New York Governor Kathy Hochul Wants People To Believe In Their Government Again

[Eric the Green]

(08-27-2021, 08:18 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(08-26-2021, 02:36 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:

(08-26-2021, 04:55 AM)David Horn Wrote:

(08-25-2021, 12:11 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Yes, although the "libertarian approach to economics" and worship of "personal initiative" is part and parcel of "well serves the rich and powerful", and those "pandering to mass anger and mass superstition" ALSO even-more do the former (called neo-liberalism or free-market economics, trickle-down economics, social darwinism etc.). It's a complete package, each aspect bound up with the other, and the libertarian economics aspect is just as nefarious as the mass superstition aspect. Both aspects must be defeated now after 40 years of regression, or our nation and our world is headed for destruction.

And that's the problem that must be solved; one that probably can't be without a mass change of heart.  Note: the SJWs are making that much harder by giving practitioners of this philosophy plenty of ammunition to oppose change and, more to the point, reinforce the false values that need changing. The ideas of freedom to succeed and personal responsibility are essentially good.  They're part of the core beliefs of the nation.  Unfortunately, they've been easy to use for perverse purposes by the cynical and powerful.  We have billionaires building their own personal rocketships, and the public cheers them on.  Changing that will be a challenge.

I agree, although I note that the neo-liberal/prejudice practitioners no longer have the support of a tenuous majority of the American public, as shown by a 7 million vote loss in the general election popular vote, so they are seeking to maintain power through the state and federal gerrymandering still in place that followed the disaster on Nov.2, 2010, and through the Courts which they have managed to appoint through Sen. McConnell and the electoral college. It won't take a whole lot of hearts to change in order to move the political levers and shake the neo-liberals out of power, but given the systemic political power they have inherited, including a few compliant Democratic moderates, it will be tough.

I suspect the main hearts in need of arousal will be hearts of young millennials which have already been changed, but which need to assume their civic virtue enough to vote in midterm elections. Not to mention enough in sunny, glamorous, hispanic California to vote NO in the current recall election.

The hardest issue to overcome is the built-in conservative structure of our system -- especially at the Federal level.  As long as Wyoming has the same number of Senators as California, change at the fundamental level will be impossible.  Break California into 10 states (fully legal to do that) and do the same with other large states, then there may be a fighting chance.

Well, we'll need to accomplish lots of things with our government before anything like that ever happens.

I don't think breaking up CA would work anyway, since a few of those pieces would be right-wing. There are Republican rural areas in big states.

I think a few changes will push the levers and shift our system. But it will depend on millennials voting, so that the Democrats win midterms. That's the biggest and the tallest order, but a possible one. If Democrats can get enough of a majority that can get us past Sinema and Manchin, then the filibuster can be reduced or eliminated for a while, even as an emergency measure, since that's where we are; in full-scale emergency right now and for the foreseeable future. Maybe these 2 laggards can be persuaded to remove it for the voting rights acts. We need their support in ending the use of the filibuster on constitutional measures. If somehow this reform can be done, then Puerto Rico can be admitted as a state and DC can be given 2 senators and a representative. The systemic Republican advantage in the Senate and electoral college would then be evened out. It's not that big when you consider that it's already close to even, even with all the rural small Republican states; and a few former red states now shifting blue. The Democrats have some small states too. Adding a few Democratic small states would work better than breaking up big states. Right now, Democratic strength in the cities are what carries these "big states." Texas still has a ways to go to turn blue. But already most of their big cities are ever-more strongly Democratic, and liberal Austin is growing fast. I think Fort Worth is the only red Texas big city left.

Gerrymandering needs to go. The voters favor this, and it's part of the For the People Act. Gerrymandering is how Republicans can take away democracy these days on the state level. The final hurdle may be the Courts. If the Supreme Court enforces the removal of democracy, by for example allowing legislatures to change election outcomes, then 4 additional seats or some other reform will be needed. Again, removal of democracy is a 4th-turning emergency, and we need to oppose it by any means workable and necessary. Further reforms have been introduced in the For the People Act that are just what I predicted would be made in the 2020s. It needs to be passed as soon as possible.