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THE LOOP Issue - Dec. 2014

热度 1已有 9032 次阅读2014-12-27 04:23 |系统分类:转帖--非原创请选择

What to tell Democrats?

Some define marketing as finding out what customers want and getting it for them.  That works fine for products and services but not for candidates and ballot measures.  The marketing of candidates and ballot measures has become big business.  Marketing advisers tweak the candidates presentations so they appear not as they are but as what the advisers think the voters want. 

The results of listening to those marketing advisers are that instead of lauding the accomplishments of President Obama’s administration, Democratic candidates shunned talking about them.  Instead of talking about the great accomplishments of unions in California; Democratic candidates stood by while the unions were bashed by the local newspapers. 

California Democrats let the opposition frame the issues as public employee pensions, teacher tenure, failing schools.  Democrats should have framed the issue as making public education work versus privatized for profit corporate charter schools.  The Democratic frame should have made clear that the $40B California educational budget was under attack by Wall St.  That is why a few billionaires spent over $6M against Tim Sbranti in the AD 16 race & even more against Tom Torlakson in the race for state schools superintendent.. 

This issue of THE LOOP focuses on analysis of what happened on election day 2014 and what we might change – locally, statewide, nationally & worldwide.  The idea is to try to triangulate on some best plans going forward. 

Ellis Goldberg & Marie McDonald – Editors of THE LOOP

Let shareholders decide if corporations should take political actions

Sarah Arnold at THE NATION asks “ Think there’s nothing to be done about out-of-control corporate spending in our elections? A state senator in Maryland has an idea that could change your mind.

The Shareholders United Act, a bill proposed by Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, would forbid corporations from making political donations without the approval of the majority of their shareholders. This rule change would have a dramatic effect on the way we fund our elections.

Senator Jamie Raskin explained the proposed legislation in the Washington Post.

-- Require that any corporate executives or union leaders seeking to make political campaign expenditures first obtain a majority vote of shareholders or union members approving the specific expenditure, which would guarantee that the move would reflect the will of shareholders or union members, not the whims of the chief executive or union leader.

-- Ban "pay to play" corruption (and its appearance) by preventing state contractors from making campaign expenditures on behalf of state political candidates and their campaigns.

-- Compel public disclosure of all corporate and union political disbursements.

Each of these bills proceeds based on a clear constitutional power enjoyed by states. For example, conditioning particular corporate actions and expenses on shareholder approval is a well-established norm in state corporate codes.  And the Citizens United decision affirmed the lawfulness of reporting and disclosure requirements.

When fear beats hope

The political meter’s needle swings from side to side as public opinion & the electorate’s positions change.  Don Hazen is the executive editor of AlterNet presents the argument that “We live in a society where fear is pervasive. Sometimes it's very real, especially when it comes to climate change, joblessness, racism, violence against women and more. But in the context of this election, fear was often manufactured, transmitted zealously by the corporate media, pushed relentlessly by Fox and other right-wing outlets. Messages of fear dominated many of the campaign ads that led to Democrats getting crushed in many elections.”  FULL ARTICLE

 
Two Berkeley Professors on What Democrats Should Do
When you make hammers all problems look like nails

Although the two professors offer different advice
the messages are complimentary & are not contradictory.

Economics Professor Robert Reich says the lose was due to “The Wageless Recovery”, meaning that although GDP and the stock market have come roaring back since the recession began in 2008, wages remain flat.  The gap between productivity and wages is growing as more workers are replaced by automation or their jobs are off-shored.  Democrats must address this core issue if they are to win in 2016.

He points out “If you want a single reason for why Democrats lost big on Election Day 2014 it’s this:  Median household income continues to drop. This is the first “recovery” in memory when this has happened. Jobs are coming back but wages aren’t.  Every month the job numbers grow but the wage numbers go nowhere.  Most new jobs are in part-time or low-paying positions.  They pay less than the jobs lost in the Great Recession.”

