July 1, 2015

Livestream info and other details about tonight's Madison WI event

https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/townmeetings/wrtj

July 1, 2015

*tiptoes in* Link to Traffic Report to tonight's Sander's event posted here per request.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128018851

On my own initiative, I'm adding link to info about livestream and other details

https://go.berniesanders.com/page/event/detail/townmeetings/wrtj

*tiptoes out*

July 1, 2015

Ya say ya wanna revolution? VOTE and GOTV

As we all know only too well, we saw the worst losses in 2014 since 1928--and we all also know what happened in 1929.

• "63 percent of the American people chose not to vote." Michael McDonald, a University of Florida political scientist, has assembled the United States Election Project, an extensive and widely used archive of voter participation data.

He found that in the November 2014 general election, 33.2 percent of the voting-age population cast a ballot and 35.9 percent of the voting-eligible population voted. The difference between those two figures is that the voting-age population includes non-citizens and felons, neither of which are able to vote, whereas the voting-eligible population excludes these groups.

.....

Incidentally, according to McDonald’s data, the overall turnout rate in 2014 was the lowest since World War II.

The lowest turnout since World War II. New Deal and Fair Deal days. sigh. Anyway.....



Getting out the vote is a two step process. Register voters and then do what you can to make sure they vote. Young voters are the most notorious no shows, so focus on them. Once school start again, target 18 year olds and over. (Those graduating high school next May or June may have turned 18 or be about to turn 18, and, of course, most at colleges are 18 or over, except for Dougie Howser and Sheldon Cooper.) Get them registered. Tell them what their rights are.

We can also help on the state legislative level in two ways.

One way is to seek a state law making election day a state holiday. (Bernie is working toward this on the federal level, but a state legislature has power over its own state's holidays.)

Another way is to get your state to allow at least some felons to vote, especially those who were in for possession of small quantities of illegal drugs, like, oh, I don't know, marijuana. That may be dicey in that a dealer may have pled down to possession. I don't know enough yet about the criminal process to know how to get around that. However, a consultation with an AG may help you. Also, please be aware that, if you are seeking legislation, the law of your state may require you to register as a lobbyist or some such. If you can't find anything online, a call to your state rep's office should get you an answer.

A third way is to think about the physical vote itself. Paper ballots? Vote by machine, but get a paper receipt?

Your state law will also tell you how to file a bill as a citizen, or you could try to work through your state Rep or state Senator for that purpose. Ideally, it would be a Democratic state rep or state senator because Republicans seem to want to keep voters away from the polls. If nothing else, making Republicans vote on a voting bill will show up those who dare to vote no.

See also,

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12779021 (Populist Reform Begins With One Person, One Vote.)

and

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12777744 (The Vote is Populist Priority #1)

July 1, 2015

47% of Americans WOULD vote for a socialist.

First, let's be clear: Bernie Sanders is a Democratic Socialist, which is very different from a socialist;* and this article has populist ramifications and applications that are much broader than only Bernie Sanders.




Web Only / Features » June 24, 2015
Good News for Bernie Sanders? Poll Shows 47% of Americans Would Vote for a Socialist

A new Gallup poll shows that 47 percent of Americans would consider voting for a socialist candidate. Gallup has been polling Americans on their voting preferences for candidates of different backgrounds since 1937, but this year was the first time they inquired about socialism.

When broken down on party lines, a socialist candidate would earn the consideration of 59 percent of Democrats, 49 percent of Independents, and only 26 percent of Republicans. Overall, socialism charted the lowest of all the backgrounds referenced in the poll. Atheist and Muslim candidates ranked second- and third-lowest among the American populace, at 58 and 60 percent respectively.

.....

Part of the reason for this dissonance is confusion among the America population as to what the word “socialism” even means. Many often associate it with the authoritarian Communism of the Soviet Union instead of the social democracies of modern-day Scandinavian countries, which Sanders strongly backs.

Even though the number of voters who say they would consider voting for a socialist candidate is below an outright majority, the fact that the number of Americans who would consider voting for a socialist is at 47 percent, in a country with a long history of vicious red-baiting, seems to suggest that Americans aren’t as afraid of the word “socialist” as many on the Right would like them to be.

