The New Populist Movement: Organizing to Take Back America.
Mar 2014
The new progressive populist movement is rising up in the United States. Inspired by an expansive vision of greater economic opportunity for all Americans, this new movement is also fueled by anger over politicians' broken promises. After decades of recurring economic crisis, which now seems systemic and permanent, millions of Americans have come to realize that much of our democratic system is now owned by a moneyed elite that use their power to resist real change and to manipulate the economy for their own financial gain.
Even the mass media know something big is going on. At the end of November, a Washington Post headline announced, "More liberal, populist movement emerging ahead of 2016 elections." And the New York Times, in a September article, reporting on the new progressive insurgency, cited the excitement generated by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the new populist mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio. These and other media reports have been based on important new populist victories that represent the visible tip of a very large iceberg:
Low-wage workers and their allies have filled the streets of America's major cities, demanding a living wage and the right to bargain for wages and benefits. Their basic demand, echoed now by political leaders, is that full-time work should pay enough to keep a family out of poverty.
The cry of "break up the big banks" is now heard from protests at bank shareholder meetings to the halls of Congress. Many of the groups who worked to pass the Dodd-Frank bill have joined with housing advocates and others to demand Wall Street prosecutions - and real bank reform championed by Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Sen. Warren.
Lawrence Summers, President Obama's top choice for Chair of the Federal Reserve, was stopped from getting that important job by a coalition of civic activists, including women and financial reform groups. Their favorite, Janet Yellen, was appointed instead.
The national debate on the future or Social Security has been flipped - from "Stop cutting benefits" to "Expand Social Security." Activists got Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin to introduce a bill with Sen. Sherrod Brown to expand benefits. Sen. Warren helped achieve critical mass. Conservative "Third Way" operatives attacked, but actual Third Way Members of Congress denounced their own group - and several actually embraced Social Security expansion. And after grassroots pressure, President Obama withdrew his plan to cut Social Security benefits...
Political reporters have tended to frame the New Populism as either a challenge to President Obama - or as an agenda and constituency for whoever might run against Hillary Clinton. But hard experience has taught us we need to build an independent force that can fight the big corporate interests and shape a positive agenda for all politicians who claim be for progressive change.
To be clear, this new movement is still coming together, most visible politically in the grassroots campaigns to raise the minimum wage and extend unemployment insurance.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-hickey/the-new-populist-movement_b_4899347.html
Very good article. It goes on to list the 12 big elements of the emerging New Populist agenda:
1. Revive Sustainable Economic Growth, Creating Jobs for All.
2. Invest in America's Infrastructure and in New Jobs for the 21st Century.
3. Make Work Pay - and Fight to Reduce Inequality in America.
4. If the Rising American Electorate Succeeds, America Succeeds.
5. Guarantee Access to High Quality Public Education for All.
6. Strengthen and Expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
7. Make the Rich and Corporations Pay Their Fair Share.
8. Stop Bad Trade Deals, and Balance Trade Based on Global Labor Rights.
9. Reform the Financial System to Safely Serve the Productive Economy.
10. Invest in Energy Technologies that Drive a Sustainable Economy.
11. Reduce the Military Budget and Invest at Home.
12. Strengthen Democracy.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)... dragged, kicking and screaming, away from their financial benefactors.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)riversedge
(73,030 posts)way to start a reform. I know --it will not happen.
Dustlawyer
(10,518 posts)Without different groups joining together for a focused attempt at destroying the root problem, we will get nowhere! We need Publicly Funded Elections and an end to campaign contributions. After we load up Congress with these folks we bust up the big banks and the media companies. That would do it! But it's like herding cats to get these different groups to join together.
Bernie Sanders could do it, but we allow him to be marginalized by the opposition and the other Democrats.
Nay
(12,051 posts)imthevicar
(811 posts)The Rank and File, we (yes I said WE!) had to be led by the nose by Occupy Wall street! Before Occupy Wall Street, the discussions in this forum were; How much Austerity? Can we keep the banks from doing it to us again? Can e bring jobs back? After Occupy the discussions were Hey Why aint those rich buggers paying their fair share!? and when are we going to break up the banks!? IOW we grew a spine again, stopped begging, and began to demand! The more vocal we get the bigger the movement will become.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)wanted to argue within the guidelines of Wall St/Third Way politics and got the attention obviously, of just about everyone. Not everyone was happy about OWS though. Even here on DU. We got the same old talking points that were handed out to the media and of course the right wing forums and noise machine.