 “Fifty years ago, just 29 percent of voters believed government is “run by a few big interests looking out for themselves.”  Now, 79 percent think so.   According to Pew, the percentage of Americans who believe most people who want to get ahead can do so through hard work has plummeted 14 points since 2000.   What the President and other Democrats failed to communicate wasn’t their accomplishments.  It was their understanding that the economy is failing most Americans and big money is overrunning our democracy.  And they failed to convey their commitment to an economy and a democracy that serve the vast majority rather than a minority at the top.  The midterm elections should have been about jobs and wages, and how to reform a system where nearly all of the gains go to the top.   It was an opportunity for Democrats to shine.”

Linguistics Professor George Lakoff has an alternative strategy to the advertising industry approach where political strategies are test marketed and focused on the center of the bell curve.  He says in Democratic Strategies Lost Big. Here's an Alternative It is time to shine a light on the strategies used by Democrats, and on the Democratic infrastructure that uses those strategies.

Democratic strategists have been segmenting the electorate and seeking individual self-interest-based issues in each electoral block. The strategists also keep suggesting a move to the right. This has left no room for the Democrats to have an overriding authentic moral identity that Americans can recognize.” 

His alternative includes a focus on freedoms:

·        ·Voting: Without the ability to vote in free elections you are not free.

·        ·Health: If you get cancer or even break a leg and don't have health care, you are not free.

·        ·Education: Without education, you lack the knowledge and skills not just to earn a decent living, but also to even be aware of the possibilities of life. Without education, you are therefore not free.

·        ·Women: If you are denied control over your body, you are not free.

·        ·Marriage: If you are in love and are denied the ability to marry with a publicly declared lifetime commitment, you are not free.

·        ·Vast income inequality: When the economic gains that most people have worked for go not to those who worked for them, but only to the wealthiest of the wealthy, those who did the work -- most people -- are not free.

·        ·· Race: When you are treated with suspicion and disdain, you are not free.

·        ·Corporate Control: When corporations control your life for their benefit and not yours, you are not free.

·        ·Privatization: When significant public resources become owned or controlled by private corporations, the public has lost an essential element of freedom.

·        And one more, which had a major effect in the 2014 election:  Fear: When you are emotionally gripped by fear, you are not free.  As FDR pointed out, Freedom From Fear is a vital freedom. In the 2014 election, conservatives played on fear -- of ISIS and Ebola.

Every progressive instinctively knows all this, but very few say it. Instead, progressives tend to talk not about such values, but instead about facts, policies, and programs.

The political marketing industry is a high growth industry raking in billions by convincing candidates that only customized – middle of the bell curve of voter responses – positions will get them elected.  The result is divisive messages, attack advertising that alienate and suppress the base. 

Strategy

There will be change when the public sees the connection between lack of wage growth and money in politics.  Today the public sees lack of wage growth like a bad hair day, there is nothing they can do about it except wear a hat.  Making the connection between stagnant wage growth and the corruption of the political system a high visibility concept is the way to reach the tipping point that can change the system.

TRUTH BYTES

DID YOU KNOW?

NOAA scientists confirm 2014 set to be hottest year in recorded human history.

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for September 2014 was the highest on record for September, at 0.72°C (1.30°F) above the 20th century average of 15.0°C (59.0°F).

The global land surface temperature was 0.89°C (1.60°F) above the 20th century average of 12.0°C (53.6°F), the sixth highest for September on record. For the ocean, the September global sea surface temperature was 0.66°C (1.19°F) above the 20th century average of 16.2°C (61.1°F), the highest on record for September and also the highest on record for any month.

The combined global land and ocean average surface temperature for the January–September period (year-to-date) was 0.68°C (1.22°F) above the 20th century average of 14.1°C (57.5°F), tying with 1998 as the warmest such period on record. Source

Global Ultra Wealthy Population Reaches Record High Of 211,275 Individuals With Combined Net Worth Of Nearly $30 Trillion

The Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report 2014 (watch) , shows that 12,040 new ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals were minted this year, pushing the global UHNW population to a record 211,275, a 6% increase from 2013.

