[mpen-dayton4] Greater Miami Valley Local Events & News

FYI.   Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
P.P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
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·         (Apr. 29) FW: REMINDER: Join Racial Justice NOW! at the HRC Colloquium

·         (Apr. 30) FW: My Beautiful Baby Stroll In - for Moms, Dads, Caregivers & Moms/Dads to Be

·         (May 1)   FW: Please join the Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton

·         (May 7)   FW: Peace Bridge Walk

·         (May 14) FW: Bike Rodeo

·         (May 15) FW: Talk on Non-Violent Resistance in Palestine

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From: Zakiya Sankara-Jabar
Subject: [REMINDER: Join Racial Justice NOW! at the HRC Colloquium-

The Human Rights Center cordially invites you to our last colloquium of the semester. In what promises to be an informative and lively event, we will be discussing grassroots human rights organizing here at home. Please join us - we look forward to discussing this topic with you!

April 29th, 3:30-5:00pm

Marianist Hall, Suite 217
University of Dayton

 

 

From: Cheryl Scroggins
Subject: My Beautiful Baby Stroll In - for Moms, Dads, Caregivers & Moms/Dads to Be

"MY BEAUTIFUL BABY STROLL IN"  –  FOR MOMS, DADS,
CAREGIVERS, GRANDMAS & GRAND DADS, AND MOTHERS & FATHERS-TO-BE

The purpose of event is to raise community awareness about health disparities, the causes of infant mortality, and strategies to prevent infant deaths.

There will be free health screenings and a video presentation of "Unnatural Causes, As the Bough Breaks". Many health partners will provide information about health services and community resources. Free lunch will be provided and Smoothie Samples.

WHEN:    Saturday, April 30, 2016, 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
WHERE:  Dakota Center, 33 Barnett Street, Dayton 45402

11:00 am Video Presentation, "Unnatural Causes: As the Bough Breaks"
Lunch/Brunch
Open Forum Dialogue
Recruitment of infant mortality community champions for sustainable action

 

 

From: Katherine Cooper
Subject: Please join the Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton

The Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton would like to invite you to attend the following presentation.

Date: Sunday, May 1
Topic: A summary and interfaith response on: The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew - Three Women Search for Understanding by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner. (Book available on Amazon and local libraries).
Location: Christ United Methodist Church, 3440 Shroyer Road; ROOM CHANGE: Rejoice Hall on 2nd floor. Meeting from 3:00-5:00 PM.

Judy Heller will present a summary of the book, The Faith Club. Following the presentation will be an interfaith response by Nilofer Ali, Jackie Hagan, and Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker

Judy Heller has both an undergraduate and graduate degree in religious studies, the latter a Master's of Art in Religion from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. She has regularly taught Hebrew and Judaic studies classes for the past fifteen years in synagogues and churches. She is currently on the board of Temple Israel here in Dayton as well as Vice-President of the Interfaith Forum.

Rev. Dr. Crystal Walker is the Executive Director of Greater Dayton Christian Connections. She is on the board of the Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton.

Jackie Hagan is the Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton Secretary. Baha'i is her faith tradition. Jackie also develops and maintains the Interfaith Forum of Greater Dayton facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=interfaith%20forum%20of%20greater%20dayton

Nilofer Ali is a mother of three grown or nearly grown youngster. "We are natives of Chicago who made Dayton home a decade ago. I am a veteran educator who has been in the field of Elementary and Middle School Education for 25 years. I am a second generation American Muslim: my father was a naturalized US citizen of Indian origin, and my mother was an American convert to Islam, of primarily Swedish ancestry. My family has been one that has always engaged in service to the community, particularly as related to the Muslim community, wherever we have lived, and I have continued that tradition throughout my life. Currently, I am the Development Officer at the International Academy of Cincinnati, and the Imam at the Dayton Correctional Facility, responsible for providing Islamic services to the inmates. I also serve as the Chair of the Sisters' Committee with the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, and have also served in other capacities with that organization. I am also working with some other women on some initiatives specifically geared towards supporting American Muslims, exploring the American Muslim experience, and engaging Muslims in this area in the local communities in positive, productive ways.

