A comment that applies for this moment, from 1896:

[Ken Burch]

“There are two ideas of government,” William Jennings Bryan declared in his 1896 “Cross of Gold” speech. “There are those who believe that if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them.”

(And yes, I post that acknowledging that William Jennings Bryan was a sexist and a white supremacist. We can acknowledge the truth in THIS quote without giving approval to the worst of what Bryan was about).

This is a moment when we need to blend an identification with the non-wealthy vast majority with a commitment to fight bigotry and social oppression in ALL forms.

[Angry Dragon]

1. not every man is totally bad

[trof]

2. "sexist and a white supremacist" Who WASN'T back then?

I can't see how it helps to judge past actions and attitudes by today's accepted standards.

[Ken Burch]

4. I chose to say that because, in addition to being a true thing about the guy...

...there will immediately be some people jumping in to raise those points about Bryan as an argument for disregarding the validity of his point here.

Yes, Bryan was a bigot. No, it doesn't discredit what he is saying on this.

[guillaumeb]

3. Recommended.

No one is perfect. ( I am very close, but even I have my tiny faults.)

But the idea that wealth will somehow "trickle down" has never been seen in US economic history. The rich only respect power, and unorganized workers rarely have power.

Unions are the answer, and worker participation in the voting process.

[Ken Burch]

5. True.

We just need a larger concept of "those below" than Bryan himself had.

[NCTraveler]

6. Tom Perez seems to be reaching out to all voters...

Highlighting how serious the Democrats are about the fifty state strategy, economic and social justice, and that our people already elected or on ballots are worth getting behind. I personally believe the fifty state strategy fits in that statement as it will be necessary to go from stepping in the right direction to leaping in the right direction. Big time important.

Donate today to help increase our chances of progress.

https://my.democrats.org/page/contribute/help-democrats-fight-back

[guillaumeb]

7. Great point. eom

[Ken Burch]

8. And I salute him for that.

Last edited Fri Dec 1, 2017, 08:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I like a lot of what Tom has done.

[jalan48]

9. Class politics is a winning strategy for the Democrats.

There are more poor and middle class voters than rich voters.