Meanwhile, Sanders seems to be getting through to the American people. He consistently draws the largest crowds of any candidate to his events in Iowa, and 32 percent of New Hampshire Democrats and 41 percent of Wisconsin Democrats are backing him. Sanders has more than seven months to build a solid voting bloc, before the first primaries on February 1, 2016.

The article is not much longer than the above. Go ahead and read the paragraphs I omitted.

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18106/americans-socialism-bernie-sanders




*http://www.democraticunderground.com/12806844

July 1, 2015

You thought the Republican clown car was crowded, but you ain't seen nothing yet.

As a preface: This is in no way intended to support the Green Party or any candidate for POTUS who does not appear in my sig line. Because of a DU post I made implying Stein was this year's nominee, I googled to check* and found this info, which I thought might be of interest to populist reformers.

To preserve freedom of political expression, the electorate must be both free to choose and adequately informed. There are over 400 presidential candidates registered with the FEC for the 2016 election. Most of these officially declared candidates are marginalized or completely ignored by mainstream media and lack the benefit of unlimited spending by Super PAC’s.

We profile all official candidates, from all political parties, on a level platform. Some may be nutcases, but most are respectable individuals with legitimate positions on the issues. Any officially registered candidates not included may be fictitious, or have insufficient available information from which to build a profile.

............

Word of mouth and today's web of social networks empower 'We the People' to promote a candidate more effectively than any media conglomerate, and subsequently scrutinize their every detail in thousands of national online platforms.

http://2016.green-party.info/

More at the link, including that they profile every candidate and we all should look at the websites of each candidate.

Ok. I am going to fess up right here and now that there is no way I m even going to glance at 400 websites, let alone study them. If that makes me a bad citizen, so be it. However, I think ballot access is an important populist issue, along with the principle of one person, one vote, which I posted about the other day.

So is media fairness. I want my candidate to win, but not because the media does not even mention most candidates once.

Any thoughts re: reform on either ballot access or media fairness. If not, just enjoy imagining 400 in that brightly-colored Volkwagon Beetle.

July 1, 2015

Why are a Republican and msm anxious to keep Sanders off the ballot in NH in the DEMOCRATIC primary?

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/24/416929786/this-quirky-new-hampshire-law-might-keep-sanders-off-the-ballotf

As most of us know by now, New Hampshire law supposedly requires Bernie to be registered as a Democrat but Vermont has no way of allowing anyone to register (politically) as anything but a voter. I have not yet found the law itself, but the oath a candidate must swear in order to get on the ballot, the full text of which appears in the article linked above, includes registration language.

In Congress, Bernie has caucused with Democrats. The DSCC has said officially that it will not support any Democrat who runs against him. Both Schumer and Dean have said publicly that they consider him an asset.


Twice, Vermont Democrats ran Bernie as their own candidate and he won those Democratic nominations. However, he declined to accept. Still, he was the nominee of the Vermont Democratic Party. Also, the Vermont Democratic Party has recognized him as a Democrat, as has the DNC and--wait for it--as has the New Hampshire Democratic Party. So, why all the handwringing in the establishment media?

This particular article drew my attention, though, because it mentions that a New Hampshire Republican went to the trouble of writing an Op-Ed for the New York Times saying that Bernie does not qualify to be on the ballot under New Hampshire law.



Why would a New Hampshire Republican want to keep Bernie off the Democratic primary ballot?

BTW: Vermont law determines Bernie's voter registration. Vermont law seems to allow Bernie to be whatever he declares himself to be at any given time.

If New Hampshire does refuse to recognize that Bernie is now a Democrat under Vermont law, despite Vermont's recognizing him as such (and the DNC, the Vermont Democratic Party and the New Hampshire Democratic Party), then I am fairly sure Bernie can "make a federal case out of it" and win.

United States Constitution, Article IV
Section 1.

Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

June 30, 2015

Populist Reform Starts With One Person, One Vote.

Recently, Justice Ruth Ginsberg wrote a wonderful opinion on gerrymandering in which she said, voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026922012

Most particularly, we must turn the House around before 2020, so Republicans don't get to draw districts again.

