Here’s Why the 2016 Presidential Election is So Crucial for Liberals and Everything We’ve Worked For

[DonViejo]

Here’s Why the 2016 Presidential Election is So Crucial for Liberals and Everything We’ve Worked For

August 16, 2015 By Allen Clifton

I’ve written an article similar to this before, but I really felt the need to narrow down some of the points I made in that article to emphasize just how important they are.

Let me start off by listing a few numbers for everyone:

78

80

80

83

Those are the ages that Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsberg will be when the next president is sworn in, respectively. The next president we elect (assuming he or she serves two terms) could very well be the individual who selects four Supreme Court Justices.

Yes, our next president could single-handedly shift the balance of power in the Supreme Court one way or the other for the next 20+ years.

Now, on the Democratic side there’s the battle between presumed nominee Hillary Clinton and the underdog Sen. Bernie Sanders for the party’s nomination. While I am a Clinton supporter, I’ve maintained from day one that the goal of “the left” shouldn’t be to pick just one candidate and only vote for that one person if they were to win the nomination. Our main goal, before anything else, should be to ensure that a Republican does not win the White House in 2016.

If Clinton is the nominee, Sanders supporters need to get their asses out there and vote for her. If Sanders is the nominee, then Clinton supporters need to do the same damn thing. I couldn’t care less what you think about either candidate, both are much better choices than any clown running for the GOP nomination.

Naturally, Sanders’ credentials as a liberal are essentially unquestioned. He’s easily the most far-left candidate most of us have ever witnessed. Well, at least one who’s been taken seriously during a campaign. But for those who might say Clinton is no different than a Republican – you’re absurd. While she’s clearly not as far-left is Sanders, she still supports:

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/heres-2016-presidential-election-crucial-liberals-everything-weve-worked/?

[cantbeserious]

1. Why Would Any Citizen - Support And Vote For A Member Of The 1%

eom

[Agschmid]

2. And Roosevelt was the worst President ever.

What a foolish post, do you have a basic understanding of U.S. History?

[cantbeserious]

3. And Corporations And Wall Street Were Not As Pervasive And Powerful - What A Foolish Example

eom

[Agschmid]

5. Except that they were... again basic understanding of U.S. History.

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15637

To the Congress:

Unhappy events abroad have retaught us two simple truths about the liberty of a democratic people.

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

The second truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if its business system does not provide employment and produce and distribute goods in such a way as to sustain an acceptable standard of living.

Both lessons hit home.

Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.

This concentration is seriously impairing the economic effectiveness of private enterprise as a way of providing employment for labor and capital and as a way of assuring a more equitable distribution of income and earnings among the people of the nation as a whole.

That 1% asshole... wow.

[cantbeserious]

9. During That Era - Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks Did Not Roll The Dice On People's Lives As They

Do today.

Hello - MIC Explosion In The 60s
Hello - Powell Memo
Hello - Lobbyist Explosion In The 70s
Hello - Reagan Union Busting In The 80s
Hello - Repeal Of Glass-Steagell By WJC
Hello - Patriot Act By Bush
Hello - Great Recession In 2008
Hello - Citizens United By SCOTUS

[Agschmid]

13. They absolutely did.

And to pretend they didn't is either straight ignorance, or purposeful denial.

But hey... You go on with your bad self.

[cantbeserious]

21. None Of The Above Existed During FDRs Tenure

eom

[Agschmid]

24. Yes but that doesn't mean it was an ideal Utopia...

What about the environment?

What about worker conditions?

What about worker pay?

What about crime?

What about racial rights?

What about women's rights?

Really do you NOT see this?

[cantbeserious]

28. Between FDR And Reagan Many Were Addressed - With The Powell Memo - Oligarchs, Corporations And Bank

Took control which lasts to this day and that control is now stronger than ever.

With HRC and WJC, the third way was enabled which legitimized corporate control by taking corporate money.

That control has now been ratified by Citizens United enabling unlimited political funding by Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks.

HRC won't change a thing that compromises the profits of her big money donors.

[Agschmid]

7. The list looks similar no?

[daybranch]

6. I do not know if he was the worst ever

but he certainly let the oligarchy in the back door unseen later in his Presidency and certainly was no friend to African Americans.

[Agschmid]

8. When I said he was the worst I was being sarcastic...

Okay you pick the best one, we'll do a little research.

[SonderWoman]

36. Haha! Seriously! FDR was a 1%er, and so is Bernie.

[DanTex]

10. Why do you post the same thing in every pro-Clinton OP?

Have you written some kind of script to do this?

[cantbeserious]

11. Because The Truth Needs To Be Known

eom

[DanTex]

12. Do you agree with the premise of the OP: that we need to make sure that the

eventual nominee, whoever that is, wins the presidency? Or are you in the "Hillary is no better than the GOP" camp?

[cantbeserious]

15. Hillary Is A Member Of The 1% - She Would Be No Better Than Any Other Corporate Candidate

Just slightly different around the edges that do not matter to the Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks.

