What DC Democrats Don't Get About Populism - and a Lot of America

[xchrom]

http://www.thenation.com/blog/179013/what-dc-democrats-dont-get-about-populism-and-lot-america

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Why aren’t nationally Democrats taking Weiland campaign to hold a Democratic seat more seriously?

“Why,” as the Washington-insider journal The Hill asked this week, “is South Dakota’s Rick Weiland getting (the) cold shoulder?”

As The Hill explains:

Rick Weiland will be the Democratic Senate nominee in South Dakota, but party leaders are less than thrilled about it.

Stuck with a candidate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has publicly trashed and a race the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee routinely leaves off its competitive list, the seat of retiring Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., now looks like a lost cause for Democrats who face an increasingly difficult map to hold onto the Senate.

Reid has been particularly dismissive of Weiland, bluntly declaring that the long-time aide to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, and former South Dakota director for the American Association of Retired People (AARP), was “not my choice.”

[djean111]

1. And THIS is why all the bullshit about just blindly voting for "D" jerseys hand-picked by the Third

Way and trusting that eventually things in DC will get better - the DNC/Third Way does not want progressives. And it is not just because they think progressives cannot win at all - it is because a progressive is, well progressive. Not what the DNC wants in Congress. And this is why all the exhortations to shut up and work for progressives locally ring hollow - at a national level, the DNC/Third Way is not going to back them unless forced to do so.
If we keep electing GOP-lite (more like GOP-hidden), what we will end up with is a Congress full of GOP. And being told hey, what's worse? or hey, thank goodness it is not Sarah Palin. Stuff like that.
I am thinking that it is not only the GOP who is nervous about a building Populist movement in America.

[Scuba]

2. +1

[closeupready]

3. The Third Way is an elitist Millionaire's Boys And Token Girls Club,

in my opinion.

[BuelahWitch]

5. Exactly!

Backstabbing assholes, they are!

[stillwaiting]

4. DC Democrats get it. DC Democrats don't "get it" for public consumption.

They are corrupted political ACTORS due to the legalized bribery that is allowed to occur in this country.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

We'll have to change what is legal in this country before we'll see DC Democrats get it AND try and work for those they supposedly represent.

And, yes, Democrats are still relatively better than Republicans, but that is not strong praise. At all.

Edited to add: The above is in reference to domestic and foreign ECONOMIC POLICY. Democrats are much better than Republicans on social policy and in dealing with foreign affairs. These two factors plus the relative degree to which Democrats are better than Republicans on economic policy make Democrats the easy choice when voting, but elected Democrats should take note: We are not pleased with your obvious corruption in implementing economic policies that favor Wall Street over Main Street. Not pleased at all.

[djean111]

6. Yes, and thank you for pointing this out.

Some DEMS just voted with the GOP to allow Duke and other companies to dump coal ash in streams and rivers.
And Dems are supposed to be better than GOPers? Not so much, any more.

Also, yes, social policy and economic and environmental policy should not be either/or, but this is how the DNC/Third Wayers frame them.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Try this on for size

As long as the rural economy stays healthy,we will only see these Blue Dog types running. As the population has shifted from rural to metro(by Corporate Design),notice how these states are controlled by members from conservative rural backgrounds with bigoted and hate filled Religious Bigotry. Seniority in mpolitics is a two edge sword and when people vote single issues shit happens.

South Dakota is great example of what happens if single issue politics take over. The Farmers and the Religious Taliban have formed a formidable alliance. Weiland would be a get Senator for Sodak,but,at this time it's going to take millions for him to get maybe 40%of the vote. These rural dominated states will only change when the Ag business goes bust again. There is another rural farm crisis coming with certain commodities dropping to replacement costs or even lower. Looks like it won't hit till after the 2014 election cycle. By Corporate Design,wake up folks,these blood suckers have been buying crop land like crazy. Special Tax Breaks.

[JoeyT]

8. They get it, they just don't want it.

They've got horrible visions of campaign contributions and cushy post "public service" jobs and speaking fees drying up and blowing away, and they want no part of it.

[WillyT]

9. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!