Democracy for New Mexico

What Is a Liberal?

At a time when the word "liberal" has been tarred and feathered by right-wing think tanks, media pundits, Red State Republicans and even the DLC wing of the DNC, I think it's a good idea to contemplate what the word really means. Here's what President John Kennedy had to say on the topic back in 1960:

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

But first, I would like to say what I understand the word "Liberal" to mean and explain in the process why I consider myself to be a "Liberal," and what it means in the presidential election of 1960.

In short, having set forth my view -- I hope for all time -- two nights ago in Houston, on the proper relationship between church and state, I want to take the opportunity to set forth my views on the proper relationship between the state and the citizen. This is my political credo:

I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves.

I believe also in the United States of America, in the promise that it contains and has contained throughout our history of producing a society so abundant and creative and so free and responsible that it cannot only fulfill the aspirations of its citizens, but serve equally well as a beacon for all mankind. I do not believe in a superstate. I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal bureaucracies in this administration as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them.

Our responsibility is not discharged by announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons that liberalism is our best and only hope in the world today. For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies. And the only basic issue in the 1960 campaign is whether our government will fall in a conservative rut and die there, or whether we will move ahead in the liberal spirit of daring, of breaking new ground, of doing in our generation what Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson did in their time of influence and responsibility.

Our liberalism has its roots in our diverse origins. Most of us are descended from that segment of the American population which was once called an immigrant minority. Today, along with our children and grandchildren, we do not feel minor. We feel proud of our origins and we are not second to any group in our sense of national purpose. For many years New York represented the new frontier to all those who came from the ends of the earth to find new opportunity and new freedom, generations of men and women who fled from the despotism of the czars, the horrors of the Nazis, the tyranny of hunger, who came here to the new frontier in the State of New York. These men and women, a living cross section of American history, indeed, a cross section of the entire world's history of pain and hope, made of this city not only a new world of opportunity, but a new world of the spirit as well.

Go ahead and read the entire speech.

How About a Little Recogntion for our Hosts

To honor our original hosts for feasts of thanksgiving, whether they celebrated with the Spanish explorers in the Southwest or the Pilgrims out East, here's a variety of Native American links:

News and Views by Native American Students can be found at Rez Net

Brown Chick is a more personal blog by a Native American student who writes: “Plea to liberal/cool white people: Please do not flee the country. I am Native American and do not have the option of moving to another country to escape Bush and his neonazi Republican minions. This, in the deepest sense possible, is my country. And so we need cool white people here more than ever. Please don't leave, please don't give up. Fight!!!!!!

Plea to Bush's neonazi Republican minions: Go back to where you came from. And if you're Native American, you need to have some sense bitchslapped into you. I will gladly oblige.”

Reflections of an Outlaw Indian Lawyer has an interesting story about Ronald Reagan who is, let us give thanks on this day of thanks, still dead.

Finally, check out Blue Corn Comic Books for some interesting art work and story lines.

(The above links and comments are courtesy of Atrios.)

For extensive information and links related to New Mexico's native tribes, check out New Mexico's Pueblo Indians, a website by San Juan Pueblo/Hopi native, Bernadett Charley Gallegos.

And we can't forget the Spanish thanksgiving feasters who preceded the Pilgrims by up to a half century. Click here to read about the various claims for the FIRST thanksgiving, from the banks of the Rio Grande to St. Augustine and Jacksonville, Florida.

Dress Your Turkey!

Click here to dress your turkey in style, courtesy of Mindshare.

And don't forget what's happening the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Check it out by clicking here.

Breaking News

Air America radio network is going to start broadcasting at KTRC 1260 AM in Santa Fe. According to Steve Terrell's website, "The network was supposed to begin airing on KTRC on Monday, but technical difficulties with satellite equipment delayed the debut until today or Wednesday, Sinton said."

Air America has been broadcasting on Albuquerque's KABQ 1350 AM for some months now.

DFACorps: Phone Cards for Veterans

From the Democracy for America :

Last week, we asked for your feedback on Democracy for America, as well as your ideas for the future of our organization. One suggestion that arose several times in the feedback thread was bringing back DeanCorps. We think this is a fantastic idea—DeanCorps was very well received during the campaign and it will help our local communities while once again demonstrating the power of the DFA grassroots community.

We're pleased to be able to introduce several DFACorps initiatives in the coming weeks. The first, culled directly from your suggestions, is to collect phone cards for wounded veterans spending the holidays in VA hospitals. These honored soldiers are often left without the means to make long-distance calls home to their families. These men and women have provided so much for us—it's a small gesture of thanks to offer them a voice at the other end of the line.

