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The Little Guy Against Big Money « Thread Started on Apr 28,

Daily newsbrief journal for April 2007, also see http://www.usdemocrats.com/brief for a global 100-page perpetual brief and follow twitter @usdemocrats


The Little Guy Against Big Money « Thread Started on Apr 28,

Postby admin » Sat Jan 28, 2012 11:41 am

The Little Guy Against Big Money « Thread Started on Apr 28, 2007, 11:39am » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------'98 Voters Were Standing Up For The Little Guy Against Big Money By Paul Wellstone "The Boston Globe"November 11, 1998 The following appeared in the November 11, 1998 edition of the Boston Globe. read at source> http://www.geocities.com/~demcrat/frame34.htmlIn every election the voters teach their lessons. Some elections, like those of 1980, 1986, and 1994, bring clear messages. Out of my home state of Minnesota, this election brings an important message that mainstream politicians will ignore at their peril and that is deeply rooted in our state's political tradition: Many voters yearn for populist voices, and they're willing to look outside the box to find them. Many voters have become so disillusioned with what they see as the conventional politics practiced by the major parties that they are willing to elect former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura to be the next governor of Minnesota, a state of nearly 5 million people with a long tradition of progressive government. While he won by capturing only 37 percent of all votes cast -- hardly an electoral mandate -- it is significant that his campaign captured the imagination of many voters with energy, humor, and a strong populist, antiestablishment message that drew heavily on themes of political reform. Many Americans feel left behind by a politics that doesn't take their concerns seriously. While I was very proud to have worked on behalf of my friend Skip Humphrey, an advocate for working families, it was Ventura who appeared to many disaffected voters to be the candidate who would fight on their side. It remains to be seen, however, what kind of populist he will be as governor. If he pushes forward a reform-minded agenda that is consistent with Minnesota's history and values, he will succeed. If he adopts a brand of ''populism'' that works against the interests of working families, he can expect a vigorous debate from populists like me. Across the country the Republicans in Congress missed a similar message. It's not enough for Congress to serve as the largest district attorney's office in the land. Congressional Republicans failed to show how they wanted to fight for the interest of working families. Democrats showed that they cared about things that matter to real people -- things like education, health care, and Social Security -- and they benefited as in no other midterm election of memory. The voters did not render a verdict on the impeachment investigation as such; exit polls show that they had kitchen table issues on their minds. But the relish and stridency with which Judge Starr and congressional Republicans went after President Clinton did remind voters about what they do care about. Voters remember the stridency of 1995. When Newt Gingrich, Dick Armey, and Tom DeLay snarled at the president, they reminded working family voters of the way congressional Republicans snarled at Medicare, the Department of Education, and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to elections analyst Curtis Gans, this year's election nationwide brought out only about 36 percent of those eligible to vote. Bucking that trend, turnout was higher in Minnesota and at least 10 other states than it was in 1994. Among these states were states with hot gubernatorial races like Alabama and Maryland and with hot senatorial races like North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Notably, with the higher turnouts in these last five states the Democrats won the close ones. Ventura rode that wave, too, turning out disaffected voters -- many first-time voters -- who thought he would best represent their interests. Minnesota's campaign finance system, which helps level the playing field by imposing spending limits and offering candidates public financing, also played an important role in Ventura's victory. With Ventura -- and even more directly with Senator Russ Feingold in neighboring Wisconsin -- voters voted for candidates that they knew were not backed by the same set of investors that typically back mainstream candidates. They were outspent, but they still won. The big money that finances most elections these days leaves the majority of working people with the short end of the stick. That is one message that rings true across the nation and is one reason why clean elections referendums won this year, including in Massachusetts. Government financed by this big money gives us a government that, as a favor to giant health insurance companies, blocked sensible protections for patients. As a favor to big tobacco conglomerates, it blocked efforts to reduce teen smoking. As a favor to large agribusiness, it pushed through a ''freedom to farm'' bill that has actually spelled freedom to fail for family-sized farms. And as a favor to Wall Street, it wants to privatize Social Security. As a favor to the American people, we need more strong, authentic populist candidates to fight back against big money and their friends in Congress and focus on the kitchen table issues central to the lives of working families. That's one lesson that the voters of this year's election were trying to teach us. Only time will tell if the politicians -- even Governor Ventura -- learned it.
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