Wayne O’Leary’s article [“The Two Populisms,” 9/1/18 TPP] brings to the forefront a major flaw in the US democratic process: the fact that our democratic process (a winner-take-all, non-proportional representation) makes it extremely difficult for third parties to be formed, or minority positions to be heard. Thus we are stuck with only the major parties’ views in almost all cases. In most other democracies, coalition governments need to be formed after elections, which give minority positions some voice — and power. Unless, of course, a minority position takes over one of our two major parties; which is what happened in the 2016 election. This is a fact; what should we, as progressives, do about this?
The best result would be to change our Constitution to be more democratic: a multi-party proportion, one such as the Scandinavian countries and many other European countries have; but this would be an almost impossible task, given the power of established institutions, which brings me to the crux of my argument, that although the forming of a third party (Progressive, Social Democratic, Green, etc.) might be the most obvious method to confront the political disaster we now have, it is not likely to work because of the biases of our two-party, winner-take-all system, which is too established to be changed. The only way we can possibly move forward within our current electoral system is from within the Democratic Party. Don’t get me wrong, I feel that the corporate Democrats are almost as bad as the Trumpers. They bring us a slow death through environmental disasters, endless war, a corporate-based economy, etc; rather than the swift death the Trumpers are giving us now.
As was seen in the 2016 election, the Trump right took over the GOP; the Progressive left came very close to overthrowing the corporate Democrats. Had we done so, Bernie would have won and we would have a totally different nation and world.
We must not demand a third party, as it would be almost impossible to form one that could survive, much less win an national election. We must focus our energies on the Democratic primaries and over-through the Democratic establishment!
Bob Bogner, Aspen, Colo.
If Gilbert and Sullivan could compose for the 2018 election cycle, perhaps they’d include something like my version of this Mikado song, “I’ve Got a Little List”:
The Voting Rights Amendment, now hanging by a thread,
Has let us purge our list.
We’re tight’ning up our list.
Our states no longer grovel for approval from the Feds.
We’ll modify our list,
To take you off the list.
There’s the guy with parking tickets who defaulted on his fees,
And Granny from the boonies who ain’t got photo ID.
There’s Bubba who took money for a bag of homegrown weed,
And So-and-So whose lawyer told him “Just accept that plea.”
There’s the brawler who adjusted someone’s features with his fist.
And they’ll none of ‘em be missed, they’ll none of ‘em be missed.
We’ll purge them off our list. We’ll purge them off our list.
And they never will be missed, they never will be missed.
No matter that you’ve satisfied your stretch of prison time,
We’re purged you from our list.
We’ve purged you from our list.
Our database will guarantee we’ll not forget your crime,
(Or restore you to the list).
We’ll keep you off the list.
Though sometimes pre-selection may depend upon your hue,
There’s little chance of hearing it exposed on evening news.
It’s so much more enjoyable to watch a playoff game.
We hardly think that genuine Americans will blame
Opinionated co-hosts for reporting gone amiss!
(Frankly) Facts will not be missed,
No, facts will not be missed.
Oh they never will be missed, they never will be missed.
So we’ll purge you off the list. We’ll purge you off our list.
Please organize your wallet, and be ready for our test —
It’s futile to resist.
We’ve trimmed our little list.
The Party of Small Government decided it is best
To purge you from our list.
We’ll take you off the list.
A swarm of “homeland” industries can rush to take your stash,
And sweep your private details into yet another cache.
It’s hard to criticize the war on “Rampant Voter Fraud.”
So get in line to suck it up for USA and God.
It’s just another road bump on the trip to righteous bliss.
And with luck, you’ll make the list.
With luck you’ll make the list.
But you never will be missed. You never will be missed,
If we purge you off our list, and keep you off our list.
Sandra Sheldon, Rochester, N.Y.
Much concern has been expressed in the media regarding the plight of millions of innocent civilians locked in Syria’s Idlib province with countless Jihadi rebels now being attacked by government forces and their allies. Syria is determined to reclaim its territory after a brutal civil war in which Turkey and the West have covertly supported these rebels to overthrow the secular Syrian state — a state which is sovereign, regardless of one’s opinion of that state.
