David Sirota in WaPO!! FIND YOUR TRUE CENTER (Don't Compromise)

[kpete]

FIND YOUR TRUE CENTER (Don't Compromise)

By David Sirota
Sunday, June 11, 2006; Page B04

If Democrats ever want to regain their status as a majority party, they must move to the center. But that means moving to the real center -- one very different from Washington's definition of the term.

Inside the Beltway, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) is called a "centrist" because he still supports President Bush's misguided policies in Iraq; Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) proved his centrist credentials when he helped gut consumer bankruptcy protections; Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) is a centrist because he votes for corporate-written, wage-destroying trade deals. And former senator John Breaux (D-La.), now a corporate lobbyist, was labeled the ultimate centrist after working to stop Congress from cracking down on the drug and health industry profiteers who backed his campaigns.

These are just a few examples of how many high-profile Democrats promote the Beltway's idea of centrism -- focused on perpetuating the status quo and abetting the influence of corporate interests that finance political campaigns. But with a centrism like this, so far outside the real center of public opinion, no wonder the Democratic Party keeps losing congressional elections.

more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/09/AR2006060902000.html
via:
http://www.opednews.com/

[zippy890]

1. big kick for Sirota

Great he's got an article in the Wapo.

I want to get his new book 'Hostile Takeover'

:dem:

[Sydnie]

3. Wow ... smart and not hard on the eyes either

Quite the package! :rofl:

[bleever]

2. How does the Beltway define the "center"?

Tom Tomorrow explains:

[bvar22]

4. Sirota speaking TRUTH!

http://alternet.org/story/29788/
"It doesn't get covered by the corporate media (imagine that), but mainstream polls consistently find that big majorities of Americans are not meek centrists, but overt, tub-thumping, FDR progressives who are seeking far more populist gumption and governmental action than any Democratic congressional leader or presidential contender has dared to imagine. In recent polls by the Pew Research Group, the Opinion Research Corporation, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS News, the American majority has made clear how it feels. Look at how the majority feels about some of the issues that you'd think would be gospel to a real Democratic party:

1. 65 percent say the government should guarantee health insurance for everyone -- even if it means raising taxes.

2. 86 percent favor raising the minimum wage (including 79 percent of selfdescribed "social conservatives").

3. 60 percent favor repealing either all of Bush's tax cuts or at least those cuts that went to the rich.

4. 66 percent would reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

5. 77 percent believe the country should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment.

6. 87 percent think big oil corporations are gouging consumers, and 80 percent (including 76 percent of Republicans) would support a windfall profits tax on the oil giants if the revenues went for more research on alternative fuels.

7. 69 percent agree that corporate offshoring of jobs is bad for the U.S. economy (78 percent of "disaffected" voters think this), and only 22% believe offshoring is good because "it keeps costs down."

8. Over 65% of all Americans believe that the Invasion of Iraq was a mistake.



Looks like I'm standing squarely "in the center".
Why do I have to look so far to the RIGHT to see most of the DC Democrats?

The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[NewJeffCT]

5. I agree with all your sentiments, but...

To play devil's advocate...

When similar stats like Sirota's were published in a local op-ed in Connecticut recently, they got some RW LTTEs with stats on how a very high % believe in things like parental/father notification on abortions and usually favor more restrictions on abortion... a very high % think English should be our official language... a very high % think flag burning should be illegal, etc, etc.

[IndyOp]

9. And my question to those RWers would be which issues are of greater

priority?

Jobs & health care & social security?

Or flag burning & declaring English the national language?

I think there would be a HUGE difference in how important most citizens rated the issues Sirota lists vs. the issues the RWer LTTE writers mention.

IMO -- the RW LTTE writers are using a very typical RW spin -- sure you liberals might have a point about global warming leading to the end of the world if we don't act quickly, but we have an important point about kids in school saying the pledge of allegiance every day.

Bull.

[NewJeffCT]

12. Obviously, health care is far more important...

That's been one of my pet issues here on DU over the past 2 1/2 years.

However, remember after the presidential debate where Bush mentioned Dred Scott and how it was a coded message to RWers about how abortion is akin to slavery. To folks on the other side, abortion is that important.

And, as the book "What's the Matter with Kansas" points out, sometimes these social conservatives feel powerless to change things on a big picture level like with healthcare, social security, Iraq, etc. However, where they can have power is by putting the screws to gay people or trying to have prayer in schools or passing amendments to stop flag burning.

[bleever]

7. Beautiful. Like America is still the Beautiful, in spite of

those who "represent" us with torture, illegal war, and transfering the costs of a civil society onto those with the least wealth.

:thumbsup:

[Neshanic]

8. Amazing is it not? It 's all there, yet we will probably loose.

[depakid]

10. This is why the Dems have been losing

and why they look like they want to keep on losing.

They repeatedly punt their strongest issues away- prefering instead to let their DLC types legitimize far right policies- and do so with impunity.

[KoKo]

6. I'm reading his book now.....it's a great read for

Dems searching for another way....

[ray of light]

11. great article. I agree with the bullet points.

[myrna minx]

13. Kick this great read. n/t