialist politics a force to be reckoned with in rural communities, towns, cities and states across the country in the coming years.
Our vision entails nothing less than the radical democratization of all areas of life, not least of which is the economy.
Under democratic socialism, this authoritarian system would be replaced with economic democracy.
This simply means that democracy would be expanded beyond the election of political officials to include the democratic management of all businesses by the workers who comprise them and by the communities in which they operate.
Very large, strategically important sectors of the economy — such as housing, utilities and heavy industry — would be subject to democratic planning outside the market, while a market sector consisting of worker-owned and -operated firms would be developed for the production and distribution of many consumer goods.
A democratic socialist society would also guarantee a wide range of social rights in order to ensure equality of citizenship for all.
Vital services such as health care, child care, education (from pre-K through higher education), shelter and transportation would be publicly provided to everyone on demand, free of charge.
Further, in order to ensure that the enjoyment of full citizenship was not tied to ups and downs in the labor market, everyone would also receive a universal basic income — that is, a base salary for every member of society, regardless of the person’s employment status.
Economic democracy would be complemented in the political sphere by a new system that combined an overhauled form of representative democracy (our current system) with direct democracy, a system in which individuals participate directly in the making of political decisions that affect them.
Solidarity among all working people who are ensnared in the capitalist system may be a prerequisite for a strong socialist movement, but socialism as radical democracy is much more than the emancipation of a single economic class.
Hence a wide range of programs to dismantle the privileges associated with whiteness, maleness and heteronormativity would have to be developed, and antidiscrimination policies in the workplace and in social organizations would have to be intensified.
Democratic socialism, that is, will not be the utopia that many socialists of old imagined.
Yet the achievement of a democratic socialist society would nevertheless mark one of the greatest advances in human history.
With this vision in place, we turn finally to an overview of DSA’s strategy for moving the needle of emancipation closer to democratic socialism over the coming years and decades.
We believe democratic socialism is the only humane and democratic alternative to capitalism, but considering our limited resources at present we must think carefully about how to translate our socialist ideals and values into a viable political strategy.
U.S. history has shown that the best recruits for socialism are experienced and radicalized workers, and, similarly, that the best workplace organizers are socialists.
For these reasons we must place the trade union movement and newer, less traditional forms of worker self-organization (e.g. workers’ centers) front and center in our priorities.
Free public higher education is a key example of what we might call a “transformative” reform that helps to popularize the idea of socialism and to make further, more dramatic reforms possible in the future.
Free public higher education would mean taking what should be a universal public good out of the marketplace, putting it under democratic control and guaranteeing it as a right to all citizens — and funding it by a truly progressive tax system that makes the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of government revenue.
Beyond its inherent benefits, such a campaign would also show people that socialist policies are both desirable and achievable.
Gaining free public higher education could serve as a crucial step in making democratic socialist politics more attractive to a wider cross-section of the U.S. public.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-678556
Paul Plante says:
Resistance Rising: Socialist Strategy in the Age of Political Revolution
June 25, 2016
A summary of Democratic Socialists of America’s Strategy Document – June 2016
2016 was a game changing year for leftists and progressives.
We are finally reemerging as a vital and powerful force after an extended period of stagnation and demoralization, and we face a political landscape more favorable than perhaps at any time since the 1960s.
Despite these challenges, once in a generation opportunities currently exist for taking the offensive and launching an assertive anti-capitalist politics in the United States.
The most difficult — and most important — question that remains, is how, specifically, to make democratic socialist politics a force to be reckoned with in rural communities, towns, cities and states across the country in the coming years.
Our vision entails nothing less than the radical democratization of all areas of life, not least of which is the economy.
Under democratic socialism, this authoritarian system would be replaced with economic democracy.
This simply means that democracy would be expanded beyond the election of political officials to include the democratic management of all businesses by the workers who comprise them and by the communities in which they operate.
Very large, strategically important sectors of the economy — such as housing, utilities and heavy industry — would be subject to democratic planning outside the market, while a market sector consisting of worker-owned and -operated firms would be developed for the production and distribution of many consumer goods.
A democratic socialist society would also guarantee a wide range of social rights in order to ensure equality of citizenship for all.
Vital services such as health care, child care, education (from pre-K through higher education), shelter and transportation would be publicly provided to everyone on demand, free of charge.
Further, in order to ensure that the enjoyment of full citizenship was not tied to ups and downs in the labor market, everyone would also receive a universal basic income — that is, a base salary for every member of society, regardless of the person’s employment status.
Economic democracy would be complemented in the political sphere by a new system that combined an overhauled form of representative democracy (our current system) with direct democracy, a system in which individuals participate directly in the making of political decisions that affect them.
Solidarity among all working people who are ensnared in the capitalist system may be a prerequisite for a strong socialist movement, but socialism as radical democracy is much more than the emancipation of a single economic class.
Hence a wide range of programs to dismantle the privileges associated with whiteness, maleness and heteronormativity would have to be developed, and antidiscrimination policies in the workplace and in social organizations would have to be intensified.
Democratic socialism, that is, will not be the utopia that many socialists of old imagined.
Yet the achievement of a democratic socialist society would nevertheless mark one of the greatest advances in human history.
With this vision in place, we turn finally to an overview of DSA’s strategy for moving the needle of emancipation closer to democratic socialism over the coming years and decades.