We must work within our states, cities and towns.

We must advocate for voting rights.

We must register voters.

We must be on the alert for vote caging and other measures to keep people from voting.

We must help people vote. Absentee ballots help. So do rides to the polls, or arranging transportation.

We must make sure votes get counted properly.

We must serve as election officials.

Please, please use this thread to share your experiences and suggestions regarding voting related issues.

See also http://www.democraticunderground.com/12779117 (Ya say ya wanna revolution? Vote and GOTV)

June 29, 2015

They'll have to deal with all of us

today

merrily,

We've long suspected that other candidates are going to raise a lot more money than we will. That's what happens when you have Wall Street and the billionaire class in your corner.

Here's the thing: we shouldn't have to worry. Even though Bernie's not going to have Super PACs, and even though he's not going to have the obscenely wealthy pooling their money for him, we know we have more power.

That's because Bernie has you.

Together, we can show the billionaire class that they don't just have to deal with Bernie. They have to deal with all of us.

Tuesday at midnight is the first major deadline for our campaign. The next day, we have to start filing reports with the Federal Election Commission about our fundraising. It's a big moment, and we need to get the biggest show of support we can by then.

Please contribute $3 now to support Bernie's campaign for president before Tuesday's deadline.

Thank you for standing with Bernie before this critical deadline.

Jeff Weaver
Campaign Manager, Bernie 2016

If you contribute, please use the moveon account Omaha Steve set up. Thank you.

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

June 29, 2015

How we respond

Jeff Weaver, Bernie 2016
6/26/15 Newsletters
To merrily

merrily,

I don’t know if you had a chance to read Bernie’s email from earlier today about the Super PAC attacking our campaign, but let me add a little context to the request.

On Wednesday, July 1st, we’ll begin the process of filing what is known as an FEC Quarterly Fundraising Report.

It’s a declaration of the money our campaign has raised to-date, and more importantly, the number of contributors that make up that total.

The size of our movement is going to surprise a lot of people -- even more so if you answer Bernie’s call and add your $3 contribution today.

As we continue to rise in the polls, this will not be the last time a Super PAC considers attacking our campaign.

But how we respond today should make them think twice about it.

All my best,

Jeff Weaver
Campaign Manager
Bernie 2016



Sender: Bernie Sanders
Date: June 26, 2015
Subject: Make them pay

Bernie 2016


merrily -

I am not going to start a Super PAC. I am not going to go around the country talking to millionaires and billionaires begging for contributions.

But those millionaires and billionaires are talking about us.

Just yesterday, a Super PAC supporting one of our primary opponents started running ads attacking our campaign.

Let me be very clear: the disastrous Citizens United decision that gave rise to the Super PACs embraced by our opponents undermines American democracy and moves us towards an oligarchy in which the economic and political life of the country is increasingly controlled by a handful of billionaire families.

Candidly, I did not think their attacks would happen so soon.

But know that their early involvement is a testament to the movement and momentum we're building together.

And we can also make them pay a price.

Stand up to the Super PAC attacking us by making a $3 contribution to our campaign today, and send a powerful message that you have had enough of the billionaire class buying elections.

Real change only comes about when a large number of ordinary Americans speak, vote, and get involved in the democratic process.

If we stand together, we will win.

If we are divided, the big-money interests win.

People should not underestimate us.

Bernie Sanders

The above was from my inbox. If you contribute, please remember to use Omaha Steve's link. Thank you.

https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/duforbernie

June 27, 2015

Labor for Bernie. Sign the letter!

http://www.laborforbernie.org/

We are union leaders, organizers and labor activists committed to building a broad, effective movement for democratic change. While we come from different unions and backgrounds, our goal is a government that carries out the will of the people, not prop up the profits of the 1% at the expense of the rest of us.

To that end, we support Bernie Sanders to be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. Senator Sanders has a long-standing commitment to union principles and labor’s values and we stand firmly behind him as the strongest candidate who will articulate our issues. Sanders is the bold, pro-worker alternative.

more at the above link.