The combined wealth of the world's UHNW individuals - defined as those with US$30 million and above in net assets - increased by 7% to US$29.725 trillion in 2014, almost twice the GDP of the world's largest economy, the United States.

North America and Europe continue to dominate the global landscape as the regions with the largest UHNW population and wealth. The United States maintains its position as the world's top UHNW country in 2014 with a population of 69,560 UHNW individuals with a combined net worth of over US$9.6 trillion, a 6% and 7% increase respectively from last year.

TIME magazine apologized for including “feminist” on their poll of words to ban.  Source

Voters say YES to paid sick leave

A whopping 81% of voters, across political parties, gender, and race, say it’s important for lawmakers to consider paid sick days laws because they help keep working families economically secure.  Why are sick days so important?  When moms and dads are forced to make an impossible choice between going to work sick or staying home and losing a day’s pay, or possibly even their jobs, we all lose.   When employers implement paid sick days, typically at little to no cost, they actually end up saving money because the cost of replacing an employee is around a fifth of their total salary.  For example, the paid sick days ballot measure that just passed in Massachusetts, thanks to overwhelming voter support, will save employers $26 million annually.   SOURCE

Less Than 1% Of The World's Population Control 41% Of Its Wealth    Source Forbes

Global Futurist Douglas E Castle says “0.7% Of The World's Population Controls 41% Of Its Wealth.

Financial inequality is steadily rising alongside global wealth, which reached a grand total of $263 trillion in 2014. According to Crédit Suisse, people with a net worth of over $1 million represent just 0.7 percent of the planet's population, but they control 41 percent of its wealth. 69 percent of the world's population have a net worth of under $10,000 - they account for a mere 3 percent of global wealth.”  - See more

“Where the hell is the Democratic Party? You’ve got to stand for something if you want to win.”  Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean growled on NBC’s Meet the Press.  Source

CEO Pay > Federal Corporate Taxes

23% of America’s 30 largest corporations, paid their CEOs more than they paid in federal income taxes last year.  All seven of these firms were highly profitable, collectively reporting more than 74 billion in U.S. pre-tax profits.   However, they received a combined total of $1.9 billion in refunds from the IRS.  Of the top-earning CEOs in 2013, 29 received more in compensation than their companies paid in federal income taxes.  Source: 

California Clean Money Campaign Reports an 18:1 funding disadvantage
for losing ballot propositions

California propositions should give voters a voice against the powerful.   But this year shows Big Money has taken over.   The side that won:  $164 million, 18 times as much as the side that lost - $9 million.  And, funders were hidden behind misleading names buried in fine print.

The minimum wage would be $25.18/hour if it grew at the same rate as top incomes.

Mother Jones says “While average incomes of the top 1 percent grew more than 270 percent since 1960, those of the bottom 90 percent grew 22 percent. And the real value of the minimum wage barely budged, increasing a total of 7 percent over those decades.” 

While top incomes have sizzled, minimum wage has fizzled. No wonder burger flippers want a raise.

From: Charts: Why Fast-Food Workers Are Going on Strike 

In 33 U.S. Cities
It’s illegal to feed the homeless

A forthcoming National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) report says that 33 U.S. cities now ban or are considering banning the practice of sharing food with homeless people. Four municipalities (Raleigh, N.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Daytona Beach, Fla.) have recently gone as far as to fine, remove or threaten to throw in jail private groups that work to serve food to the needy instead of letting government-run services do the job.  Full Story  Sign the petition to stop this pointless, baseless cruelty.

Dear Democratic Party: Make No Mistake About It, Republicans Didn’t Win
You Lost

Allen Clifton writes in Forward Progress.

He thinks Democrats that ran away from the President made a tragic mistake.  He points to Obama’s achievements:

·        Created over 10 million jobs.

·        Authorized the successful killing of Osama bin Ladin.

·        Saved the American auto industry. Presided over record stock levels.

·        Reduced the deficit by $1 trillion. (This is questionable – Editors)

·        Set a record for consecutive months of job growth in our nation’s history.

·        Passed landmark health care reform that’s provided millions of Americans with health care.  And that’s the guy Democrats ran away from.

