We have a serious problem

[sadoldgirl]

imo. Bernie wants us all to participate in the
experiment called democracy. Great, I agree, but
I don't want another President, who is somewhat
powerless against the Congress.

Take my state (CO), my Rep is okay, but the one
Dem Senator is a Third Way one. For instance he
will sign on to Fast Track. There is no primary,
nobody is contesting his run, except for the
Repugs.

Many states have these kinds of problems, which leaves
us in the dilemma of a centrist-conservative Congress
again. For myself, I consider voting green for that
Senate seat, but am not totally sure of that.

Bernie is on the national platform, so what are we
supposed to do about Congress and state offices?

[peacebird]

1. Primary all turd wayers, & stand progressives against all republicans for starters.

[fizzgig]

2. i wish someone would primary bennet from the left

but i don't know enough about state politics to even come up with a name.

who's your rep? i'm in polis' district and am pissed at him about the tpp.

[sadoldgirl]

4. Denver has DeGette,

who is reasonably left.

Yes, about Polis. He is rich and is left for
social problems, but not for economic ones.

[fizzgig]

7. i may be disappointed in him, but it beats being in the fourth

yeah, we had a blue dog for a term, but musgrave was my rep for years and gardner was mine before we were redistritcted into the 2nd CD. ken buck, the current rep for that district makes me

[daleanime]

3. Occupy....

the Democratic Party.

[sadoldgirl]

5. That is so easy to say.

The party apparatus has the power, and there are no
fresh new left people offering to run.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

6. Bernie has an answer.

Katie Couric asked almost the exact same question. Bernie responded that he wants a revolution. What he means by that is AFTER he is inaugurated and begins to push his programs in Congress, he wants a million young people to march on Washington and demand his program be accepted. He wants millions of people to rise up after the election, like Occupy Wall Street on steroids, only he wants the focus to be Washington. Nothing short of a populist uprising will turn this country around and that's exactly what he wants.

[sadoldgirl]

9. Sounds great, but

we are talking about the states and their entrenched
Dem. party.
Besides, with so much unemployment in the younger
generation how will they afford a trip to DC for instance?
I know several who would love to do that, but will not
be able to do that.
We have to think in very practical terms here.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

11. Bernie is focused first on getting into the White House.

Obviously, getting a million young people to Washington will take a tremendous amount of organizing. Funds will have to be raised, buses will have to be charted, etc. But that is doable. The WWI veterans were broke in 1932 yet they managed to get to DC in such numbers that Hoover had MacArthur attack their encampments. Many black people were broke in 1963, but they came to the capitol in droves for that historic rally. It can be done.

If we follow Bernie's lead, turning this into a movement, we can succeed at the national level. What would have happened to the Occupy movement if it had not been crushed by police state tactics?

As to the state and Congressional level, part of that problem will be self-solved by victory in Washington. Just as the Tea Party intimidated the GOP establishment into leaning farther right, our movement can have that effect in the opposite direction. After 35 years of Reaganism, changing history won't be easy, but I believe Bernie has provided a blueprint.

[Dustlawyer]

14. He needs millions and millions of supporters to pressure D.C. Into doing what we want!

This is how it has to be unless we suddenly have lots of viable candidates the believe as Bernie does (hint, less likely to happen that getting millions of us to fight for what we believe in)! It is our job to take back our Democracy, always has been. We let them corrupt our system and stood more or less, passively by and allowed it to happen.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

15. +1,000 n/t

n/t

[arcane1]

8. That's the hard work he talks about. We need to work from our Congress to our city halls.

Presidential election seasons tend to distract from these all-important local elections.

[eridani]

10. That problem is due to too many progressives opting out of local politics

The pipeline for higher office needs to be filled with experienced city and county council members, water and sewer commissioners, school board members, etc.

[sadoldgirl]

12. You are quite right, and now

a lot of them (include myself) are too old for those
starting jobs.
I am just afraid, that in a way, we repeat 2008, except
that Bernie is not a centrist. Once he should be in office
people go back to their old routine and expect all kinds
of miracles from him.
It needs the young generation to sacrifice and hold those
simple offices and rise from there.

[RobertEarl]

13. Last time I called congress >2008

After that it was like: won't matter

Put Bernie in office and it will matter. I'll be calling all the time in support of the Bern!