 

 

From: Crystal Walker
Subject: Peace Bridge Walk

25^th ANNIVERSARY
DAYTON PEACE BRIDGE WALK
"stick with peace"
            MAY 7, 2016

Join the Greater Dayton Community for the Celebration of the 25^th Annual Peace Bridge Walk. (Walk is ¼ mile-15 minutes max)
We will begin at 10am at Building 20 Sinclair Community College. Building 20 is located at 220 South Edwin C. Moses Blvd. just before crossing to the 4^th/5^th Street Bridge. Parking available at parking meters (free on 4^th and 5^th Streets and/or at Building 20 Sinclair Community College)

10:00am: Welcome and Short Program
10:30am: Peace Bridge Walk
10:45am: (2) Workshops at Building 8 Sinclair Community College
    

1.       One Human Family: One Human Family Workshops provides a unique focus for community engagement through the rich heritage stemming predominantly from Gospel music and Spirituals.  We seek, through the dialogue portions of our workshops to demonstrate the relevance and applicability of this music, as well as that of more contemporary genres, to today's issues and concerns. By bringing people of all backgrounds and ethnicities together, this becomes a process for opening hearts, thereby encouraging participants to understand each other better, and to engage in forging lasting bonds of friendship.  As this is accomplished, we begin to connect with each other in more substantive and meaningful ways in order to create a more cohesive, solution-focused community.

2.       Spoken Peace: Jay Martinez- A spoken word artist, host and youth advocate, Jay is a native of Newark, N.J., where he engaged in constant rap freestyle cyphers. He takes his struggles and eloquently recites them with a gritty, intelligent flow. The development of his fast-paced, didactic style stems from his hip hop influences. Jay also self-published a book entitled An Orators Declamation of the Ghetto and a CD titled Universal Language. When he is not performing throughout the country, he hosts two shows in Dayton: Lyrical Lounge open mic at Delish Café and the Metaphorically Speaking slam poetry competition at Therapy Cafe. Jay has organized events for a Dayton City Commissioner, the program director of the Salvation Army's Kroc Center and the Parity Inc. youth group — all in the name of community uplift and awareness through poetry. He is a part of the award-winning video Playing For Change/Where There Is Love, which has received global recognition. He also won best up-and-coming artist at the 2013 Cincinnati Poetry Awards. Participants in this workshop will learn how to apply the spoken word to cultivate a community of peace.

11:45am-12noon: Break

12noon-12:30pm: Closing Ceremonies:
Recognition of Covenant Signers; Recognition of Mothers who have lost children
due to gun violence; Commissioning Service, Community Song

12:30pm-1:30pm: (continuation of workshops)

The event is free and open to the public.

#stickwithpeace
www.christianconnections.org

 

 

From: Connie Nisonger
Subject: Bike Rodeo

 

 

From: David A. Hurwitz
Subject: [ANNOUNCE] May 15 - Talk on Non-Violent Resistance in Palestine

Englewood Friends Meeting

Presents

Refusing to be Enemies

Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation

A presentation by author

Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta

Sunday May15 at 7:00 pm
Englewood Friends Meeting

51 Union Road
Englewood, Ohio

Website: http://refusingtobeenemiesthebook.wordpress.com

*******************************
David Hurwitz
david.hurwitz@wright.edu                       "imagine"
http://www.dhurwitz.com
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http://dhurwitz.com/IBelieve.html
***************
"I could work real hard and have all that stuff, but one of the things I like is not working real hard."  Billy Underwood
***************
Get Profit out of Health Care: Until the insurance industry is totally removed from the system, this country will not have adequate health care. Health care only for the rich is not acceptable.  Healthcare that causes you to go bankrupt is not acceptable. We are all on this planet together. Until we start helping each other, we will continue to fight each other.  The choice is yours!

Gandhi said,  "I like your Christ, I do not like your christians, they are so unlike your Christ."  The dictionary defines Christian used as an adjective as "Kind, charitable, neighborly."  In my humble opinion, it seems it's those who proclaim this is  a "Christian Nation," are the ones screaming the loudest against providing everyone health care.  How neighborly!

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If we are granted certain inalienable  rights, among them life, why do we have to pay to live?  We need food and shelter to live.  They should be free.  We don't need clothes, so we can either pay for clothes, or go naked.  We do need protection from the elements, so a heated/cooled shelter should be free; but if we want to sleep on a bed or sit on a chair, we should have to pay for that, or sleep on the floor. And most importantly, we need health, so healthcare to live should be free. We should have to pay for elective stuff!

