Re: the Democrats are dead?
Doesn't anyone think that this time will give the Dems a chance to revitalize, especially if some common ground is found among public interest groups? Environmental and health and safety issues would be rather important to this aim. Heather Grob
Re: the Democrats are dead?
Perhaps some additional questions are, what is the theoretical structure the Republicans (Gingrich) will use in trying to turn Congress into an executive body (presumably the Cato Foundation and the Heritage Foundation have published on this topic), and what kind of political science framework do the Democrats have to reinvent themselves? Inquiring minds want to know but this mind doesn't know. Sam Pooley
Re: the Democrats are dead?
I believe that the "political science framework" of the Democratic Party rests on the viability of the ddd"welfare state" much as the right wing has chjarged. The big business groupings that under Roosevelt were convinced to suppport the welfare state, and under the pressure of the multitudes of millions gave ground to progressive social legis- lation, have either been weakened or have changed their minds. The "wel- fare state" as such was neverr the demand of the powerful workers' movements of the thirties. And it is arguable, in hindsight, that the form of the concesdsions of unemployment insurance, welfare, legalization of unions, and social security in some cases permitted these concessions to be turned against the movements. In any event, there seems to be "bipartisan" support for abolishing much of the welfare system. I can't imagine the real consequences of this move. Clearly some who had no incentive to work for minimum wage jobs with no health insurance, will now be compelled to do so. But many will be turned even more desperately than now toward criminal activity. Prisons are state and federal budget busters, so I fear there must be plans afoot in the backrooms of the Heritage foundation to shoot a lot of people, or make them otherwise disappear. "Bipartisan" implies to me that there is big business, multi-national corporation consensus. The New York Times and the Washington Post, the LA Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer have mad harsh criticisms of Gingrich and Co on the "welfare state" question since the election. These media, for all of Rush Limbaugh's talk about them being nests of liberalism, have for a long time been mouthpieces for powerful sections of big business. These interests must be fearful of the social consequences of abandoning Keynes, or perhaps they have longer memories and recall the social cataclysms of the thirties that the New Deal was designed to forestall. But the public, including the working class, will not be won to support tax increases if they aren't getting wage increases, which they are not. To win the "traditional coalition" back means doing some things that big business liberalism is not inclined to do even under pressure and never initiate: liberalize worker self organization restraints. So I believe the Democrats will be forced to wait inthe wings for the Republican juggernaut to pass or become exposed again. If disaster looms, they will not be able to prevent it. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: the Democrats are dead?
I keep thinking that one day the Dems will wake up, but every time I turn on the news and hear them talking, the words coming out of their mouths convince me otherwise. It's hard not to feel a sense of despair about all of this. The only way I can think of to move the Dems is to convince them that they could win power by appealing to the folks who were not voting this past election. The only way to convince them of that is to convince the nonvoters that it is worthwhile making the Dems think they damn well will vote next time. Otherwise, the Dems are jsut going to keep scrabbling after the same folks the Reps are, and the Reps are so much better at being Republicans and appealing to those folks. How do you make people shake of cynicism and despair and get active? I do not support the value of the immiseration of the masses, but it may be that the Reps will gore enough oxes (a la the reaction to Prop.187 by those potentially harmed by it here in California) that they will decide to act. Having lots of school kids rise up and protest is heartening. They've been willing to be outraged once and to dream of better things - maybe there is a chance. It would also be awfully nice to have someone in the Democratic party who has vision and can communicate a vision of society to the US. That would take imagination, guts, "a song to sing," etc. etc. Yeah, there's no hope. Ellen J. Dannin California Western School of Law 225 Cedar Street San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 619-525-1449 Fax:619-696-
Re: the Democrats are dead?
On Wed, 30 Nov 1994, HEATHER GROB wrote: Doesn't anyone think that this time will give the Dems a chance to revitalize, especially if some common ground is found among public interest groups? No. They'll keep doing dumb stuff, lunge for the center-right, and marginalize themselves further. They've got a fundamental problem: financed by a wing of the bourgeoisie, they nonetheless need the votes of what used to be called the working class. To please their paymasters they must continually alienate their base. The Republicans may face such a contradiction, with their advocacy of free trade and their dependence on the vote of working class white men, but so far they've been able to paper over this issue through appeals to bigotry. Environmental and health and safety issues would be rather important to this aim. Yeah. But the paymasters won't like that. Doug Doug Henwood [[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Left Business Observer 212-874-4020 (voice) 212-874-3137 (fax)
