NP - US false political dichotomy

[matthew cissell]

Howdy folks,

I try not to use this chat for things other than TP and related (tech.,
etc.) content. However, I have to put this out there. It goes out to fellow
US voters.

Let me put some frame on this. I was born in western KY in 1972 and raised
in small towns in southern and central IL. That means I grew up with
Reagan. I lived the changing fortunes of what is now the Rust Belt. Small
family farms got sold and auctioned off. The town I moved to in 1980 had
one prison when I arrived and 2 when I left 12 years later. (Jobs. And
faithful GOP voters.) The factories that had been good jobs are now gone;
first they shifted south to the Sun Belt (right-to-work laws and less
environmental enforcement) and then went overseas. My hometown is like
many. Despair is as plentiful as the crack, speed or fentanyl.
   My first real job was detasseling corn at 13; it's hard hot work and I
was not very good. My first union job was working at the bottle factory,
which was one of the best paying jobs with good benefits thanks to the
strong union. I was there when NAFTA was being voted on. I've worked many
jobs since then (like some of you on the list): forest work at the
university, a bakery, some franchise gigs, a genetics lab, freshman
composition teacher, and even some under the radar work. My day job now is
teaching English. I only get by because of my partner and the fact that I
do not reside in the US.
   I was happy to vote for the Dems in 1992, my first Presidential
election. Growing up with the GOP's vile and absurd "war on drugs" (that
they have never meant to finish) I was ready to vote for anything more
lenient. Later, after 8 years of George II (the Stupid) I was ecstatic with
the idea of an Afro-American President.
   But as Bob sings, "Things have changed." Cornel West says that Barack
punted on the second down, others note that he changed his economic
rhetoric and really didn't reorient the party from the direction it had
taken (thanks to Bill Clinton) which is to keep the Brahman class dems
happy and make noise on the narrow Venn diagram of topics they would fight
for. The liberal nationalists really don't differentiate themselves from
the GOP because they can't. We are then given a false dichotomy: vote for
the Dems if you don't like how things are going and if not - what are you
going to do?

The answer is to reject the false dichotomy. And the best way to do that is
to reject the present leadership of the DNC: Chuck Schumer and Hakeem
Jeffries do not deserve to lead voters that want a real change. But I'm
really aiming at Chuck. Do you know Chuck the Schmuck?

Charlie the Schmuck Schumer was born in 1950, just 3 years after my mom and
dad. In 1974 he was elected to the NY state Assembly and began his career.
He has been in politics ever since, climbing up the greasy pole. Let's be
clear. He has never worked a day in his life. He has never done anything
but make speeches (badly). According to Forbes he has a networth of 7
million dollars, but it could be more. He didn't inherit his wealth. He
hasn't generated it through hard work and entrepreneurial effort.  He
consults imaginary constituents (the Baileys) instead of listening to real
people. However, if the people of New York choose to vote for him, that's
their business. But he has no right to pretend to be some kind of leader
when his actions scream cowardice, capitulation and appeasement at every
turn. He's no leader, he's a spineless slug.

I have written to both of my Senators, one of whom is among the treacherous
8 that voted with the GOP for the Make Rich People Richer and starve the
Poor bill. I gave Dick Durbin the 2 barrels I can't literally give him. I
wrote to Senator Duckworth to urge her to move with others to have Schumer
removed from his position as Minority leader in the Senate.

The present DNC leadership will not change course. They see no need to do
so. Their logic is clear: as things get worse more people are likely to
vote for us because they have to. That means more status quo
non-leadership. And this is not about 53 yr old me or you. This is about my
15 year old daughter. Your young nieces and nephews. The children that have
not been born yet but are everyday more likely to live through a very
hellish lifescape while the fat old tech-bro paid-off politicians retire on
some island.

So, please write to your Senators and urge them to remove Charles Schumer
from his position.

Sincerely,
Matthew C. Cissell