Uneven TV Coverage of the President

Almost all the major networks carried the President pardoning two turkeys.  President Obama took this opportunity to make light of the event.  Following the event the first daughters were criticized on social media for seeming bored.  The critic was a Republican hatchet woman who later apologized.

HOWEVER

The 16 minute immigration address by the President was not carried on English language TV but was carried on the Spanish language stations.  English language stations showed only clips and spent hours critiquing what the President said.   Source


The Open Rebellion Caucus says NO & openly defies corporate Democratic leadership

Democrats will eventually have to choose between the belief that the party cannot win elections unless it sells out to corporate corruption and the belief that the party loses elections because it sells out to corporate corruption.

A Wall St Journal article says “Long-muted tensions within the Democratic Party over policy and strategy are beginning to surface publicly, a sign of leaders looking beyond President Barack Obama ’s tenure in the aftermath of the party’s midterm election defeat... Worried that they lacked a compelling position in the midterms, Democrats are split over whether to advance a centrist message or a more populist economic argument that casts everyday families as victims of overly powerful corporations and benighted government policies.

The article quotes Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)” Key provisions of the health law affected relatively few voters. Instead, the party should have pressed for programs that would have raised wages and helped more of the middle class”

The article also points out “David Krone, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), publicly blamed Mr. Obama for Democratic losses. He said the president wouldn’t transfer millions of dollars in party funds to help save imperiled Democrats, and he told the Washington Post that “the president’s approval rating is barely 40.%  What else more is there to say?” As is the case with Mr. Schumer, Mr. Krone’s comments were an unusual breach of protocol. It is rare for Democrats at senior levels to publicly criticize other Democrats—and rarer still for a legislative aide to chide a president from his own party. “

Additional evidence of the existence of the Open Rebellion Caucus:

·        Democrats in the senate voted down the Keystone XL Pipeline.  “President Barack Obama might be open to using the Keystone pipeline as leverage with Republicans if they cooperate on other aspects of his long stalled domestic agenda, such as investing in infrastructure, closing tax loopholes or reducing carbon emissions.” According to (Reuters)

·        Senator Elizabeth Warren’s critique of the President’s nomination of Antonio Weiss to serve as Under Secretary for Domestic Finance at the Treasury Department. This is a position that oversees Dodd-Frank implementation and a wide range of banking and economic policymaking issues, including consumer protection.  Antonio Weiss is the head of global investment banking for the financial giant Lazard. He has spent the last 20 years of his career at Lazard -- most of it advising on international mergers and acquisitions. . Weiss worked on Burger King's tax inversion deal that moved the corporation to Canada.  Weiss' work wasn't unusual for Lazard. That firm has helped put together 3 of the last 4 major corporate inversions that have been announced in the U.S. And like those old Hair Club commercials used to say, Lazard isn't just the President of the Corporate Loopholes Club -- it's also a client. Lazard moved its own headquarters from the United States to Bermuda in 2005 to take advantage of a particularly slimy tax loophole that was closed shortly afterwards. Even the Treasury Department under the Bush administration found Lazard's practices objectionable.  Source     President Obama denounced “inversions” a few weeks ago.

·        The nomination of Loretta Lynch to replace Eric Holder as Attorney General will be a test of how strong the Open Rebellion Caucus is. Federal Prosecutor Lynch while a was in charge of the HSBC case which drew a $1.9B fine for the company that laundered money for Mexican drug cartels, Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Russian gangs, Iran, & North Korea.  This was a paltry fine and there were no criminal indictments.  Loretta Lynch did not serve the people, she served a large bank a gift.  Source: Stay tuned. 

JP Morgan Chase’s worst nightmare
How JPMorgan Chase Helped Wreck the Economy, Avoided Prosecution
After 6 years Eric Holder leaves while not bagging
a bear, a bull or financial sector criminal

Did you ever wonder if there are ethical people working for the Wall St. banks?  Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone would like you to meet the woman who JPMorgan Chase paid one of the largest fines in American history to keep from talking. 

