Democrats who opposes the federal minimum wages needs to be primaried.

[Timez Squarez]

Let's start with Mark Pryor. He needs a primary challenger to remind him how dangerous his opposition to the minimum wage is.

[Swede Atlanta]

1. I agree with the sentiment but.....

Arkansas is a very, very conservative state. Pryor is a "blue dog" Democrat who likely is following the orders from his owner, WalMart, to oppose any such change.

The question is whether we are better off with "blue dogs" in conservative states where the alternative is a true blood-sucking conservative or not.

While I don't appreciate the blue dog mentality which undermines core Democratic principles, as a tactical matter we may need them to vote for things we all support.

The challenge here is deciding if we are better off to jettison a "blue dog" or not. The choices will likely be a fairly blue dog Democrat (in these states at least) or a puke.

I would be more willing to hold my nose and keep the blue dog. They can be useful at times. Perhaps we can just keep them in their kennels until needed.

[Timez Squarez]

2. I think Arkansas could really learn the difference.. if a progressive was there on the ballot in the

primaries.

And they elect someone to take Pryor's seat as a real progressive, and Arkansas could benefit from the changes.

And Wal-Mart heirs really needs to agree to the federal minimum wage and stop stealing taxpayer dollars for corporate welfare.

[G_j]

4. still, the majority of people everywhere

want the the minimum wage raised.

[Art_from_Ark]

11. Sorry, it's not going to happen

Last edited Thu Feb 6, 2014, 08:19 PM - Edit history (1)

No Democrat is going to challenge Pryor, or if they do, they'll end up like Bill Halter, who was forced out of his quest for the governorship when conservative Democrat Mike Ross tossed his hat into the ring.

[Scuba]

3. Yes, and I don't want to hear that they're from red districts when half the electorate ...

... in such district didn't bother to vote in the last election because two corporate candidates aren't worth choosing between. Give them a real goddamn capital-D progressive Democrat on the ballot and win from the left.

[liberal_at_heart]

5. Unless we start seeing some candidates that represent the people I think we will continue to see

the number of people actually voting continue to decline. We had 750,000 people at our Super Bowl celebration yesterday. Democrats wonder why people pay more attention to sports than to politics. It's because they know their government doesn't listen, doesn't represent them, and won't do what the constituency wants them to do. The entire government is in a corporate sponsored bubble and is out of touch with reality and with the people. At least when your sports team wins the Super Bowl you know a common goal has been reached and both the team and the fans can celebrate together. How often do we get to do that with our politicians?

[Cal33]

12. Wha you say sounds reasonable and is sure worth a try. nt

[1StrongBlackMan]

6. I suspect that the 50% that don't vote ...

are not making a political statement ... or, at least, are not making the statement that you ascribe to them.

Many of the reasons people don’t vote are outside the realm of policymakers’ fixing. Some of the reasons are not surprising. Of those not voting, 8.6% were out of town, 18.9% were too busy, 12.7% did not like the candidates or campaign issues, and 15.7% reported not being interested. Other responses seem contrary to what we hear about in the media: only 2.7% could not find their polling place and 5.5% experienced a registration issue. I am not sure what to do about the 3.9% of respondents who simply forgot to vote despite the complete saturation of media coverage about the election.

Policymakers can, however, confront one reason respondents reported not voting. Of nonvoting respondents, 14% were unable to participate because of an illness or disability

http://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/2013/05/why-people-don%E2%80%99t-vote

Moreover,

In the 2008 Census Bureau voting survey, topping the list of reasons for not voting is a lack of interest (13%) or a dislike of the candidates or issues (13%). More than a quarter of registered nonvoters in 2008 didn't vote because they weren't interested or didn't like their choices.

Many reported illness or disability (15%), especially among older registered nonvoters. Others were too busy, or had conflicting schedules (17%). That's about a third of the registered nonvoters.

Of the remainder, many had some logistical problem with the process: 6% had problems with their voter registration, 3% did not have convenient polling places, and another 3% had some sort of transportation problem. And 0.2% reported that bad weather conditions kept them from the polls on election day.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-psychology-behind-political-debate/201112/why-dont-people-vote

And this is not a new phenomena ... https://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/SB91-23.pdf

Folks not voting existed long before the "corporatist scourge" of today.

The single most impactful way to increase voter participation would have nothing to do with the candidates; but rather, has everything with increasing access to the polls. For example, extending the vote to a 3 day event, e.g., 24 hours/day, from 6:00a.m., Friday morning through 11:59p.m., Sunday.

[Scuba]

8. It's not about them making a statement, it's about us offering them a reason to vote.

[1StrongBlackMan]

9. You seem to think that ...

a majority of people, actually give a crap about the political process. They don't. It doesn't matter how many ponies and unicorns you offer them ... they just have something more relevant to their lives to do ... like working or watching American Idol or the Bachelor.

[Scuba]

10. "Ponies and unicorns"? Is that what you call them? I call them a living wage and Medicare for All.

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. My point is ...

for the typical "man/woman on the street" mentioning a living wage and/or Medicare for all will be met with a glazed over look, followed by a "Yeah, okay." And would do nothing to get them out to the polls.

That has been my real world experience (from 2008, 2010 and 2012) and that of canvassers that I have spoken with. And is supported by after election follow up surveying, in each of those years.

[Scuba]

14. Let's try it, in earnest, just once and see.

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. Okay ...

Get Out The Democratic Vote in 2014/2016.

[former9thward]

7. The deadline to get on the Arkansas ballot is March 3, 2014.

So you have to get a candidate, campaign organization, financing and the signatures to get on the ballot in less than one month. Good Luck!