Justice Democrats

This is what I've been waiting for. This is the flower that grows from the manure that was this presidential election. I've already signed up, and donated money to the cause, and been meaning to post about this for a while because I want to get the word out.

Justice Democrats!!

https://justicedemocrats.com/



You can nominate anyone that you feel would be a great representative for the people. This person can have little to NO political background. The Justice Democrats vet all nominees to ensure they have no corporate interests, want to serve the people, and believe in the platform of the party. The person can be running for any government office from local to state level.

If the nominee passes the vetting process, the Justice Democrats fund their campaign and endorse the nominee for government office using funds raised through micro public donations to the Justice Democrats. The same method Bernie Sanders used to fund his campaign.


"A group of progressive journalists, former staffers for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and political organizers have launched Justice Democrats, a crowdfunded political action committee to remove and replace the corporate-aligned faction of the Democratic Party they say has led it to electoral disaster with the election of Republican President Donald Trump.

In a phone interview, "The Young Turks" host Cenk Uygur, a board member on the project, said the goal of Justice Democrats is to run hundreds of Democratic candidates in 2018 who do "not take corporate money and serve the voters rather than the donors," as well as "capture a significant amount of Congress with strong progressives" and "overpower the corporate Democrats."

Link

This is the platform for the Justice Democrats:

"PLATFORM

It’s time to face the facts: the Democratic Party is broken and the corporate, establishment wing of the party is responsible. Republicans now hold most state legislatures, most governorships, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency. It’s time to rebuild the Democratic party from scratch and make it represent the American people. This is our platform.

Pass a constitutional amendment to put an end to Washington corruption and bring about election reform. Super PACs should be banned, private donations to politicians and campaigns should be banned, and a clean public financing system should be implemented to end the takeover of our government by corporations and billionaires. Americans deserve free and fair elections — free from the corruption of big money donors. The Supreme Court has effectively legalized bribery. It’s time for an Article 5 convention to take our Democracy back from the brink of Oligarchy. Prior to passing this amendment, all Justice Democrats should reject billionaire and corporate donations when running for office to show the American people we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. Ranked choice voting should also be implemented to make smaller parties a viable option. All provisions of the Voting Rights Act should be reinstated, and gerrymandering for partisan gain should be eliminated.

Re-regulate Wall Street and hold white-collar criminals accountable. Despite engaging in systemic fraud and causing a subprime mortgage meltdown and the great recession, you can count the people from Wall Street who are in prison for their crimes on one hand. It’s time to prosecute the criminals, bring back Glass-Steagall, and re-regulate Wall Street to prevent another crash. Prison is not just for the poor and the middle class anymore. We will have cops on Wall Street, not just Main Street.

End billionaire and corporate tax dodging, fix the system to benefit middle-class and poor people. Corporations dodge $450 billion a year in taxes by using offshore tax havens. We should end this injustice, as well as chain the capital gains tax to the income tax, increase the estate tax, and implement the Buffet Rule so that no millionaire CEO pays less in taxes than his or her secretary. It’s time for a tax system that benefits the middle-class and the poor, and makes the top 1% and multinational corporations pay their fair share.

It’s time for an Article 5 convention to take our Democracy back from the brink of Oligarchy.

Defend free speech and expression. We support the right to express unpopular opinions without fear of censorship. We support free speech on college campuses. The marketplace of ideas should be embraced. A vibrant debate is healthy for democracy, and we should cherish our first amendment. We also support net neutrality for a free and open internet.

Oppose bigotry. We must speak out against racism, sexism, xenophobia, and all forms of bigotry. Non-discrimination protections that currently apply to race, religion, and gender should be expanded to include the LGBTQ community and the atheist community. Making all Americans equal is not asking for special privileges, it’s asking for the rule of law — justice and equality for all as outlined in the United States Constitution.

Make the minimum wage a living wage and tie it to inflation. This is about justice and basic human decency. If you work hard and you work full time you shouldn’t live in poverty. Furthermore, we support strong unions and collective bargaining.