I think it must be unconstitutional to have to pay to live.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The Cost of the War!   http://www.afsc.org/Iraq/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/19245
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http://www.sloshspot.com/blog/11-13-2009/If-Marijuana-Production-Were-Legal-Projected-Tax-Revenues-by-State-245
**************
www.downtowndayton.org
www.oregonartsdistrict.com
**************
http://www.squirtsplace.com/swf/YouMakeMeWannaShout.swf
**************
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=6&link=ctg_lit_home_from_trs_thankyou_sitenav
**************
"To be is to do"-Socrates; "To do is to be"-Sartre; "Do Be Do Be Do"-Sinatra; "Scooby Dooby Do"-Scooby Do; "Yaba Daba Doo!"-Fred Flintstone

http://dhurwitz.com/IBelieve.html
**********************************
CAUTION: This email is subject to secret retrieval and review by Federal Law Enforcement Agents without a court-ordered warrant. To learn more:  http://www.bordc.org

 

End of MPEN e-Newsletter

[mpen-dayton4] FW: "Ohio Medicaid Waiver " & "Kochs abandon the White House!" & "The Democrats need to stop being the 'lesser of two evils' party — starting now" and more

FYI.   Best, Munsup

P.S. Please reply back to me with 'unsubscribe' on the subject line if you no longer want to receive my e-Newsletters. The convenient link to unsubscribe is no longer available due to security reasons to protect my email servers.
P.P.S. "He who dares not offend cannot be honest" - Thomas Paine
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·         FW: Ohio Medicaid Waiver - What it means to me and Ohioans

·         FW: He's one of us

·         FW: Kochs abandon the White House!

·         FW: Democracy really is awakening

·         FW: Demand Treasury Department Protect Pensions

·         FW: Salon: "The Democrats need to stop being the 'lesser of two evils' party — starting now"

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From: Donald Nguyen, MD, FAAP; Doctors for America
Subject: Ohio Medicaid Waiver - What it means to me and Ohioans

I submitted the following Op-Ed piece to the Dayton Daily News and I want to share it with you.

The state of Ohio will be submitting this Medicaid Waiver 1115 to CMS in June and the state public comment period has started, and if you feel inclined and want to let the state know how you feel about this waiver, please go on ahead here: http://medicaid.ohio.gov/RESOURCES/PublicNotices/HealthyOhioHSA.aspx

More details of the waiver is found here:
http://uhcanohio.org/HealthyOhioMedicaidWaiver
http://www.advocatesforohio.org/post?s=2016-03-11-healthy-ohio-medicaid-waiver-webinar

AN UN-HEALTHY OHIO PLAN CALLS FOR MORE SKIN IN THE GAME

To quote a 5 yr old patient of mine, drinking water with lead is very bad for the brain. Well, John Kasich's Medicaid Waiver 1115 is really bad for Ohio. It's not just more "skin in the game" for more than 1 million Ohio Medicaid patients, it's skin, flesh, bone, and much more. The "Un-healthy Ohio" waiver plan calls for monthly premiums, additional co-pays for already down and out, hard working Medicaid patients, and requires a multi-layer bureaucracy of an elaborate debit card swiping and tracking system which is complicated and costly. It is a prescription for disaster for up to 130,000 Ohioans estimated to be kicked out and denied access to health care. At a time when doctors and health care systems are trying to achieve the triple aim of better medical outcomes, of a more affordable and higher quality health care, the Ohio waiver is trying to do the opposite. It's an experiment doomed for failure as other states have seen. When Oregon tried a premium program, 80,000 patients dropped out instantaneously, similar to Wisconsin. When Arkansas tried a similar cost sharing or "skin in the game" program, the cost to run it was so high that the state abandoned it. When Virginia tried the same, it spent $1.39 for every $1 of premium collected and 4,000 children were going to be dropped out. That program is now ended. When compared to other waiver programs like the Indiana program, the Ohio plan is more severe as it affects patients at a lower Federal Poverty Level, as it punishes patients if they are late with paying the premiums and when dropped from the program, they have no place to go, except maybe to the local emergency rooms for a really expensive and inefficient care. At a time when doctors are beginning to address the important social determinants that affect health care delivery, the Ohio plan takes us back to the pre - Affordable Care Act time period. The ACA achieved expansion of care to millions of low income working poor Ohioans, only to see this potentially undone by an "Un-healthy Ohio" waiver plan. Locking patients out also means interruption of care and treatment of chronic and mental diseases that are so crucial to them and will be disastrous in the long term. The same patients of mine that cannot afford the basic necessities or rent will not afford to pay the premiums. The OH public comment period at medicaid.Ohio.gov is now open until mid May, so can we have 1 million Ohioan voices tell John Kasich to quit kicking Medicaid patients around? Ohio plans to submit the waiver to CMS in June and the federal public comment period starts thereafter. Concerned citizens will then be able to comment to CMS. I definitely will