Now, their moral bankruptcy of sustaining a metasticizing matrix of jihadist rebels that ultimately spawned ISIS is compounded by continuing the waver on alleviating the imminent threat to these desperate civilians. It is imperative that they accept responsibility and provide a safe evacuation corridor.
The only possible route, however, is through Turkey, which refuses to add to its already overwhelming refugee population from Syria and Iraq. Europe, a secondary destination, is reluctant to risk further social destabilization generated by previous Syrian influxes and North African refugees feeling the turmoil caused by NATO’s destruction of the Libyan state. The US has abandoned responsibility almost entirely and will certainly continue to do so.
As with the invasion of Iraq, the negative consequences of regime change were never fully calculated and, once again, the chickens have come to roost. The denouement of this horrific war is rapidly approaching. Who will break the stalemate and provide a coordinated relief effort to prevent the impending catastrophe?
Robert McCallister, Lantana, Fla.
At this point in the US there really is only one legitimate political party. With all its flaws and problems, that is the Democratic Party. There is no “Party of Lincoln,” if not the Democratic Party. If you consider yourself a socialist, progressive or green, you cane in the Democratic Party, despite some grumbling in certain quarters. Even anarchists (which literally means “no king” or “no leader”) can find a home with Democrats, which means “rule by the people.”
On the other side of that you have the whole mob of anti-democrats. They scoff at “human rights” and hate and fear democracy in any form. They flock to a single ruler, no matter how corrupt. They uphold and enable the institutional bastions of mostly white, mostly male power structures, which until now have dominated human society, and still continue to dominate.
They claim “the moral high ground,” but merely scratch the surface of that and you find nothing but complete hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy. And though relatively small in number, they are largely responsible for all the human suffering. For them, the formula is simple. They are better than you and therefore, they deserve as much as they want to have and control. I know that formula is entirely false, and hopefully, so do you.
Very soon, the citizens of the USA will have the opportunity to elect their representatives and decide many important issues. There are times when it is appropriate to debate nuances; this is not that time. If you have that opportunity, be aware that you are speaking on behalf of all those who, for whatever reason, do not; not only in the US, but everywhere in the world. Also, your vote is meaningful now, but will have reverberations far into the future. Right now, there is one basic question that needs to be answered: Do you want to live in a democracy, or not?
Mark Ivan, Calexico, Calif.
In the book, Impeachment: a Citizen’s Guide, Cass Sunstein, speaking of the Supreme Court, says, “Believers in active liberty (meaning active self-governance by We the People) would be especially suspicious of any restrictions on people’s right to vote. They would be inclined to think that any deviation from the idea of ‘one person, one vote’ should be invalidated. … They would want to strike down efforts to make it harder for people to register to vote.”
Speaking this way of the Supreme Court really stings. The GOP has been in radical violation of one person, one vote through gerrymandering, yet the Court has taken a pass. The GOP has suppressed the vote by totally partisan voter ID laws and obviously intentionally partisan voter list purges, yet the court rules as if they are proper. These rulings are destroying our democracy for the purpose of allowing corporations and the rich to rule. Is it any wonder our citizens feel our country is off track?
Lee Knohl, Evanston Ill.
Ever since our government ended the draft [in 1973], most of our young men and women in uniform are poor young whites, black refugees from the ghettos, and Latinos from the barrios, whose only escape from low-paid work or no work at all, is to serve as mercenaries in our interminable wars.
That monumental injustice can only be remedied, in my opinion, when all able-bodied young men and women (rich and poor alike, including those who hold scholarships) are summoned to serve their country.
As long as the offspring of the aristocracy keep going to college, while the poor keep dying and suffering war-related disabilities, our wars will go on and on.
But just wait … as soon as the children of CEO’s, judges and government officials begin coming home blind, mentally damaged or in coffins, their parents will see to it that our nation’s foreign military adventures come to a quick end.
David Quintero, Monrovia, Calif.
Thank you so much for the exposure of the poison in our oat cereal [Mark Anderson’s “Cancer-Causing Herbicide found in Breakfast Cereal,” 9/15/18 TPP]. We have been eating buckets of the stuff.
Tom McCartney, Eugene,Ore.
From The Progressive Populist, October 15, 2018
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