Romney, Patriotism and the 47%

“There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it… My job is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” *
– Mitt Romney

Writing off the 47%: Unpatriotic
Appearing on the David Letterman show, Obama accused Romney of “writing off a big chunk of the country” and that Romney was wrong to suggest that “because someone doesn’t agree with me that they’re victims or unpatriotic.” “The one thing I have learnt as President is that you represent the entire country.” What is patriotic about Romney writing off the 47% and claiming he won’t be President of all Americans?

Quite apart from Romney’s clear contempt for 47% of Americans, he doubled down yet again on his contempt for facts by saying “they don’t pay taxes.” Well, for one, all those seniors getting social security and Medicare he hopes will vote for him paid payroll taxes while they were working.

And what is this whole “dependency” screed? We are all dependent on each other. As Americans we create through our elected representatives public service institutions set up to benefit us all. Romney doesn’t want any institution that benefits Americans equally (except maybe a flat tax rate, that of course wildly benefits the very rich). In Romney world there is no sense we are in this together as Americans.

It is unpatriotic to divide America, discarding lower-income Americans as less worthy as individuals. When the sense of community is broken America is weakened.

The 47%: Disenfranchise Them!
In Romney’s view if you don’t pay taxes you don’t deserve a say in government. There is nothing in his worldview that wouldn’t fit a policy of returning to 18th century property qualifications for voting. In fact the Romney dismissal of 47% of Americans, fits perfectly with the actual drive of Republicans to disenfranchise Americans in the 2012 elections on the transparently dishonest grounds that they are safeguarding Americans from voter fraud.

In the most exhaustive study to date of voter fraud the non-partisan News 21 found in its Who Votes Project that from the years 2000 to the present in the United States there were 2000 cases of voter fraud. Of that 2000 there were only 10 cases of voter impersonation; the only type of fraud photo ID requirements would catch. Given this research it is clear that the motive behind the Voter ID laws is to reduce the number of American citizens who vote, largely, if not solely, because they are assumed to vote for the Democratic Party. The disenfranchised are part of the 47% of Americans Mitt Romney feels aren’t real Americans, so why not disenfranchise them? On this theory, Democrats aren’t real Americans

You aren’t for America if you are Romney; you are for your part of America. Being patriotic means supporting American democracy. Passing laws meant to selectively disenfranchise American citizens for partisan gain weakens American democracy. It is unpatriotic.

The 47%: Is Obama one of them?
Republicans do not accept Barack Obama as their President, as American. The Senate minority leader has said the top priority of the Republican Party is to destroy and defeat the American President. That is unpatriotic.

Being patriotic means supporting American democracy. That means accepting the results of elections, participating in our democratic system of separation of powers, negotiating solutions in the necessary work of government. It means not taking pledges not to negotiate with the other party and owing fealty to non-elected political figures. Vowing obedience to a Grover Norquist no tax raise pledge is anti democratic. It is an insult to America. It is unpatriotic.

It deliberately weakens America in the world if the nation is urged not to stand behind its President and if policies are pursued internationally, not to strengthen America but to weaken the President. That is unpatriotic.

And remember: Obama’s mother died partly at least because she didn’t have adequate health care. Does Romney feel that was her fault for not making enough money in her life, for making bad choices?

*Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0912/81312.html#ixzz26pZDxvJI

Political Dispatch

Public Policy Committee

Elizabeth Spiro Clark, Chair and Editor

 

SUMMER 2011

QUOTES ON THE DEBT CEILING CRISIS (NOT FORGOTTEN, NOT REALLY GONE)

 It was a bad situation before August 2; it’s still a bad situation …..

In the past few years, the U.S. economy has been beset by the subprime meltdown, skyrocketing oil prices, the Eurozone debt crisis, and even the Tohoku earthquake. Now it’s staring at a new problem—a failure to raise the debt ceiling, which would almost certainly throw the economy back into recession. Unlike those other problems, however, this one would be wholly of our own making. If the economy suffers as a result, it’ll be what a soccer fan might call the biggest own goal in history

 For the U.S. to default now, when investors are happily lending it money at exceedingly reasonable rates, would be akin to shooting yourself in the head for failing to follow your diet.

         http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2011/08/01/110801ta_talk_surowiecki

 Reduce national security by three fifths or Social Security (and Medicare) by two fifths. That is the choice implied by the “No New Revenue” dogmatists, who oppose even the elimination of tax loopholes. It does not sound to me like an election-winning platform—more like a domestic row gone nuts.

                                                               –Niall Ferguson, Newsweek, 8/1/11

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/07/24/gop-antitax-dogma-endangers-the-country.html

 Who to blame: The media messing with our minds

“Some of us have long complained about the cult of “balance,” the insistence on portraying both parties as equally wrong and equally at fault on any issue, never mind the facts. I joked long ago that if one party declared that the earth was flat, the headlines would read “Views Differ on Shape of Planet.” But would that cult still rule in a situation as stark as the one we now face, in which one party is clearly engaged in blackmail and the other is dickering over the size of the ransom?”