Ensure universal healthcare as a right. The United States should catch up to every other modern nation and implement a single-payer, medicare-for-all system. There’s no reason we can’t be #1 in the world instead of #37. It’s time to end the destruction of American healthcare by rapacious, price gouging, for-profit, private health insurance middlemen.

Ensure universal education as a right. Educating the citizenry of a nation pays dividends in the long run, with the economy getting back much more than is initially put in. Crushing student debt for higher education would no longer burden young men and women trying to improve their lives through hard work. We should strive to have the best education system in the world.

End unnecessary wars and nation building. The United States maintains 800 military bases worldwide at a cost of $100 billion a year, this is money that can be spent at home creating jobs, rebuilding infrastructure, and investing in the future of the people. The disastrous war in Iraq cost trillions, the war in Afghanistan is 15 years in with no end in sight, and we’re currently bombing 7 different countries. We spend more on our military than the next 8 countries combined. Despite countless lives lost and destroyed, terrorism has only gotten worse. It’s time to end the wars and the perverse monetary-incentive structure that makes politicians flippant about sending young men and women to die. Unilateral U.S. military force should only be used as a last resort to defend the nation. The current budget could be cut drastically if we used our department of defense for what it was intended — defending us, instead of waging interventionist wars.

End the failed war on drugs. The goal is legalization, taxation, and regulation. Prohibition only makes drug cartels more powerful, increases crime, and makes drugs more dangerous due to lack of enforced safety standards. What you put in your body is your own business, and your right. A free society should allow individuals to make their own choices about their bodies. While most users are recreational and moderate, rehabilitation and treatment should be provided for people struggling with addiction. Additionally, those serving time for non-violent drug offenses should be pardoned.

Create the new new deal. Our infrastructure gets a grade of D from the Society of Civil Engineers. The government should invest trillions in rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, schools, levees, airports etc. There’s no reason why we can’t have the world’s #1 infrastructure.

Create the renewable energy revolution. Scientists are sounding the alarm on climate change. In order to avoid the worst case scenario and a dystopian future we need a massive green revolution. It’s time to drastically and immediately move away from fossil fuels and develop the technologies of the future. This will be a giant boon to both the private and public sector, as well as a necessary response to a global crisis. We can and we must be #1 in sustainable energy production in the world.

Block bad trade deals like the TPP and oppose outsourcing that will further damage the middle-class. As a result of NAFTA, CAFTA, PNTR with China and the WTO, Americans have lost millions of decent paying jobs. It’s time to end the race to the bottom and renegotiate these rigged deals that only benefit elites. We should not sacrifice our sovereignty, the only people who are allowed to make laws for the United States should be the American people, not multinational corporations.

End constitutional overreaches. Ban the NSA from bulk data-collection and warrantless spying. Shut down Guantanamo Bay and all extrajudicial prisons. Prosecute torturers and those who violated the Geneva Conventions, Nuremberg Tribunal, International law and US law. Return habeas corpus and due process. Pardon whistleblowers like Edward Snowden. We shouldn’t be leading from behind on human rights, we must be the home of liberty. We should practice the values we preach.

We will have cops on Wall Street, not just Main Street.

Ban arming human rights violators. We recently gave Saudi Arabia billions in weapons and watched the civilian death toll in their vicious bombing campaign in Yemen tick up. We continue sending Egypt arms as they violently crack down on peaceful protesters. Israel received $38 billion in aid and promptly announced new settlements. The first step to peace is not enabling nations who regularly violate international law. We must be bold enough to stand up to human rights violators who aren’t just our enemies, but our allies. We don’t weaken our allies by holding them accountable, we strengthen them.

Defend and protect women’s rights. We support the Paycheck Fairness Act. We oppose Republican cuts to Planned Parenthood and women’s health clinics all across the country. In 2016 alone, 60 TRAP laws targeting abortion were passed in 19 states. We will vigorously oppose all efforts to dismantle reproductive rights.

Ensure paid vacation time, sick time, family leave, childcare. The United States is one of just three countries in the world that doesn’t offer paid maternity leave, the others being Oman and Papua New Guinea. We are the only industrialized nation that doesn’t offer paid vacation time. This should be changed immediately.

Protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Republicans have been trying to privatize and cut earned benefit programs for decades. Corporate Democrats have been willing to go along with them under the guise of a ‘grand bargain’ and ‘reform’. We pledge to staunchly oppose this. Social Security reduced the elderly poverty rate from 35% to 10%. 3.4 million Americans would immediately fall into poverty without Medicaid. Gutting these vital programs is not an option.

Implement comprehensive immigration reform. We won’t give an inch in our opposition to Trump’s outrageous proposals. Ideas like a ‘total and complete’ shutdown of Muslim immigration and deporting all undocumented immigrants are anathema to America. We will fight for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. America is a proud nation of immigrants.

Enact police reform. We believe in the core idea of policing — to serve and protect the community. Police are a vital part of American society and that is why it’s so important to reform the system to make it serve all Americans. For-profit policing and for-profit prisons should be abolished. Police training should be retooled to emphasize deescalation tactics, and body cameras should be mandatory on all officers. Furthermore, community oversight boards should be created and broken windows policing should be eliminated. Stop & frisk — which disproportionately targets blacks and latinos 87% of the time — has a 97% failure rate. On top of being discriminatory and ineffective, it’s also unconstitutional and should be ended. Special prosecutors must also be appointed to hold police accountable.

Combat homelessness. More than 600,000 Americans are homeless on any given night, including over 57,000 veterans. Studies show the cost of leaving a homeless person on the streets is $30,000 while the cost of housing them is just $10,000. Addressing this crisis is both the moral and fiscally responsible thing to do.

Enact common-sense gun regulation. 92% of Americans want expanded background checks, 54% want a ban on assault weapons, and 54% want a ban on high capacity magazines. We agree with the majority of the American people and support these measures. Over 30,000 Americans die every year from gun violence, including over 10,000 homicides. The time to act is now to address this public health crisis.

Abolish the death penalty. Humans are fallible, we’ll never get the right answer 100% of the time. 4% of the people on death row are not guilty of a crime and have been wrongly convicted. A system that puts innocent people to death is indefensible and should be reformed. We want justice for the American people but killing innocent people on death row is the exact opposite.

These ideas represent what the Democratic Party was supposed to represent all along. Opinion polls in the United States demonstrate that these policy positions are overwhelmingly popular. Indeed, throughout the industrialized world these ideas are considered moderate. This is a movement about freedom and justice. And it’s a movement by and for working people. If the Democrats refuse to embrace this platform, they’ll continue to lose, either to Republicans or to us. The future of the Democratic party is the Justice wing, not the establishment wing."

 

That's quite an agenda.

a few thoughts:
- Mininum wage was never meant to be a livable wage, nor should it be. Minimum wage was what I made in high school pouring too much salt on the fries. I shouldn't be supporting a family on that. Why are we making part time jobs into full time "careers" ? We need real job training and real jobs. The flip side to a 4.8% unemployment is 95 million out of the workforce. That's what has to change. Jobs in the United States. Not the minimum wage rate.
- Defend Free Speech: I agree. But who is shutting it down? Democrats when they hear something they don't like. See U of Berkeley riots for example
- I wholeheartedly disagree on making drugs legal. Marijuana I'm on the fence on, but the reality is drugs destroy lives and not just the lives of those taking the drugs. Just because they can walk into CVS instead of visiting the local drug dealer doesn't change the trauma associated with self-medicating.
- Healthcare isn't a right and it's not free. Someone has to pay for it. If the answer is more taxes, I'm against it.
- The "Trump Muslim ban" is a false narrative. 90% of Muslims are free to enter the US and it was the Obama Admin that identified those 7 countries that Trump listed on a 90 day ban. 90 days..... It's not the end of the world.
- Trump already killed TPP.
- I agree with combating homelessness. Rare we hear any politician talk about that senseless problem.
- I'm also for abolishing the death penalty.

 

They're all progressive ideals. You're not going to agree with them all if you're not aprogressive person. Personally I agree with them all and will do everything I can to spread the word.

First and foremost amongst their ideals is no corporate funding PERIOD. Enacting a constitutional amendment to ensure this is absolutly the way to go, but until then, this is a great start. This is the single most important thing f***ing up every aspect of this country.