I took all that negativity from the expected sources as a sign of how successful OWS was/is. When you get all the RIGHT people angry, you know you have hit the mark.
Good post, I could not agree more that the PEOPLE grew a spine. However, it isn't that our elected officials lack spine, they are bought and paid for and don't work for us. Not all of them of course, but more and more each election cycle.
appalachiablue
(42,863 posts)struggling to survive economically, and becoming fearful, even unhinged understandably. I am amazed and proud of workers and others against violence who are demonstrating. If many groups aren't united matters will continue to get even worse, obviously. According to many the fear of arrest and debt, which are recorded on people's Credit Report is also factor in influencing people not to be more active.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)terrorism to frighten folks away from the polls.
Each and every true progressive issue from gun control to higher taxes on wealth are individually popular, so the mass media was on a campaign, a mission to drown it all out and thanks to mealy mouthed half baked candidates refusing to advance those issues the media was all too happy to cover the mealy mouthed as representative of the party and its platform.
Who votes mealy mouth?
The controllers of the message will not let opposing messages through, protestors should be in front of me is outlets thought the land of the brave.
Americans are not frightened lemmings, on a media string, are they?
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)And THAT is the problem.
Triana
(22,666 posts)...Sanders isn't even a Dem. NO Dems got the shout out about raising minimum wage. I heard little to nothing from them on any issue really - mostly pleas to give them money "or else".
I voted of course, but millions of others didn't. Dems had NO message. They put up NO opposition fight. And there was PLENTY for them to oppose and PLENTY for them to have a message about. But with non-engaged DWS - who is a shitty party leader and the eeyore-type attitudes of most Dems and with most of them hiding in a treehole or somewhere (no offense to Eeyore but that kind of attitude doesn't work for politicians), combined with gerrymandering, voter suppression, citizens united inviting psychopaths to buy their own gov't, well....our ship was sunk. Of course.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)We had Democratic candidates in Colorado campaigning on a liberal agenda and they lost. I'm sorry that non voters and disgruntled "independents" didn't see this. Maybe they weren't looking or maybe they couldn't see the message through all the negative lies and fear a billion dollar campaign buys. If you can say "all I saw were Democrats running as 'centrists'" then you didn't look very hard.
The problem is the media and the scare tactics they willingly supported. Americans have bought into the negative, mean, hateful bullshit of too much money in campaigns and given up. I have hope they are ready for a new populist movement.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)And that was in Ohio, where the only signs you saw in favor of Democrats were anti-rethug/Kasich:
And that was because the Democrat running for Governor was a complete idiot.
And rethugs won in a landslide.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)bad by the last 30 years of relentless anti liberal propaganda that no one is listening and liberals are running for cover.
Let's face it, the majority of Americans are ok with the extreme policies of the previous administration and aren't even upset about the fact that Bush said "we don't torture" even as it was happening. The majority of Americans back the extreme policies of municipal police forces, even as they kill more unarmed civilians every year. The majority of white Americans believe people of color are treated equally in our justice system. I don't know about you, but I'm astounded by these facts.
This is a disturbing trend and without meaningful changes in the hearts and minds of average Americans, we are screwed.
ablamj
(333 posts)my Dem Senate Candidate was how much she was not like Obama and how much she agreed with Republicans. I held my nose and voted for her anyway but she lost of course. Michelle Nunn if you are wondering.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)and all liberal policies? Honestly, I do agree with you.. I think she should have run an honest campaign as a Democrat, and if she lost, well she lost anyway. That's what I don't understand about Nunn (and Grimes and Udall too.) There are many voters who won't vote for them just because she's a Dem, that's true, so she shouldn't even try to appeal to them. Just get out there and be honest and tell people what you believe and what programs will help average Americans.
