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The DEMOCRATS are Lucy continually yanking the football away
"Democrats started endorsing a progressive economic platform just as soon as they lost Congress."
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/pat-garofalo/2015/01/15/are-dems-trolling-the-left-with-paid-sick-leave-transactions-tax-push
The problem, of course, is that Democrats recently got shellacked in an election, leaving them without control of either chamber in Congress. The odds that a Republican-controlled House or Senate takes a keen interest in paid sick leave or a tax that primarily effects Wall Street are, presumably, nil.
Now, a charitable reading of the situation is that the Democrats have acknowledged their shortcomings when it comes to economic policy and messaging. The travesty of the 2014 election was that, while electing Republicans almost across the board, voters endorsed economic policies, such as increasing the minimum wage, that are much more closely associated with the Democrats. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is ably showing that there's a hunger for economic populism, and that it can translate into a message that's broadly appealing...
A less charitable reading, though, is that the Democrats are seizing on the opportunity to be progressive at a moment when it's cheap and easy; being out of power (or in Obama's case, term-limited) they won't have to pay the price in campaign dollars or blowback that would come from pursuing these policies in an environment in which they could actually become law. After all, when Democrats controlled all of Congress and the presidency, it's not like they made a move on paid sick leave or a financial transactions tax or any of a host of other ideas that would have helped out the middle class. (Which isn't to diminish the very real accomplishments of that Congress.) Now they can stoke the fire and garner the goodwill of the left, without having to deal with the downside.
Now, a charitable reading of the situation is that the Democrats have acknowledged their shortcomings when it comes to economic policy and messaging. The travesty of the 2014 election was that, while electing Republicans almost across the board, voters endorsed economic policies, such as increasing the minimum wage, that are much more closely associated with the Democrats. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren is ably showing that there's a hunger for economic populism, and that it can translate into a message that's broadly appealing...
A less charitable reading, though, is that the Democrats are seizing on the opportunity to be progressive at a moment when it's cheap and easy; being out of power (or in Obama's case, term-limited) they won't have to pay the price in campaign dollars or blowback that would come from pursuing these policies in an environment in which they could actually become law. After all, when Democrats controlled all of Congress and the presidency, it's not like they made a move on paid sick leave or a financial transactions tax or any of a host of other ideas that would have helped out the middle class. (Which isn't to diminish the very real accomplishments of that Congress.) Now they can stoke the fire and garner the goodwill of the left, without having to deal with the downside.
21 replies
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http://americablog.com/2010/08/koch-industries-gave-funding-to-the-dlc-and-served-on-its-executive-council.html
And the latest incarnation ...
Koch Industries gave funding to the DLC and served on its Executive Council
But, here’s a key piece of information: the Kochs haven’t just given to right-wingers. Back in April of 2001, The American Prospect’s Bob Dreyfuss reported that the Kochs also funded the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC):
And for $25,000, 28 giant companies found their way onto the DLC’s executive council, including Aetna, AT&T;, American Airlines, AIG, BellSouth, Chevron, DuPont, Enron, IBM, Merck and Company, Microsoft, Philip Morris, Texaco, and Verizon Communications. Few, if any, of these corporations would be seen as leaning Democratic, of course, but here and there are some real surprises. One member of the DLC’s executive council is none other than Koch Industries, the privately held, Kansas-based oil company whose namesake family members are avatars of the far right, having helped to found archconservative institutions like the Cato Institute and Citizens for a Sound Economy. Not only that, but two Koch executives, Richard Fink and Robert P. Hall III, are listed as members of the board of trustees and the event committee, respectively–meaning that they gave significantly more than $25,000.
The DLC board of trustees is an elite body whose membership is reserved for major donors, and many of the trustees are financial wheeler-dealers who run investment companies and capital management firms–though senior executives from a handful of corporations, such as Koch, Aetna, and Coca-Cola, are included.
But, here’s a key piece of information: the Kochs haven’t just given to right-wingers. Back in April of 2001, The American Prospect’s Bob Dreyfuss reported that the Kochs also funded the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC):
And for $25,000, 28 giant companies found their way onto the DLC’s executive council, including Aetna, AT&T;, American Airlines, AIG, BellSouth, Chevron, DuPont, Enron, IBM, Merck and Company, Microsoft, Philip Morris, Texaco, and Verizon Communications. Few, if any, of these corporations would be seen as leaning Democratic, of course, but here and there are some real surprises. One member of the DLC’s executive council is none other than Koch Industries, the privately held, Kansas-based oil company whose namesake family members are avatars of the far right, having helped to found archconservative institutions like the Cato Institute and Citizens for a Sound Economy. Not only that, but two Koch executives, Richard Fink and Robert P. Hall III, are listed as members of the board of trustees and the event committee, respectively–meaning that they gave significantly more than $25,000.
The DLC board of trustees is an elite body whose membership is reserved for major donors, and many of the trustees are financial wheeler-dealers who run investment companies and capital management firms–though senior executives from a handful of corporations, such as Koch, Aetna, and Coca-Cola, are included.
And the latest incarnation ...
And it's a damn good one.
Not sure how some are too dense to realize this.
