By

Nancy Bordier and Joseph M. Firestone

Overview

The two of us met recently at an AmericaSpeaks event in Fairfax, VA, on June 26th. We decided independently to attend the event, but for the same reason. We wanted to protest the undue attention being given the federal budget deficit compared to the far more critical need to restore job-creating economic growth. Increasing tax revenues by getting the unemployed into new jobs is a more effective way to reduce the deficit than self-defeating cuts in entitlement expenditures. We also wanted to protest the bias built into the event, which Joe later analyzed in a seven part series, The Procrustean Democracy of AmericaSpeaks.

After the AmericaSpeaks event, we discussed the problem of powerful special interests that mislead the public, distort U.S. priorities and deform public policies. A prime example is the billionaire deficit hawk who is advocating entitlement cuts and funded the event. We agreed that the increasing enfeeblement of the electorate is part of the problem. Voters’ influence over the agendas of the Democratic and Republican parties and their elected representatives grows weaker as the influence of the business and financial interests that finance the parties and the campaigns of their candidates grows stronger.

Corporate-funded mainstream media have joined forces with the compromised parties and their elected representatives to put special interest priorities in the limelight, and create a political climate conducive to the enactment of public policies they favor, to the detriment of the public interest. Governing officials who should be protecting the American people from predatory special interests have joined forces with them to further their depredations.

More info on the new progressive ‘One Nation’ coalition and a liberals’ Oct. 2 March on Washington

I went to a meeting, today (very late, unfortunately), and it was much larger than the previous one. The people were positive, and if what I saw was typical, not only were they not the OFA shills that some armchair blog posters made them out to be, but most of their concerns seemed to be the same as those of the armchair critics.

Further analysis of the Coffee Party movement following March 13 meeting in Washington, D.C.

For a different perspective on a Coffee Party meeting held in New York City, please check out akopsa’s recent post.

After spending two hours at a Coffee Party kick-off event, I still don’t know what they are about, but then again, neither do they.

Stumbling from infancy to toddlerhood, The Coffee Party held more than 350 meetings of local chapters around the United States on Saturday.

I attended a “Coffee Party” yesterday and have some thoughts.

Many people including myself have expressed dissatisfaction with the coffee party because of its apparent centrism and vague focus on civility. Let’s create a more progressive focused version.

Interview with Coffee Party founder Annabel Park for Democratize the Progressive Movement blog

Could the Democratic Party itself have done a better job at choreographing a populist-free “grass routes movement”?