I was disappointed in Michelle Nunn too, but her father was a very conservative Democrat.
ablamj
(333 posts)It might have been closer if she had been honest. I know she's more conservative than I like. I didn't vote for her in the primary. But she could have worked harder to get out the Dem vote. Very few Dems want a Senator to the right of Obama.
NewDeal_Dem
(1,049 posts)No, they're not. If they voted for them it's because they didn't get what they were voting for (or against) -- and that's a failure of messaging from the opposition, i.e. the Democrats.
\
No one votes for poverty and unfreedom, sorry. No one is "OK with" it.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)and they are showing the majority of Americans are ok with the extreme policies of the previous administration.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/senate-torture-report-public-opinion/
http://www.ibtimes.com/cia-torture-report-poll-half-americans-say-enhanced-interrogation-was-justified-1758576
Personally, I think people don't vote because they really think it doesn't matter; that's all they've heard for 30 plus years and they believe it and are not inclined to find out any differently. The majority of Americans can't name the 9 justices on the Supreme Court. People vote for poverty and unfreedom all the time which is why Americans are getting poorer and it is now acceptable for the American government to torture prisoners. Of course, a look at our prison system would show prisoners are treated inhumanely all the time, just now we know the majority of Americans accept it which is why it happens.
NewDeal_Dem
(1,049 posts)whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)in Colorado and rest of country. That is a verifiable, indisputable fact.
Does it mean every single candidate ran that way? No. But the significant majority did.
And we are paying for it. Big time.
To then tell someone they are as bad as a non-voter for pointing out verifiable fact is EXACTLY what is wrong with Democratic Party.
There is a REAL purity test here. And it is not liberals who are administering it.
It's the centrists, aka - right wing conservatives, republican wannabees.
If Republicans adopted gay marriage and pro-choice platforms, the socially liberal, fiscally conservative douchebags fucking up the Democratic Party would bail out in a heart beat.
Good riddance. Let them go fuck over the Republicans.
They've done their damage here.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)but the alternative was a totally corrupt Republican. I am glad Cuomo won, he knew he was not all that popular with Dems. But he has banned Fracking in NYS, a big issue here in NY State where I live, so I am glad he finally listened to the people.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)those that vote not at all. Blindly following any party is unhealthy and why the Democrats are where we are today. I would rather see candidates run and lose on the Democratic Principles, than run and win on Republican Principles.
Some here have lowered their expectations of progressives so low that they think Republican Lite is progressive. You said, "We had Democratic candidates in Colorado campaigning on a liberal agenda and they lost." I am guessing your definition of "liberal agenda" is a long wayz from mine. For example, did they run on getting single payer health coverage?
The non-progressives among us want to blame their failures on progressives.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)We don't and shouldn't agree on everything. My definition of a "liberal agenda" I sure is not a long wayz from yours, especially if your defining policy is single payer which I believe is the best policy. If I disagree with you on any part of your liberal agenda does that make me not a liberal?
Here's the thing: We have a great Colorado single payer loving liberal in Andrew Romanoff who had been an excellent Speaker of the Colorado House. He ran on an anti Wall Street platform against Michael Bennet in the 2010 Senate primary. Bennet is a fairly conservative Dem who had been appointed to his seat in 2008. Bennet won the primary and the Senate seat.
This year Andrew ran for the Congressional seat held by Mike Coffman. He ran on the liberal issues he's always run on, including single payer, in a mixed district with all mail in ballots. Andrew had a lot of money and was able to make his case loud and clear, turnout was strong, and he lost. Of course, the media is never a friend to a liberal candidate and did their thing, but to say he ran as anything but a liberal Dem would be wrong, and he lost. Mike Coffman, who has moved even farther to the right, kept his seat.
I'm having a hard time understanding your last statement. Why would "non progressives" blame anyone for their losses when they're NOT losing? This is the Democratic Underground and, with the exception of a few trolls, we are all Democrats and we are losing. You blame the so called "non progressive" Democrats for our losses and believe "non progressives" Dems blame progressives. Do you see the dilemma here?
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)But as DU is a good example, showing that we have two major factions. While both factions seem to agree pretty much on social issues they are miles apart on fracking, NSA/CIA Deep State spying, torture, the Patriot Act, the continuous middle east war, sever punishment of whistle-blowers, regulation of Wall Street, non-regulation of journalists, the Defense budget, etc.