 

 

From: MoveOn for Bernie on behalf of Josh Fox; Anti-fracking activist, director of Gasland and the new film How to Let Go of the World and Love All The Things Climate Can't Change,
Subject: He's one of us

The climate change and anti-fracking movement's have only one choice in this election: Bernie Sanders.

For the past eight years, I've been part of a growing movement of "fractivists" across the nation who are engaging in the political revolution that Bernie talks about. We've been taking action because families who live near fracking wells are suffering from contaminated water, skin and respiratory problems, and, in some cases, seeing tap water that actually catches on fire.

We know that fracked gas is the worst possible fuel that we can develop for the climate, rivaling even dirty coal in greenhouse gas emissions. We've been taking to the streets and refusing to back down, because we know that the future of our planet is at stake.

Bernie exemplifies our movement's values of telling the truth and sticking with the science, and he is not beholden to the corporate interests that try to silence those who speak out. Bernie Sanders is my choice, because she's the only candidate who has called for a national fracking ban, he has correctly identified climate change as the biggest national security threat to the United State's, and he doesn't have a Super PAC. In other words, he is one of us.

Bernie's campaign has set a huge goal of making 3.5 million calls to voters before next Tuesday, when voters in five more states go to the polls. Will you sign up to call voters for Bernie this weekend so that we can elect a president who will take on climate change and ban fracking?

The climate change and anti-fracking movements could be the difference in this election. It's on us, and now we've got to get out there and do everything we can to make sure that Bernie wins the Democratic nomination and presidency.

For so long, we've been been crying out for a political leader with a chance of winning the presidency to say the kinds of things that Bernie is saying on the national stage—so now it's our turn to get behind him.

Sign up to call voters for Bernie this weekend as we head into critical primary elections in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Whether this will be your first call or your 500th, please join me in signing up to help Bernie meet his goal of 3.5 million calls to voters this weekend. We've seen what's possible when we join together in actions big and small, and this is our moment to make it happen!

Want to support our work? We're going all out to help Bernie Sanders win the Democratic nomination. Polls across the country show that the race is close, so we really can win. But we can't do it without small-dollar donations from people like you. Click here to chip in.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

 

From: Andrew Tierman
Subject: Fwd: Kochs abandon the White House!

(His note to Munsup: For those who make contributions to progressive democratic campaigns in States where needed, this may be extra motivation.)

Koch brothers abandoning white house and
going all in to HOLD ON TO THE gop senate

Give now to fight back against the Koch brothers,
win in Nevada and take back the Senate!

The Koch brothers have given up on Donald Trump – instead they're focusing their efforts (and money!) on keeping the Republican Senate majority.

Nevada is THE race Democrats need to win to take back the Senate. The Washington Post reports if we lose Nevada, the GOP will "ensure their majority for two more years."

That's why the Koch network spent $700,000 on their FIRST TV ad of 2016 to defeat Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada.

The latest poll shows Catherine just ONE POINT DOWN, and we're counting on you to give $40 or more now to close the gap, win in Nevada and take back the Senate!

Click here to give every dollar you can now to win in Nevada,
take back the Senate and protect the future of the Supreme Court!
    

Donate $40

Donate $80

Donate $160

Or give another amount

 

From: Michael Keegan; President, People For the American Way
Subject: Democracy really is awakening (Supporter Update)

First of all, THANK YOU for your amazing support. Time and time again, you continue to step up and give us what we need to defend the values we share. It's been a while since I sent you one of these donor updates and I have a lot to report … so I'll get right to it!

