Re: “What Is the New Populism?” by Robert Borosage
To Portside Editors:
Doesn’t the “New Populism” need and deserve a new political party to achieve its goals? Like, say, a party called…the Populist Party?
That sounds like a good idea to me. After all, why should we expect the Democratic Party to pass Populist legislation? The Democrats sold out organized labor on NAFTA in the ‘90s, caved in to the Bush administration on the illegal invasion of Iraq in the ‘00s, and joined the Republicans in bailing out the big bankers who caused the Crash of 2008. Why would any sensible Populist trust them?
Yet it is not so much what Robert Borosage includes in his speech that makes me so doubtful about his message, but rather what he leaves out. He doesn’t mention proposals that are certain to be crucially important to Populists.
For example, he doesn’t say a word about Single-Payer national health insurance. He says nothing about repealing the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments, which would surely help millions of workers form unions to raise their standard of living. There’s nothing in his speech about a carbon tax to combat global warming, or about getting rid of NDAA Section 1021 and other attacks on traditional American guarantees of liberty. Yes, he does mention the initiative for a $15-an-hour minimum wage in Seattle. But that development is largely thanks to new city council member Kshama Sawant — who happens to be a Socialist, not a Democrat.
Let’s not get bamboozled by the phony-baloney Democrats (and Republicans) anymore. Go to www.populistclubofnewyork.wordpress.com to learn more.
Sincerely,
Jerry Kann 25-60 42nd St., #1F Astoria, NY 11103 JerryKann99@Yahoo.com
P.S. I am already a registered Populist and have been for years. In 2008, Ralph Nader ran on a Populist line here in New York, and I was happily one of the volunteers on that campaign. So it’s interesting to note that Borosages’s piece starts by identifying the problem in our country today: “Too few people control too much money and power…” This is almost a direct quote from Nader’s Green Party campaign for President in 2000.
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