The non-liberal/progressive among us have stands on issues, other than social issues, very close to the conservatives of the other party. Joe Lieberman, Zell Miller, and Arlen Specter were Democrats but never liberal/progressive.
I say if you support the continuous war in the middle east, the TPP, fracking, and the deregulation of Wall Street, you can't be a liberal/progressive even if you support same sex marriage.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)but I'm willing and open to reasonable and honest debate on any subject. I believe keeping an open mind is one of the most important assets of progressives.
My very favorite JFK quote is about being a liberal. I believe we can do it and, like Kennedy, in my own way, I'm working on it.
If by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people-their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights and their civil liberties-someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal", then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)for expediency. You can't give up your principles just to get a "win". That's why I will never support H. Clinton. Her betrayal is unforgivable. In the play/movie "Damn Yankees", Joe Hardy traded his soul for a win. IMO a true liberal/progressive would never do that.
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)mean Republicans."
I understand that the Corp-Media wouldn't report it but other outlets would and didn't because they didn't say it.
Maybe you didn't read the list:
1. Revive Sustainable Economic Growth, Creating Jobs for All.
2. Invest in America's Infrastructure and in New Jobs for the 21st Century.
3. Make Work Pay - and Fight to Reduce Inequality in America.
4. If the Rising American Electorate Succeeds, America Succeeds.
5. Guarantee Access to High Quality Public Education for All.
6. Strengthen and Expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
7. Make the Rich and Corporations Pay Their Fair Share.
8. Stop Bad Trade Deals, and Balance Trade Based on Global Labor Rights.
9. Reform the Financial System to Safely Serve the Productive Economy.
10. Invest in Energy Technologies that Drive a Sustainable Economy.
11. Reduce the Military Budget and Invest at Home.
12. Strengthen Democracy.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)focused on where they could have an impact, which they decided wasn't DC. They fought to put Progressive issues on ballots across the country and then voted for them. Across party lines people choose Progressive issues when they are presented to them. WE have been told the OPPOSITE by our own party. NOW we know, thanks to the midterms, that we are being lied to.
While voters voted for Progressive issues, they did not vote for elected officials who did not push those issues. And Dems lost because of that.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)has been eroded. I would be interested in the positions that these candidates took that you think is progressive.
doc03
(36,603 posts)it could accomplish is put a Republican in the Whitehouse.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)if you think the only thing it can accomplish is electing republicans.
You must have missed on the front page here~
Response to RiverLover (Reply #5)
Fred Sanders This message was self-deleted by its author.
doc03
(36,603 posts)comment on these threads you should have to sign into them. Anyway I would love to see such a movement but I think
just like the Tea Party has done for the Republicans it would make any Democrat that makes it though the primary unelectable.
ColesCountyDem
(6,944 posts)People ARE allowed to disagree with posts.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)My apologies for misunderstanding the group as defined here.
ColesCountyDem
(6,944 posts)Disagreeing with someone as opposed to being disruptive is the critical distinction.
merrily
(45,251 posts)Groups are supposed to be something of a safe haven for beliefs relating to the purpose of the group. Hence, even if you have umpteen links to support a criticism of Hillary, the place to post them is not the Hillary Group, but some other part of the board.
This is a group, not a forum. Groups often serve as safe havens for members who share similar interests and viewpoints. Individuals who post messages contrary to a particular group's stated purpose can be excluded from posting in that group. For detailed information about this group and its purpose, click here.
ColesCountyDem
(6,944 posts)Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)By rolling back the gop voter suppression laws, making voting mandatory as done in Australia, instate instant run off voting, public financial support only of candidates, illlegalize groups like alec, heavily regulate business, etc
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)zeemike
(18,998 posts)But know this, we will never see those changes unless we have a populist movement.
And the first thing the PTB will do is divide up the movement with dozens of methods they have at their disposal...and we see it all the time now. And we seem to fall for it.
Hopefully we have learned from it and can keep our eyes on the prize...if we don't we will never see change that is not cosmetic.
NJCher
(37,749 posts)I think we're seeing massive organization across the country. Personally, I've been heartened and astonished at the numbers in the demonstrations regarding the paramilitary turn of the police. It's not just national: it's international!