Supreme Court Campaign

Republican senators have been busily working to create a façade of reasonableness by simply meeting with President Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. At the same time, they've dug in more than ever in their unprecedented obstruction of the constitutional confirmation process for filling a Supreme Court vacancy … for now. 

While Mitch McConnell and deep-pocketed right-wing pressure groups (many funded by the Koch brothers) do everything they can to keep Republicans marching in lockstep, PFAW and our allies have been exposing their lies in the media and organizing, organizing, organizing (yes, that's THREE "organizings", with three links to great examples) in the states of key GOP senators who are up for reelection this year. And all of our work is paying off.

Just one example: a New Hampshire TV station just reported that the Senate race there has become a virtual toss-up, with Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte polling at 43% to her Democratic challenger's 42%, and the "Supreme Court controversy appears to be hurting the Republican incumbent's popularity."

Nationally, since we started our campaign two months ago, there has been a MASSIVE 21% net gain in public support for senators doing their job and holding a Supreme Court confirmation vote!

Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post wrote, "Democrats are winning the Supreme Court fight over Merrick Garland. Big time."

Make no mistake -- that is because of YOUR steadfast support and hard work.

Winning over the public and mobilizing the grassroots is exactly what it is going to take to chip away at the Republican blockade until it is no more. We're showing these senators that we're going to hold them accountable for their obstruction. The next phase of our campaign is going to be wearing down individual senators one-by-one, until we get what the American people deserve: a hearing and a vote for the president's nominee, and ultimately, this vacancy filled.

Democracy Awakening

This past weekend, we joined with partners like Public Citizen, the NAACP, and many, many more allies to organize thousands of activists who marched, protested, lobbied Congress, and participated in acts of civil disobedience like sit-ins all under the banner of Democracy Awakening, to take a stand in defense of our democracy and demand that Congress do the same

Specifically, our demands were:

To pass measures to get big money out of politics, like a constitutional amendment to overturn decisions like Citizens United.

To stop assaults on voting rights, and to protect voting rights with bills like the Voting Rights Advancement Act (which would restore strength to the VRA).

For GOP senators to do their job and end the obstruction of the president's Supreme Court nominee. 

PFAW members and staff helped lead this massive effort. Speakers at various events included PFAW staff as well as PFAW board member Dolores Huerta, our affiliate PFAW Foundation board member Kathleen Turner, and multiple members of our African American Religious Affairs networks. One of our staff was among the hundreds who were arrested for civil disobedience.

Other News

PFAW's Right Wing Watch continues to keep an eye on the Far Right and break important news regarding this year's elections, the Supreme Court battle, and much more.

PFAW's Latinos Vote program continues to work with leaders in the Latino community to highlight why the right-wing Republican agenda is so toxic for this increasingly powerful group of voters.

And your activism paid off this month when the Treasury Department issued a rule against the practice of corporate inversion, and thwarted a $35 billion tax dodge by the drug company Pfizer that tens of thousands of PFAW supporters took action to stop.

THANK YOU, again, for everything you do, and for all of the work that we're able to do because of your support.

People For the American Way depends on the support of its members. Help make sure America lives up to the promise of freedom and equality for all by funding the work of People For with a gift today.

 

 

From: MARGARET PETERS
Subject: Demand that the Treasury Department Protect Retiree Pensions

I signed a petition to U.S. Treasury Department titled "Demand that the Treasury Department Protect Retiree Pensions". Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/demand-that-congress-5?source=s.em.mt&r_by=315978

 

 

 

 

From: Judy Burnette
Subject: Salon: "The Democrats need to stop being the 'lesser of two evils' party — starting now" by Conor Lynch

salon.comhttp://www.salon.com/2016/04/18/the_democrats_need_to_stop_being_the_lesser_of_two_evils_party_starting_now/

The Democrats need to stop being the "lesser of
two evils" party — starting now

by Conor Lynch



Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton (Credit: AP/Charlie Neibergall)

Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been very busy over the past several months trying to convince people that the Democratic primary process is in no way tilted in favor of frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

She has appeared on talk shows to debate about super-delegates and why they are necessary (to ensure that "party leaders and elected officials don't have to be in a position where they are running against grass-roots activists"), and has denied any kind of real tension within the Democratic Party. Indeed, whenever confronted about her handling of the primaries — or the current state of the party — Wasserman Schultz tends to dodge the question and pivot to just how crazy and dysfunctional the Republicans are, as if to say: "Yeah, we're pretty terrible, but look at those clowns."