She tried to stay quiet, she really did. But after eight years of keeping a heavy secret, the day came when Alayne Fleischmann couldn't take it anymore.  "It was like watching an old lady get mugged on the street," she says. "I thought, 'I can't sit by any longer.'" 

She is a lawyer who worked for the bank supervising quality assurance looking over packages of loans before they were sold to investors.  Her job was compliance & due diligence.  When she found that some of the loans were in default her new boss insisted that they be sold anyway.  Her testimony implicates Jaime Dimond the head of the bank.  That is why the bank agreed to pay Holder a $9 billion fine rather than have her testify.  Dimond will stay out of jail.  Stockholders and bank customers will ultimately pick up the cost of his $13B GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card ($7B is tax deductible for the bank).  No bank executives paid a fine or went to jail   After the settlement Chase stock went up 6% and Dimond was given a 75% pay raise..  FULL STORY   Watch the  interview on Democracy Now.

Taibbi says of Eric Holder ”…spent a long time at a company called Covington & Burling. And this type of lawyer, this type of law enforcement official, is much more interested in coming up with a settlement that everybody feels good about when they walk out of the room, as opposed to the old-school kind of justice where the bad guy gets his or her comeuppance in the end. And I think his tenure was very representative of a big sea change in the way we do white-collar crime in this country.”

2.5 Democrats Running for One Seat

Several Democrats will run for Mark DeSaulnier’s vacated state senate seat according to a Sacramento Bee article.  Former Assembly member Joan Buchanan, Assembly member Susan Bonilla and possibly Steve Glazer have indicated they will run for the seat vacated by Congressman elect Mark DeSaulnier.  Glazer may not run as a Democrat and does not act like one anyway.  A Republican Mark Mouser has also indicated he will run.

Will Charles Munger Jr. be backing Glazer with megabucks?  Munger’s PAC the Spirit of Democracy mailed a 16 page full color glossy to the entire AD16 electorate after Glazer lost the primary.  The mailer was about how Glazer had been smeared in the primary, it was a hit piece on Tim Sbranti.  The mailer and several others suppressed some Democratic voters.  Eloise Hamann calls it “getting mungered”.

Glazer’s strategy is to split the Democratic vote in a March primary by pitting Bonilla & Buchanan against each other while he picks up both Democratic & Republican voters.  Mouser will pick up some Republicans.  Glazer’s success will depend on how much Bonilla & Buchanan take aim at each other and how much they take aim at Glazer.  Money will be a major factor.  Sbranti had the CTA’s backing, spending about $3M vs $7M spent against Sbranti.  Bonilla & Buchanan may not have that kind of union financial support, especially against each other.  Glazer may be the only candidate with a billionaire funder. 

Vote for delegates to the California Democratic Party Conventions

Every two years delegates are elected in each assembly district in the state.  Elections of delegates will be held in January on either the 10th or 11th depending on the Assembly District.   All registered Democrats in the district may vote for the delegates.  Bring your friends & family to vote for your favorite candidates.  7 men & 7 women will be elected to represent you at the Democratic Party convention & regional meetings.  All districts - voting locations and candidates

Why We Lost the Election by Fred Norman
War! We are a country that thrives on war. Since the early 1950's we have been involved in dozens of military actions, the larger ones being Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq/Afghanistan. (For sheer immorality, I would add Central America.) We've killed thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of enemy soldiers and millions of innocent men, women, and children. We've spent trillions of dollars to do so. Our entire economy is based on killing people. And we voters support it.  FULL ARTICLE

THE LOOP is distributed through Democratic clubs and members who send it to friends and family.  We hope you enjoy, learn and value THE LOOP.  Please distribute this issue to your lists.  Back issues: www.ContraCostaDems.org .

Submit articles, Truth Bites or Did You Know items to Marie McDonald or Ellis Goldberg.
Please be sure to include source links. All items are reviewed and approved by an editorial board of the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County.

 

 

Ellis Goldberg & Marie McDonald
Editors of THE LOOP
EllisG237@aol.com
925 831 8355 home-office
925 451 4303 cell


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