We believe democratic socialism is the only humane and democratic alternative to capitalism, but considering our limited resources at present we must think carefully about how to translate our socialist ideals and values into a viable political strategy.
U.S. history has shown that the best recruits for socialism are experienced and radicalized workers, and, similarly, that the best workplace organizers are socialists.
For these reasons we must place the trade union movement and newer, less traditional forms of worker self-organization (e.g. workers’ centers) front and center in our priorities.
Free public higher education is a key example of what we might call a “transformative” reform that helps to popularize the idea of socialism and to make further, more dramatic reforms possible in the future.
Free public higher education would mean taking what should be a universal public good out of the marketplace, putting it under democratic control and guaranteeing it as a right to all citizens — and funding it by a truly progressive tax system that makes the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of government revenue.
Beyond its inherent benefits, such a campaign would also show people that socialist policies are both desirable and achievable.
Gaining free public higher education could serve as a crucial step in making democratic socialist politics more attractive to a wider cross-section of the U.S. public.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-678556
Re: ON ELECTORAL BRIBERY
THE CAPE CHARLES MIRROR SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 AT 5:14 PM
Paul Plante says:
Fox News
“Oil workers slam Biden’s student loan handout: ‘Trying to buy votes'”
By Thomas Catenacci
31 August 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Americans who work in the U.S. oil industry heavily criticized President Biden’s $500 billion student loan handout, characterizing it as the latest attack on them by the administration.
Oil workers argued it was unfair for them and other working-class taxpayers to fund the handout, which would potentially benefit Americans on track to soon make hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A majority of oil field workers don’t have a college degree, according to the job search site Zippia.
“It’s one more slap in the face from this administration,” Matt Coday, the president and founder of the Oil & Gas Workers Association (OGWA), told FOX Business in an interview.
“A lot of people have looked at oil and gas workers as dumb or uneducated.”
“They are some of the brightest minds,” he continued.
“People, who are constantly referred to or looked at as dumb or uneducated, are now being asked to foot the bill for a bunch of people who think they’re smarter than all of us who work out here in this industry.”
Coday, a third-generation oil field worker in Texas, said every respondent to an internal OGWA poll opposed Biden’s student loan handout, saying they shouldn’t be expected to pay for the program.
“They’re trying to buy votes,” said Ryan Shull, an Illinois oil worker.
“They’re trying to buy as many votes as they can with taxpayer dollars, and they don’t really care about the working class, they don’t care.”
“They don’t even care about the students.”
“If they truly were going to help these kids, then they would change the cause of all this debt.”
Shull said he attended community college because he couldn’t afford a four-year university education.
He paid for his education, a process technology degree, by working while taking classes.
“Biden himself has never actually had a real job other than being part of government,” Shull added.
Andrew De La Rosa, an 11-year Texas oil field worker who specializes in wireline operations, also ripped Biden’s student loan program.
“Honestly, I think the biggest slap to the face is to the people that have already paid off their student loans.”
“You know, what about them?”
“Do they get any type of reimbursement?” De La Rosa told FOX Business in an interview.
De La Rosa said he never pursued a college or university degree after graduating from high school, instead opting to work for the local school district then in a construction job before transitioning to the oil industry.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-682596
Paul Plante says:
Fox News
“Oil workers slam Biden’s student loan handout: ‘Trying to buy votes'”
By Thomas Catenacci
31 August 2022
EXCLUSIVE: Americans who work in the U.S. oil industry heavily criticized President Biden’s $500 billion student loan handout, characterizing it as the latest attack on them by the administration.
Oil workers argued it was unfair for them and other working-class taxpayers to fund the handout, which would potentially benefit Americans on track to soon make hundreds of thousands of dollars.
A majority of oil field workers don’t have a college degree, according to the job search site Zippia.
“It’s one more slap in the face from this administration,” Matt Coday, the president and founder of the Oil & Gas Workers Association (OGWA), told FOX Business in an interview.
“A lot of people have looked at oil and gas workers as dumb or uneducated.”
“They are some of the brightest minds,” he continued.
“People, who are constantly referred to or looked at as dumb or uneducated, are now being asked to foot the bill for a bunch of people who think they’re smarter than all of us who work out here in this industry.”
Coday, a third-generation oil field worker in Texas, said every respondent to an internal OGWA poll opposed Biden’s student loan handout, saying they shouldn’t be expected to pay for the program.
“They’re trying to buy votes,” said Ryan Shull, an Illinois oil worker.
“They’re trying to buy as many votes as they can with taxpayer dollars, and they don’t really care about the working class, they don’t care.”
“They don’t even care about the students.”
“If they truly were going to help these kids, then they would change the cause of all this debt.”
Shull said he attended community college because he couldn’t afford a four-year university education.
He paid for his education, a process technology degree, by working while taking classes.
“Biden himself has never actually had a real job other than being part of government,” Shull added.
Andrew De La Rosa, an 11-year Texas oil field worker who specializes in wireline operations, also ripped Biden’s student loan program.
“Honestly, I think the biggest slap to the face is to the people that have already paid off their student loans.”
“You know, what about them?”
“Do they get any type of reimbursement?” De La Rosa told FOX Business in an interview.
De La Rosa said he never pursued a college or university degree after graduating from high school, instead opting to work for the local school district then in a construction job before transitioning to the oil industry.
http://www.capecharlesmirror.com/news/o ... ent-682596