Re the naysayers, we just need to move on. They'll hop on the bandwagon eventually. Right now it's a lot easier to sit back in their easy chair and scoff at the efforts of others. Pay them no mind; unfortunately, it's the best they can do at the moment.
Cher
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Thanks Cher!
Jake2413
(228 posts)But let's not forget about lobbiests, they should go on the outlaw list. While we are at it, legislators should be writing the laws and only one topic per bill if you want to add amendments they must pertain to the bills subject.
Dont call me Shirley
(10,998 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)Hoppy
(3,595 posts)raindaddy
(1,370 posts)Because Hillary will campaign on supporting traditional populist Democrat values. That should be more than enough!
Hoppy
(3,595 posts)Blue_Adept
(6,435 posts)Balls to this bullshit. We all gotta support Hillary!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1277&pid=2036
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Hoppy
(3,595 posts)Or does Blue have a better sense of humor than I do?
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Or someone knew you were being sarcastic and just didn't like your point. It definitely wasn't a "hijack".
hmmmm...
Hoppy
(3,595 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)delrem
(9,688 posts)hehehe
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Not even the "educated" masses...I'm on a condo board 11 years in a college town, and you would not BELIEVE the insanity of Rugged Individualism...the total lack of community and compassion...which keeps the condo association at the barely functional level, socially.
The fear and the distrust and the miserliness...the envy, greed and jealousy...I've seen so little goodness in this population. And there's a lot of phsyical, emotional and mental illness, too.
American people are not in good shape mentally, physically, economically, to make changes that matter, not even for their own well-being, let alone their neighbors.
mckara
(1,708 posts)Society must collapse upon itself for real change to occur. Perhaps we're not there yet, but it's coming.
Nay
(12,051 posts)types and I see no possibility of salvation for them. It's amazing how that selfish mindset has spread. I think the core is rotten, too.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)mckara
(1,708 posts)I couldn't agree more. Well done!
mountain grammy
(27,227 posts)but I can hope we're wrong.
antigop
(12,778 posts)CrispyQ
(38,167 posts)Sad, sad words, but true. Too many Americans have fallen for the lie that they pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps. The hatred toward people who get government assistance but acceptance of corporate giveaways is stunning.
I have a friend, republican, who abhors government assistance programs for people, although she has two daughters benefiting from these programs, but she will defend all the tax breaks & cuts for the corporations, because, "they provide jobs & would raise prices if we don't." I reminded her that they are shipping our jobs overseas & prices go up all the time, but she just says, "it would be worse if we taxed them."
How do you even combat that kind of thinking?
Andy823
(11,525 posts)Is to start finding candidates to run in your local, state, and federal elections. It starts at the local level and state levels, then on to the federal level. There is no way any change will come until you find good "strong" candidates to work their way up the ladder. It won't happen over night, but until you can get enough candidates the the people will actually vote for to run, there is no chance of change.
As has been mention the big issue is all the money in politics, but getting the money out of politics won't happen unless you can elect candidates that will actually take on this issue, and keep pushing it day after day after day. Until then the main thing is to remove all the republicans we can, even if the candidate that is running against them may not be the perfect candidate, they will be better than any republican. Republicans have learned that taking control of local and sate politics is working for them, we have to do the same.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Thanks.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)The Tea Party are fanatics: willing to sacrifice everything to their overwhelming power grab. The grassroots has taken over from the Astroturfing, but the astroturfing supports them, even if it's a bit off message. Unfortunately, there isn't sufficient distinction between the two so that good things can happen, like destruction or disaffiliation...
The kind of people we have, the kind we need, don't do that. They strive for healthy, balanced lives and keeping it all together so everybody is healthy and happy....if it came to any kind of conflict, they'd bug out. Their lives are not geared for total warfare. Very few ordinary people can do an Occupation, a Die-In, or other such theater. They have to stay alive and keep their dependent families alive.
We need a kind of political warfare that fits into the survival of ordinary people, and doesn't imperil their very existence.
Very few ordinary people can do an Occupation, a Die-In, or other such theater. They have to stay alive and keep their dependent families alive.