                                                      — Paul Krugman, NYT, 7/29/11

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/opinion/krugman-the-centrist-cop-out.html?ref=opinion

 Editor’s Comment

We need more Krugman readers! Purging “the cult of balance” won’t be easy.  In just one day in the Washington Post (August 2) we have Dana Millbank in “Washington Sketch” calling Progressives to task for not acknowledging arch conservative Paul Ryan didn’t get as many trillions in cuts in the debt ceiling agreement as his budget called for, thus making Progressives as extreme as the Republican right:  “In essence the Progressives had been out-crazied by ideologues on the other side.” Or the headline on Michael Gerson’s op-ed: “Two sides, too spent to lead”, or the ostensibly straight news reporting of Rosaling Helderman and David Farenthold: “The Moderate Middle Carries the Day”.

 If there is a “moderate middle” balanced between two equal extremes on its left and its right, we need to define what it is that makes each extreme extreme and then see if they “balance”.  Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has said that slavery supported family values, signing a pledge that contained the sentence “Slavery had a disastrous impact on African-American families, yet sadly a child born into slavery in 1860 was more likely to be raised by his mother and father in a two-parent household than was an African-American baby born after the election of the USA’s first African-American President.”  What is the extremist “balance” on the Democratic left to Bachmann’s over the top racism: that African Americans should keep their right to vote?

The press is supposed to be interested in the facts. It should start labeling Bachmann “the extremist Bachmann”.  She has no “equal” on the other side in the Democratic Party, just as extremist Republican policies on social policy has no “balance” on the Democratic side. Democratic policies on healthcare, care for the aged, unemployment insurance, pension rights, and so on, are to the right of practice and policy in all other advanced industrialized countries. That is extreme only to the extremist isolationist or libertarian on the Republican Right.

 

MOBILIZING FOR 2012 ELECTION

 

From the Democratic Party of Virginia:

 Fellow Democrats,

 The mission of our organization is to constantly strive to provide the best services and resources possible to our grassroots activists, campaigns, and elected officials.  Democrats win when they are educated, trained, and equipped with the right tools.  That’s what the Virginia Summit was all about, and that’s why I’m proud to be unveiling a new tool that will enable us to keep you better informed, and for you to join the conversation by sharing our message with your personal network.

 Introducing the iPhone and iPad App for the Democratic Party of Virginia.  Search “DPVA” in the App Store or click here to download.

 This is your party – and with this free app you can react to the latest news and video, post messages to Facebook and Twitter, find events near you, and get involved with your local Democratic Committee.  Together we can fight for equal opportunity and make Virginia a better place to live, work, and raise a family.

 We would not have been able to take this step forward without the generous help from our partners at Citrrus, a Herndon, VA based mobile application development firm. For questions on developing an app for your candidate or campaign, contact inquiries@citrrus.com or call (202) 556-2637.

 All resources are a work in progress.  We want to hear from you regarding ideas for how to improve the app – so send your suggestions and feedback to app@vademocrats.org.  You can also rate the app in the Apple Store.

 Don’t wait, download the app and help change Virginia today!

 

 

 NEWS FROM PUBLIC POLICY AT THE WNDC: WNDC BOARD APPROVES STATEMENTS AND RESOLUTION

 In recent actions the WNDC Board has approved the following Statements and Resolution (Note: To read full texts, please go to http://www.democraticwoman.org/statements.html):

 1. WOMAN’S NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CLUB STATEMENT ON “BUDGETING FOR GROWTH AND PROSPERITY”


The Center for American Progress has issued a report “Budgeting for Growth and Prosperity.” The WNDC strongly supports the Center’s findings and recommendations.

 2. STATEMENT URGING REBUKE OF REPUBLICAN ALLEN WEST (R-FLA.) FOR INSULT OF DEMOCRAT DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FLA.)


The Woman’s National Democratic Club wishes to express its revulsion at the inflammatory language House member Allen West (R-Fla.) directed at his House colleague Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

 3. RESOLUTION SUPPORTING STATEHOOD FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

AT THE WNDC: REPORTS FROM THE PPC TASK FORCE CHAIRS

Note from the Editor:

The Task Forces of the Public Policy Committee will all pursue a special focus on positions and actions we believe are important to the 2012 elections.

 

DC METRO

See above WNDC approved Resolution supporting statehood for the District of Columbia

– Jewell Fenzi

ECONOMY

See above WNDC approved statement urging support for budget proposal of the Center for American Progress

So often today’s discussions feels like center-right counters to Tea Party charges against an imagined, but rarely voiced liberal viewpoint.  We need more debate on reports such as the recent budget proposal of the Center for American Progress.                                                       — Stuart Brown

Task Force Chair Stuart Brown recommends “SHRINKING OUR WAY TO PROSPERITY” (http://TheMarketsValue.com/)

 

 Excerpts:

The political battle is between those who believe we can shrink our way back to prosperity and those too timid to propose anything for fear of being “death paneled”… Caught in the crossfire is a moribund economy, too many unemployed, and a third year of college graduates facing a difficult start on their career path.