Democracy for America will be collecting phone cards from across the nation and distributing them to veterans hospitals in need. In addition, each phone card donation sent into the DFA offices will be matched by Democracy for America. Your $10 card will immediately become $20 worth of phone time! This is a great holiday activity for your local Meetup group to participate in. Please join in our effort to make this time brighter for an injured veteran. Send your phone cards (any denomination) to:

Democracy for America
PO Box 8313
Burlington, VT 05402

Note: Be careful which phone cards you buy. Some have very short life-spans once you start to use them. The Post Office sells cards that have a good reputation.

GAO Agrees to Investigate Election Irregularities

One for us. Press Release cited on Common Cause Blog:

(Washington, DC) Reps. John Conyers, Jr., Jerrold Nadler, Robert Wexler, Robert Scott, and Rush Holt announced today that, in response to their November 5 and 8 letters to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the GAO has decided to move forward with an investigation of election irregularities in the 2004 election. The five Members issued the following statement:

"We are pleased that the GAO has reviewed the concerns expressed in our letters and has found them of sufficient merit to warrant further investigation. On its own authority, the GAO will examine the security and accuracy of voting technologies, distribution and allocation of voting machines, and counting of provisional ballots. We are hopeful that GAO's non-partisan and expert analysis will get to the bottom of the flaws uncovered in the 2004 election. As part of this inquiry, we will provide copies of specific incident reports received in our offices, including more than 57,000 such complaints provided to the House Judiciary Committee.

"The core principle of any democracy is the consent of the governed. All Americans, no matter how they voted, need to have confidence that when they cast their ballot, their voice is heard."

The Members listed above were joined in requesting the non-partisan GAO investigation by Reps. Melvin Watt, John Olver, Bob Filner, Gregory Meeks, Barbara Lee, Tammy Baldwin, Louise Slaughter and George Miller.

Never Surrender

I'm gonna be wearing one of these bracelets and passing them out to my friends:

Click here to sign the Never Surrender pledge from Working Assets.

to make a donation to the . If you donate $25 or more to the Fund, they'll send you a ten-pack of Never Surrender bracelets at no cost to you. (To purchase additional bracelets click here.) One hundred percent of your tax deductible donation will go to groups fighting for our values including:

• Project Vote
• Public Campaign
• Planned Parenthood
• NARAL
• Free Press
• Media Matters for America
• The American Civil Liberties Union
• Alliance for Justice
• Natural Resources Defense Council
• Earthjustice
• Doctors Without Borders
• Oxfam
• Human Rights Watch

Early Christmas for Conservatives

From The Daily Outrage by Ari Bernman of The Nation Online:

In their massive year-end omnibus spending bill, Congressional Republicans replaced the holiday turkey with a heaping of pork. The $388 billion, fourteen pound, 1,000 page legislation overwhelmingly passed both houses of Congress, replete with 11,000 wasteful local , cuts to vital social services and handouts to the wealthy and religious right. Out of hundreds of items, The Daily Outrage selected the top five favors to big business and Christian conservatives.

1. Undermining Reproductive Rights: Rep. David Weldon (R-Fla) inserted an amendment--with no debate in either the House or Senate--allowing hospitals and insurers to refuse to , even in the case of rape or incest. The new provision applies the "conscience clause"--which allows churches to withhold abortions based on religious grounds--to secular hospitals, undermining both the spirit and law of Roe v. Wade. Any doctor can now deny a woman the right to choose, disregarding the Constitution in the process.

2. Slashing Education: As special interests charged ahead, underprivileged students--from pre school to college age--were left even further behind. Congressional Republicans underfunded President Bush's modest requests for special education by $481 million, No Child Left Behind by $398 million and Head Start by $103 million. Up to 100,000 college students, primarily from families making $35,000-40,000, will lose their financial aid benefits entirely. Under a new Department of Education aid formula, 1.2 million low-income students could face additional grant cuts in the coming year.

3. Harming the Environment: Congress authorized drilling in the protected Yukon Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, opened up the East Coast's largest undeveloped island for commercial exploration, and defeated an amendment eliminating for timber corporations. While slashing clean water spending by $242 million, Republicans allocated $1.7 billion for an unnecessary expansion on the Upper Mississippi River.

4. Privatizing the Government: Facing a rarely-invoked veto threat from the White House, at the last hour Congress dropped a bipartisan proposal--passed in two consecutive years--to place new restrictions on the Bush Administration's plan to privatize thousands of government jobs. Bush's "competitive sourcing initiative" actually prevents government workers from submitting their most competitive bids while exempting private contractors from having to outline the costs saved by privatization. According to the AFL-CIO, House Republicans inserted the Bush-approved language as the spending bill's second-to-last-item.

5. Boosting Outer Space: While presiding over deep cuts in education, environmental cleanup, foreign aid and HIV/AIDS funding, Tom DeLay dramatically increased the budget of NASA--located in the majority leader's backyard--by $16.2 billion, an astonishing $822 million increase from last year. If only they could've included a provision sending DeLay and his corporate cronies on a permanent test-run to outer space.