Also, the defense of free speech is pretty obviously targeted at liberals trying to shut it down as well. I love that. This platform is not the same as the typical liberal rhetoric. They know that free speech part will not be popular with a lot of liberals, but this isnt about popularity it's about principals.

 

I agree on the funding. Hillary spend 1.5 billion. That's just crazy.

 

Free speech is a basic tenant of the American way, yet it's become a joke. Lack of free speech leads to intolerance which leads to people retreating back into their echo chambers. But when we really boil it down, it's a societal problem of respect. Respect for our fellow man is at its lowest point since I've been alive. I know I disagree with Barnstable on a lot of political issues. I know he disagrees with me. But I enjoy talking about it with him because I know he's not going to blast me, nor am I going to blast him. Identity politics eliminates people from being friends before they can even get to know each other. I have several liberal friends; friends I've been close to for decades.

I think the problem though with this Justice Democrat thing is that there is still this need to be associated with "democrats." It's still a bit of the identity politics thing going on. If you are in such disagreement with the overwhelming majority of Democrats, break from the party and call yourself something different. It's not the party they were, just like the Republican party is unrecognizable. I don't consider myself a Republican anymore.

 

I would love it if they made a 3rd party instead, but honestly, it's not a viable option in the US right now, and probably won't be for a few generations. In the meantime, we can't allow this system of politicians being bought and sold to continue.

Justice Democrats is like the Tea Party of the Democratic Party, but hopefully will have a more lasting impact.

 

I guess. I personally just want to see all of them gone. D or R. Trump talked of draining the swamp, which NEEDS to be done, he just drained it and added back in similar pollutants to the ones he drained.

 

Banning lobbyist was a start. If we can get foreign governments out of donating to political parties / presidential elections, that would go a long way too. I also think their should be a cap on how much they can spend. Hillary spending $1.5 Billion is bonkers!!!

I love that the Dems are creating their own version of the TEA party -- something they mocked and labeled erroneously for a long time. But in the end, I applaud them for realizing their party is broken and needs change. GOP should hop on that too. Burn em both down and start over.

 

P.S. 60 members of Congress are self-described TEA Party members. 44 in the House and 16 in the Senate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Party_Caucus

But, some might identify as TEA Party, but I don't consider them to be, such as McCain and Sessions, to name a couple. Probably a lot more. But even if the list is dropped in half, 30 members in Congress is significant for a group that started just 8 years ago.

 

What Trump is doing is so much worse than having lobbyists.

He essentially just cut out the middle man, and now the President himself, and his highest administration officials gain personal enrichment from the departments they are running.

 

Not to mention the Nuclear Option / 60 vote count dropped down to 51 by Harry Reid. Dems loved it then. Now, not so much.

 

I don't understand how the conversation changed from Lobbysits, to Executive Orders.

 

McCain identifying as Tea Party. McCain is a joke. He says anything that will get him a round of applause from the crowd he's surrounded by. I don't know if he's a Democrat, Republican, McCainican? My uncle flew with him in the military. Him and his buddies talk about how dumbfounded they are that he made it to where he has. Evidently he's as dumb as a rock.

 

I didn't bring up the general topic of overuse of power, I brought up the very specific topic of corruption from lobbyists and conflicts of interest. I'm not defending the use of EO's but those are not even a bit equivalent, similar, or related. Our president having a vested interest in the North Dakota Pipeline and then signing EO that would personally enrich himself or his family is unprecedented, and a hell of a lot worse than even corporate lobbyists (which IMO, are the single biggest problem in politics).

 

http://www.snopes.com/does-donald-trump-own-a-stake-in-the-dakota-access-pipeline/

I'm not a big fan of Snopes, but they say it's unproven and that he sold his stock. Additionally, he owns stock in many companies, such as Apple, that he criticized on the campaign trail.

Having said that, I believe his business interests and the possibility of profit / conflict of interest will be his undoing.

Sorry for getting us off topic. But wanted to add that.

 

That as just an example, because honestly, I can't even keep up with all the conflicts of interest he, his family and his administration are being accused of.

It's like Cosby, one or two accusations, they might be lying... but 70+? There's probably a fire there.