 It’s hard to imagine how the unemployed can be expected to spend what is required to get the economy moving again. While we wait for the patent medicine of “tax cuts that pay for themselves” to work…this nation ranks 25th out of 34 countries in the world in math skills of high schoolers, 28th out of 30 in terms of internet access…

 Cheap money, abundant labor, needed work. Clearly there are projects worthy of our attention-projects normally taken on by government. The American Society of Civil Engineers assigns our infrastructure with an overall grade of D, citing $2.2 trillion worth of needed repairs and upgrades. Fixing bridges, dams, schools and wastewater treatment facilities require money and the inclination to spend what it takes. This won’t get cheaper over time. It makes sense to finance these projects now while interest rates are low and labor is abundant.

 ENVIRONMENT

 

The Task force is studying recommendations for action to voice concern

on the urgency of climate disruption. A new report records a record increase in greenhouse emissions last year showing that the most severe global recession in 80 years has had only a minimal effect on emissions.

WNDC President Nuchhi Currier, Public Policy Committee Chair, Betsy Clark and Task Force Chair, signed a letter to President Obama urging vigorous new efforts to address climate change. “Around the world, the devastating impacts of climate change are multiplying even faster than forecast, and there is growing recognition of the role of altered atmosphere in, for example, accelerating water scarcity and environmental depletion, leading to ever greater food insecurity and compromising the health, lives, and livelihoods of families in both rural and urban communities throughout the world.”

– Alice Day

GLOBAL WOMEN

The Global Women Task Force has arranged a luncheon panel with Karen Mulhauser as moderator, for Tuesday October 11 on the subject of The UN and Women’s Issues.

– Ruth Nadel, Ellen Overton

LABOR

August 9 Wisconsin voters will finally have a chance to stop Scott Walker and the Republican war on working families dead in its tracks. 

All six Republican Senators are up for recall and we must replace at least three of them with progressive Democrats to flip control of the Wisconsin Senate. We are mobilizing WNDC members to make phone calls to Wisconsin from their homes.

Go to: http://calloutthevote.com/signup?source=dfa-e9

– Marcie Cohen

 

HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Working with the DC Metro, the task force produced a statement approved by the WNDC Board supporting the passage of HR 2324, the Gun Show Loop Hole Closing Act of 2009, which will require background checks of customers at gun shows.  It has not passed.

We will continue to develop gun control strategies, which have become more urgent with the horrifying statement from the Norwegian mass murderer, Behring Breivik, that he got his high capacity magazines in the US. He had discovered it is easy to avoid having to get an US export license if you break up your order in small shipments. The Tucson killer Jared Loughner also used high capacity magazines. The US once had a ban on these magazines, but it expired in 2004.  Washington Post research uncovered the fact the number of crimes in Virginia using these magazines dramatically increased after the ban was lifted.  The ban must be reinstated, but, further, the public needs to be educated on how – through our loose or non existent regulation of guns – America is exporting death and destruction.

– Betsy Clark

 

SOCIAL SECURITY

The Social Security Task Force has developed the following new description of WNDC policy on Social Security:

 The Social Security Task Force supports…

 – The Social Security program, one of the most efficient agencies in government /or / one of the most efficient federal agencies

– Fair and equitable financing of Social Security and careful review of possible changes

– Raising the cap on the amount of income subject to Social Security tax

 – Opposition to the diversion of part of Social Security taxes into private retirement accounts

 – Investment of up to 20% of funds in equities by the Social Security Board

 – The Principles of “Retirement-USA” a new initiative working for a Universal, Secure and Adequate retirement system

 On April 21, 2010 the WNDC Board endorsed Retirement-USA Principles that call for:

– Universal coverage: every worker should be covered by a retirement plan. A new retirement system that supplements Social Security should include all workers unless they are in plans that provide equally secure and adequate benefits.

– Secure retirement. Retirement shouldn’t be a gamble. Workers should be able to count on a steady lifetime stream of retirement income to supplement Social Security

 – Adequate income. Everyone should be able to have an adequate income after a lifetime of work. The average worker should have sufficient income, together with Social Security, to maintain a reasonable standard of living in retirement. See www.Retirement-USA.org

 

BLOG

 Please visit the Blog at http://www.wndcpd.wordpress.com and Comment. You can find Betsy Clark’s most recent Blog, the subject of which is the Debt Ceiling crisis and different moral visions for America at http://wndcpd.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/on-the-debt-ceiling-stalemate-a-sermon-for-the-republican-right/

Pat Bitondo, WNDC Vice President for Public Liaison, sends the WNDC Blog to  Democratic Party organizations around the country and reports favorable reactions. You can help publicize the Blog and the WNDC by sending the Blog and links to friends and colleagues, especially those who are bloggers or who know bloggers, who would want to pick up our Blogs and links to the WNDC.