Vilsack Withdraws From DNC Chair Race - Rosenberg New Fave?

A summation from MyDD via Daily Kos:

Simon Rosenberg, who currently heads the New Democrat Network, is becoming the favorite to become the next chairman of the DNC. But the former Clintonite also has a strong following among "outside" Democrats--activists who came to the party via former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and other Internet voters who read the blogs. Rosenberg's straight talk about what the party needs to do has been remarkably consistent and his 527's effort to win Hispanic voters was more successful than expected. Also in his favor: He's a tireless fundraiser.

There's time on this (decisions not made until January), but it's interesting nonetheless to see Vilsack's momentum slow. 'From the roots' really doesn't mean 'status quo'. The hope is that the electors figure that out this time.

Update [2004-11-22 14:43:28 by DemFromCT]:
Timing is everything. Vilsack Won't Seek Chairmanship of DNC

DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said Monday that he will not seek the chairmanship of the Democratic Party. "These challenges and opportunities require more time than I felt I could share," Vilsack said in a statement. "As a result I will not be a candidate for DNC chairman."

Note: The MyDD piece also discusses strong support for Dean as expressed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Calif.) and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (Hawaii), and provides a link to a discussion among Democratic members of Congress about Dean's qualifications for the post from The Hill.

I think this quote from that discussion is one of the most glaring examples of what's wrong with the Dem Party I've seen lately. And that's saying someting:

Rep. Robert Matsui (D-Hawaii), a Gephardt supporter and current chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Dean represented too much of a gamble for the party. “We need someone who is part of the Democratic establishment. Someone who is more of a known quantity. It’s extremely important that we don’t go through a debate about ideology.”

Yeah, we wouldn't want some needless debate about ideology, now would we?

(Photo of Simon Rosenberg courtesy New Democrat Network.)

I Am a Reform Democrat

Note: This memo was submitted in the comments section of our blog but I think it merits its own topic. Comments? --BW

MEMO
TO: DNC MEMBERS
FROM: A REFORM DEMOCRAT
RE: MODERNIZING THE DNC

Over the next two months, you will be bombarded with suggestions on how you should vote when it comes time to decide the direction of the Democratic Party. As you consider who should lead our Party, please keep in mind the following observations:

Evaluating 2004
The Democratic Party did not "come close" to winning in 2004. This is a zero-sum game and we need to measure our position against that of the GOP. Democrats would have needed a 10 point across the board increase in support to have done as well as Republicans. True, Kerry came close to scraping together an electoral vote win, but Democrats did poorly and Kerry lost. We lost. We are in worse position than we were before the election. As Mayor Gavin Newsom is fond of saying, "Do what you've done and you'll get what you've got."

Choosing a new DNC Chair
When choosing a new leader for our Party, please make your choice based on your own decision of who will take the steps necessary to modernize the Party. We must have a full-time leader with the vision necessary to restructure our organization. We can't let our Party serve as a golden parachute for those who lost in 2004 -- we need the DNC staffed by the best and the brightest not the oldest and best connected. Our next Chair needs 100% dedication to the effort and must put the Party before any other concern. Recently there has been talk of a candidate running to protect his home state's antiquated primary tradition -- we can't afford to elect somebody with a conflict of interest and ulterior motives. We need reform.

Accountability
Only by deciding our goals and quantifying our methods can we determine what is working and what isn't. We need to hold programs and people accountable. We lost and we can't be afraid to fire losers. The campaigns of tomorrow are far different from the campaigns of a decade ago -- we need to evaluate individuals by their value in a modern campaign. The railroads didn't hire the fastest Pony Express riders; they hired people who made good railroad engineers. Campaigns have gone through a similar sea change and our Party's future depends upon intelligent reaction to the new rules of politics.

Reform
We are reforming our local central committees but we need your vote to reform the Democratic National Committee. We are waiting for systematic reform, but the Party needs the grassroots more than we need the Party. We want to win and we will support the best vehicles for victory. We would like to continue our support for the DNC, but we're also members of Democracy for America and Moveon and the New Democrat Network. If the Party won't stand up for us, we know they will. We know they were built as modern organizations and a far more efficient than the Democrat Party. DNC members need to elect a new Chair who can compete with DfA, Moveon, and NDN or the party will be relegated to only hosting the convention. We are Democrats and we don't want the most moderate or least controversial Chair, we want a leader. So lead us or we will follow the visionaries at the reform organizations.

For more information, read I am a Reform Democrat on Daily Kos, the , , Change for America or Democrat Blog Swarm.

If you have additional ideas on modernizing and reform the Democratic National Committee, please email me at bob.brigham [at] gmail.com. I am a Reform Democrat.