...
We need a kind of political warfare that fits into the survival of ordinary people, and doesn't imperil their very existence.
This is why I think that talks of a general strike are just that, talk. Most Americans don't have enough paid time off to protest for any length of time that will change the system. Also, they still have way too much to lose to risk their 1, 2 or 3 jobs, to protest & possibly end up in jail. I worry that as long as we can buy a 50" TV for under $1000 & get the latest smartphone for $50 a month we are a lost cause.
CrispyQ
(38,167 posts)Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)12/24/14
That there is such a debate over the direction of the Democratic Party is without question, and the differences have become louder in the wake of the drubbing the Democrats suffered in the midterm elections.
...Populist energy pulsates within the party to the point that Democrats cannot agree on whether it has become its dominant ideological strain. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who has championed a populist message as much as Warren, said: Its a good, strong message, and its a message that shes carried very well, and its a message that a number of us have put out there for a number of years, and its catching on. . . . I dont think its there yet.
But Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware, who comes out of the centrist Democratic tradition, said he believes the party has tipped in favor of Warrens anti-Wall Street, populist message. I dont think theres any question, he said of a shift that he finds worrisome for the partys future hopes of winning over independents and swing voters.
Jim Dean, who heads Democracy for America, said that until recently, the party had regressed on the relationship between business and government. With the ascendance of Elizabeth Warren and the way she has built power for herself, we are seeing a lot of movement for the party to get back to its core values, he said....
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-see-rising-populist-sentiment-but-can-it-shake-hillary-clinton/2014/12/22/a07434c4-8801-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html
bvar22
(39,909 posts)It reminds me of this:
Among these are:
*The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
*The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
*The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
*The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
*The right of every family to a decent home;
*The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
*The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
*The right to a good education.
All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
FDR, 1944 State of the Union Address[/font]
Please note that the above are stipulated as Basic Human RIGHTS to be protected by our government,
and NOT as COMMODITIES to be SOLD to Americans by For Profit Corporations.
My vote and support WILL go to whoever BEST embodies these values.
I am too old and tired to again support the Least of the Worst.
Let the chips fall where they may.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)The US of A is damn lucky to have had FDR.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)Pretty clear, once you read what they and others wrote. And it is important to remember, should we ever get someone on the side of working peopl again.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)It's just easier to say FDR.
But she was especially important to the start of the Civil Rights Movement~
Eleanor also broke with precedent by inviting hundreds of African American guests to the White House.[83] When the black singer Marian Anderson was denied the use of Washington's Constitution Hall in 1939 by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Eleanor resigned from the group in protest and helped arrange another concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.[49] Roosevelt later presented Anderson to the King and Queen of the United Kingdom after Anderson performed at a White House dinner.[84] Roosevelt also arranged the appointment of African-American educator Mary McLeod Bethune, with whom she had struck up a friendship, as Director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration.[85][86] To avoid problems with the staff when Bethune would visit the White House, Eleanor would meet her at the gate, embrace her, and walk in with her arm-in-arm.[87].
...Roosevelt's support of African-American rights made her an unpopular figure among whites in the South. Rumors spread of "Eleanor Clubs" formed by servants to oppose their employers and "Eleanor Tuesdays" on which African-American men would knock down white women on the street, though no evidence has ever been found of either practice.[91] When race riots broke out in Detroit in June 1943, critics in both the North and South wrote that Roosevelt was to blame.[92] At the same time, she grew so popular among African-Americans, previously a reliable Republican voting bloc, that they became a consistent base of support for the Democratic Party.[93]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt
And just as a fun side note, she was good friends with Amelia Earhart.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)bits of historical fact in there, because people forget, part of why we are where we are today.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)blkmusclmachine
(16,149 posts)joanbarnes
(1,879 posts)RiverLover
(7,830 posts)whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Waiting For Everyman
(9,385 posts)I'd like to see a point added to that, about getting the credit reporting agencies and banks off the little guys' backs. Those monsters need to be cut down to size and have the super powers they were given to oppress people taken away.
RiverLover
(7,830 posts)Thanks for the Rec!!
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)the changes that are happening in this country.
Just my opinion of course!