2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: I'm not a NEW DEMOCRAT-are you? Some history about the NEW DEMOCRATS is needed. [View all]Overseas
(12,121 posts)When they were doing Welfare Reform because there was some fraud in the system it seemed so cruel to hurt the 90% who legitimately needed help.
We knew the optimistic language about NAFTA was misleading. They said they'd be raising wages in other countries and bringing their environmental standards up to ours. They called those against NAFTA old fashioned, lacking understanding of the global economy.
They also pretended privatization of government services would reduce corruption and make them more efficient. The opposite has happened and I hope we can de-privatize military services and our prison system and our for-profit healthcare system.
I am more of a New Deal Democrat and was hoping we would push for FDR's Second Bill of Rights. And strengthen union power after Reagan had crushed it.
I voted for President Obama instead of Hillary last time because during the campaign he sounded like he would support our unions, push for Medicare for All, and bring us out of the Bush Wars.
I thought the Bush Crash provided a great opportunity to push for Medicare for All because at least then people devastated by financial losses and the ailing economy would not have to face medical bankruptcies. And I was between jobs at the time and went out there with protesters, as we'd been advised, to "make him do it" calling for single payer.
I voted for Bernie in our primary because we need much more dramatic change than New Democrats have offered. We need radical action on climate change. We need Medicare for All quickly because we have needed it since NAFTA and with climate change bringing in more problems.
I remember hating that "New Democrat" term at the time. Making a show of reducing the size of government to appease Republicans just fit into their propaganda that government was bad. Instead of going New Deal and showing how our taxes could benefit all of us with universal healthcare, stronger public education and free public universities and government services accountable to the people, not private profit. And stronger unions to support unions to protect us against the income inequality that pro-corporate policies create.