We are the majority!

I think the information below is important, and it was starting to slip away from me.  So, I put it back on my blog.  Mainly so I can find this list again myself.  Its important and I like to refer to it.

The right-wingers and the corporate media go to great efforts to try to convince the left that we are a weak and powerless minority.  But, anyone who pays attention knows that right-wing policies are only supported by about 20-25% of the population.  There's the core of Limbaugh listeners and Palin partisans, but they aren't anywhere near a majority.

What's the majority in America?  That's why I wanted to bring back this data published in Yes! Magazine in August 2008.

The majority of Americans are far to the left of the pro-war, pro-corporate, conservative Democratic Party.  Far to the left.  And, after accomplishing only a few of these tasks that a great majority of Americans supported in 2008, the Democrats are now scratching their heads wondering why their popularity is dropping and why they might lose these midterm elections.  Read these poll numbers, and you'll understand why Obama's pro-war, pro-wall street policies are not popular.

from http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/purple-america/our-own-agenda-economy#economy
67% Favor public works projects to create jobs.
55% Favor expanding unemployment benefits.
73% Say corporations don’t pay a fair share of taxes.
76% Support tax cuts for lower- and middle-income people.
71% Say unions help their members; 53% say unions help the economy in general.
80% Support increasing the federal minimum wage.
59% Favor guaranteeing two weeks or more of paid vacation.
75% Want to limit rate increases on adjustable-rate mortgages.
64% Are not confident that life for our children’s generation will be better than it has been for us.
65% Believe same-sex couples should be allowed to marry or form civil unions.
70% Support restoring habeas corpus rights for detainees at Guantanamo.
58% Believe a court warrant should be required to listen to the telephone calls of people in the U.S.
59% Would like the next president to do more to protect civil liberties.
68% Believe the president should not act alone to fight terrorism without the checks and balances of the courts or Congress.
79% Favor mandatory controls on greenhouse gas emissions.
76% Believe that oil is running out
and a major effort is needed to replace it.
90% Favor higher auto fuel efficiency standards.
75% Favor clean electricity, even with higher rates.
72% Support more funding for mass transit.
73%  Believe our health care system is in crisis or has “major problems.”
64%  Believe the government should provide national health insurance coverage for all Americans, even if it would raise taxes.
55% Favor one health insurance program covering all Americans, administered by the government, and paid for by taxpayers.
69% Believe the government should make it easier to buy prescription drugs from other countries.
81% Oppose torture and support following the Geneva Conventions.
76% Say the U.S. should not play the role of global police.
79% Say the U.N. should be strengthened.
73% Favor abolishing nuclear weapons, with verification. 80% favor banning weapons in space.
85% Say that the U.S. should not initiate military action without support from allies.
63% Want U.S. forces home from Iraq within a year.
47% Favor using diplomacy with Iran. 7% favor military action.
57% Say going to war in Iraq was the wrong decision.
67% Believe we should use diplomatic and economic means to fight terrorism, rather than the military.
86% Say big companies have too much power.
74% Favor voluntary public financing of campaigns.
66% Believe intentional acts are likely to cause significant voting machines errors.
80% Say ex-felons should have their voting rights restored.
65% Believe attacking social problems is a better cure for crime than more law enforcement.
87% Support rehabilitation rather than a “punishment-only” system.
81% Say job training is “very important” for reintegrating people leaving prison. 79% say drug treatment is very important.
56% Believe NAFTA should be renegotiated.
64% Believe that on the whole, immigration is good for the country.
80% Favor allowing undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. to stay and apply for citizenship if they have a job and pay back taxes.

Some things never change ....

May 1, 2003

"In the images of celebrating Iraqis we have also seen the ageless appeal of human freedom. Decades of lies and intimidation could not make the Iraqi people love their oppressors or desire their own enslavement."

Yep, he really said that as a part of this speech.

Aug. 31, 2010

This completes a transition to Iraqi responsibility for their own security. U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's cities last summer, and Iraqi forces have moved into the lead with considerable skill and commitment to their fellow citizens. Even as Iraq continues to suffer terrorist attacks, security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began.

Well, at least he has enough sense not to commandeer an aircraft carrier and stand in front of a giant banner.





Sept 5, 2010

American officials say that U.S. troops helped repel a complex attack by a group of heavily armed militants against a Baghdad military headquarters.
The fighting comes five days after the U.S. said it formally ended combat operations in Iraq.
A U.S. military spokesman said the Americans helped provide suppressive fire Sunday while Iraqi Army soldiers located two terrorists who had entered the compound.
Twelve people were killed in the attack. None of them were Americans.  Lt. Col. Eric Bloom also said the Iraqi military asked for support from helicopters, drones and explosives experts.

 Yeah, we turned over security.  The Iraqi Army can't defend one of its headquaters in the middle of Baghdad without calling on the US army.  Two, count em' two terrorists apparently got inside, and the Iraqi Army couldn't deal with it without calling in 'suprressive fire', and 'support from helicopters, drones and explosive experts'.  That's not really the fault of the Iraqi Army.  They were originally designed as a force that couldn't operate without US support. 

Oh, and if you thought that electing the Democrats would get us out of Iraq anytime soon ....

The United States likely will need to keep thousands of troops in Iraq beyond 2011 to keep a lid on sectarian tensions and to bolster Baghdad's fledgling military, experts and former officers say.
American officials privately acknowledge that the US military presence in Iraq will almost certainly be extended, even though a security agreement in force requires all US forces to depart by the end of 2011.

So tell me, exactly which names on an American ballot do oppose the war?  An American voter gets a 'choice' between a pro-war Republican who openly says these wars are fantastic, and a pro-war Democrat who says these wars are awful, but still continues the wars on the same path as the Republicans.


Here was a statement from Bush on how he saw the future of the Iraq War.
"

George W. Bush, MBA, 43rd US President, in a Nov. 30, 2005 speech titled "Remarks on the War On Terror" in Annapolis, MD, stated:

"My commanders tell me that as Iraqi forces become more capable, the mission of our forces in Iraq will continue to change... We will increasingly move out of Iraqi cities, reduce the number of bases from which we operate, and conduct fewer patrols and convoys. As the Iraqi forces gain experience and the political process advances, we will be able to decrease our troop levels in Iraq without losing our capability to defeat the terrorists."

Now, for all the hot air from Obama and the Democrats about how they oppose these wars, does it really sound like anything has changed with their election?  Aren't Obama and the Democrats still running Bush's plan to the end?

And remember, for all their talk about ending the Iraq war, all they really did was to send the troops over to Afghanistan.


Turns out they promised a change we could not believe in. 





So, what's next.  Electing Republicans won't stop these wars.  And obviously, neither will electing Democrats