The marginalization of "The Left" through the years. Not hearing us now at all.

[JDPriestly]

122. Kennedy was not at all on the left, but the marginalization started

with his assassination which was quickly followed by those of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. The leadership of the left was decimated -- literally killed off.

What arose to replace it was sold out -- LBJ -- or disorganized and angry -- Abby Hoffman and friends.

The left of the intellectuals, labor, the poor and socially dispossessed like African-Americans and women have not unified until now. I think that the Occupy movement established a common ground. The issue that Occupy identified -- that the 1% takes and leaves as little as possible, whether of the wealth or of the political power, to the rest of us -- is common to the grievances of all of us from moderate to extreme left.

Now it is up to the 99% to unite around the realization that we have to work together to get some say in what goes on in the country.

Personally, I think that we have much more in common with the Tea-Bagger crowd than we think. They blame the government. We blame the 1%. In fact, we are talking about the same crowd because the government is pretty much controlled, lock, stock and barrel, by the 1%. As is most everything in our country and the world.

We have to find some way to persuade the Tea-Baggers that we understand what they are really mad about and that they need to join us in changing things.

Start by joining your local Democratic organizations. Go to the Democratic Party Convention in your state. Find out how you do it from your local Club. Be a voice. Change starts with us.