THE Major Problem that we face as people and citizens these days is corporate control of government. Why?
* The ultimate corporate model of labor is slavery - free labor with no pay. We need government to prevent that, and make corporations pay for labor
* The ultimate corporate model of trade is the swindle - they get all your money and provide nothing in return. We need government to control that, and protect us from fraud
* The ultimate corporate model of manufacture is pollution - they poison us with toxins freely. We need government to control that, and regulate what is dumped into our land, air, and water.
* The ultimate corporate model of information is propaganda - they control the flow of information to their own benefit and to the benefit of the status quo. We need government to provide media space for alternate voices that give us other viewpoints.
*The ultimate corporate model of foreign relations is war - they profit from the killing and domination of people in other lands. And eventually our own people. We need government to provide diplomacy that also values peace and the benefits of not being at war.
* The ultimate corporate model of government is totalitarianism - Decisions flow from the top down, power and wealth flow up. We need government to protect our right to have a say in decision making.
Notice that the GOP, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of corporations, has these models as their platform - Slavery, Fraud, Pollution, Propaganda, War, and Totalitarianism. It is because they are owned and run by corporations.
The opposite platform - Economic Freedom, Consumer Protection, Environmental Health, Free Press, Peace, and Democracy - should be what the Democratic Party stands for, and it should be what we can all here on DU agree are our common goals. The Democratic Party is our (only) means to those ends.
Therefore, there are three main rulers by which I measure Democratic politicians, messaging, policies, and actions. They are:
1. Democrats should fight the Republican Party vigorously - smartly, ferociously, and fiercely. The GOP goals of Slavery, Fraud, Pollution, Propaganda, War, and Totalitarianism should be opposed loudly and cleverly, with clear messaging. Democrats should stymie Republican/Corporate efforts at every turn.
2. Democrats should fight for policies that improve the situation of all people in this country (and the world), even (and perhaps especially) the most vulnerable among us. To the extent that that requires opposing the GOP, corporations, and their horrible policies, they need to communicate well and fight strongly.
3. Democrats should have as a goal the gradual minimization of corporate influence over government, realizing that that is an ideal unlikely to be reached, but earnestly to be wished and fought for. The current model we work in, where the government is up for sale to the highest corporate bidder (or to the most devious foreign mafia), will not further our goals and needs to be changed as rapidly as it is possible to do so without harming people.
That means, that if I find people advocating that Democrats shouldn't fight hard, then I will speak out against those people. If they are Democrats, I will vote for them while hating their attitude, against Republicans. But I am going to call that strategy out.
That means, that if I find people advocating that Democrats should adopt corporate policies like Slavery, Fraud, Pollution, Propaganda, War, and Totalitarianism, then I will speak out against those people. If they are Democrats, I will vote for them while hating their attitude, against Republicans. But I am going to call their policies out.
That means, that if I find people advocating that Democrats don't fight corporate control of government, then I will speak out against those people. If they are Democrats, I will vote for them while hating their attitude, against Republicans. But I am going to call those fucking anti-human policies out.
And I don't want to hear shit from people on this board about calling out behavior that is weak against the GOP, weak against corporations, and weak against true Democratic principles. If we cannot agree that the policies of the GOP and their corporate masters are ANTI-HUMAN and fight against them, then how can we build a humane society together as a human community?
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