[DanTex]

16. So, for example, the Supreme Court doesn't matter to you.

Or global warming, healthcare, minimum wage, women's rights, gay rights, etc.?

You're willing to throw all that out simply because Hillary is wealthy?

[cantbeserious]

17. She - Like Obama And Bush And Clinton Before - Will Maintain The Status Quo For The 1%

All the rest is window dressing for the 99%.

[DanTex]

18. I asked about the Supreme Court and other specific issues. Care to address them?

[cantbeserious]

19. Nope - Some Stripes Remain - Stripes Change - When New Justices Are Seated - Always A Crap Shoot

eom

[DanTex]

22. OK then. Don't care about SCOTUS. Or climate change. Or gay rights. Or healthcare.

Or anything else apparently. I'm starting to understand.

[Agschmid]

25. Me too, with this one.

[cantbeserious]

26. Climate Change - HRC Will Do Nothing To Impact Profits Of Corporations

Gay Rights - Oligarchs, Corporations And Banks could care less - Any President is free to do what they will.

Healthcare - HRC will not change the ACA because it is good for Corporations.

[MH1]

20. Because 1%er A will be a lot less harmful than 1%er B

It may sound harsh but that's how our system works.

If 1%er A isn't going to destroy the planet and the country (or at least not faster than the current trajectory), and might even make some marginal small improvements, while 1%er B is clearly going to accelerate the destruction of the planet and the country, get us into wars, and make things worse on EVERY front, some of them even affecting YOUR precious snowflake butt,

ISN'T IT PRETTY FUCKING CLEAR WHY YOU WOULD VOTE FOR ONE OF THEM?

[cantbeserious]

23. Is Vulgar Language Necessary To Make A Point

eom

[randome]

32. You mean your viewpoint can't by swayed by a sprinkling of 'fuck' in a post?

Intelligent debate is out, don't you know? DU has become Trump-i-fied! Yell! Curse! Threaten! That'll show ya!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[cantbeserious]

33. Yes - It Does Seem That Basic Civility Is On The Wane

eom

[hedda_foil]

38. Yes. Apparently it is. And that point is as serious as global climate change.

In other words, it's goddamn it to hell in a handbasket critical to survival.

[DCBob]

4. Here's the rest..

While she’s clearly not as far-left is Sanders, she still supports:

Gay rights.
Women’s rights.
Overhauls to our education system to make college affordable (or even free).
Policies to combat climate change.
Expanding and improving health care reform (let’s not forget she’s been advocating for universal health care since 1992).
Immigration reform that’s even more to the left than President Obama’s proposals.
Campaign finance reform.

Read more at: http://www.forwardprogressives.com/heres-2016-presidential-election-crucial-liberals-everything-weve-worked/?

[daybranch]

14. Yep we know

Actually all the democratic candidates support these. Hillary to a lesser degree than the others I believe, except for womens' rights where she is trying to stop women from turning to Bernie.
She is hoping we will see her as a negotiator with republicans on all of these to get the best deal. This looks just like Bill's triangulation which got us NAFTA, Mandatory Prison Sentences, disastrous welfare reform etc. Her policy on climate change is simply business and my support of it will save us all. And campaign finance reform - she does not even know if she supports getting rid of Citizens United.
I guess until I see a policy which challenges the oligarchy, I will just keep working harder for Bernie. To me,Hillary is more of the same and I want better.

[Doctor_J]

30. Unfortunately, some of these are debatable, or even false

Gay rights.

Since 2004, or later. Why should we believe she won't "evolve" again after the primary, or GE?

Overhauls to our education system to make college affordable (or even free).

She supports charter schools, race to the bottom, and NCLB (Bush family school "reform&quot

she’s been advocating for universal health care since 1992

Nope. She evloved on that too - now says that America is too diverse to support "one size fits all" (I guess she thinks Medicare is a failure). Now is in favor of mandating that profiteers be part of the system.

Campaign finance reform.

This is dubious, since she's the biggest beneficiary this time around of our ridiculous system.

I appreciate the zeal of the BOG/HRC/New Dems/Turd Way, but facts need to be taken into account as well as campaign sound bites.

[DonViejo]

31. That's not "the rest" DCBob....

there are at least 14 paragraphs after what you've ID'd as "the rest."

[DCBob]

34. Oops.. sorry, my bad.

I didn't see "the rest" when I first opened.

thanks!

[Iliyah]

27. No doubt it is very crucial that no GOP get into the WH in 2016, 2020 and

anytime thereafter. Regain the majority in congress and by George issues important to the average USA citizen will become a reality. The USA Supreme Court is an important component of the workings of the USA's democracy. At this point in time, several justices do not practice it. Scalia is one asshole.

Thanks for information!

[ismnotwasm]

29. Excellent OP

Thank you

[zappaman]

35. Luckily, the best judge to ever serve is going nowhere...

[Liberal_in_LA]

37. kick