Similarly, whenever Hillary Clinton's dismal favorability ratings are mentioned (according to HuffPost Pollster, Clinton's average is 55.6 percent unfavorable, 40.2 percent favorable), many Democrats simply point to the fact that GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's ratings are even more horrific. (It's true, the demagogic billionaire has a 64.4 percent unfavorable, 29.7 percent favorable rating.)

Once again, the evil Republicans are used to divert from the reality that Democrats are going through some serious problems of their own, like the fact that their likely nominee is one of the most distrusted politicians in the country.

As Democratic strategist Brad Bannon told The Hill a few days ago:
"The No. 1 reason that [Clinton's] favorability is so bad is that you have large numbers of Americans who say they don't trust her… Voters see her as the ultimate politician, who will do or say anything to get elected."
When the general election comes around in a few months, and Clinton is facing Donald Trump or any other Republican candidate, one can easily predict what kind of uninspiring platform she will be running on. The Clinton campaign provided a small appetizer in a short ad earlier this year, in which a foreboding narrator warns that "one of these Republicans could actually be president," over clips of typical GOP lunacy. "They're backward, even dangerous," he continues, "So ask yourself, who's the one candidate who can stop them?"

Answer: Hillary Clinton can stop them!

It's the kind of hyper-partisan campaign one has come to expect at this point, running on the lesser of two evils principle. And it's not wrong.

Republicans are unquestionably dangerous and extreme, and if Trump or (God help us) Ted Cruz manages to get elected president, America and the world will be in store for a great deal of pain. One has to be slightly misanthropic to support a Republican over Clinton in hopes of triggering a more radical uprising.

But more and more Americans are tired of voting for a politician simply because he or she is less ghastly than the other party's candidate. And the rise of Senator Bernie Sanders has intensified this weariness. Although the Clinton campaign has tried to downplay the differences between Clinton and Sanders — making it more about practicality than principles — when it comes down to it, Sanders and Clinton are simply different breeds of politician.

Sanders is a throwback to New Deal liberalism, when Democrats promoted economic egalitarian principles and sought to curb the power of monied interests and limit the inequities of capitalism.

Clinton, on the other hand, represents the New Democrat liberalism that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s, when various Democratic leaders abandoned the working and middle class and cozied up with what Thomas Frank calls the "professional class" in his new book, "Listen, Liberal."

Frank explains the economic philosophy of this professional (i.e. liberal) class:
"To the liberal class, every big economic problem is really an education problem, a failure by the losers to learn the right skills and get the credentials everyone knows you'll need in the society of the future. Take inequality. The real problem, many liberals believe, is that not enough poor people get a chance to go to college and join the professional-managerial elite."
So, it is not so much the capitalist system that promotes inequality, but the fact that not everyone gets the chance to live up to their "God-given potential," as Clinton likes to put it. For a professional who has worked hard to get to his or her current position through many years of education, this perception is understandable.

Of course, it's completely wrong — as the productivity-pay gap, which has steadily increased since the 1980s, reveals.

Frank accurately sums up the real source of today's sweeping inequality:
"The real problem was one of inadequate worker power, not inadequate worker smarts. The people who produced were losing their ability to demand a share in what they made. The people who owned were taking more and more."
Liberal elitism is real, and many liberal elites are completely oblivious to the struggles of the bottom 90 percent. Sanders has reminded America of the kind of class politics that liberalism once embraced, and how modern liberalism lost its way.

Consider each candidates relationship with the telecommunications giant Verizon. On Wednesday, Sanders stood on the picket line with Verizon workers in New York, and even drew fire from CEO Lowell McAdams, who received nearly $20 million in compensation for 2014.

On the other hand, Clinton, as Salon's Ben Norton reported, has received tens of thousands from Verizon executives and lobbyists, and was paid $225,000 by Verizon for a 2013 speech. The corporation also has ties to the Clinton Foundation, and has donated between $100,000 and $250,000.

The 2016 primaries have revealed a major strife within the Democratic party. If Clinton is the nominee — which is still the most likely outcome — she will probably win the general election, because the horror of a Donald Trump or Ted Cruz presidency would propel liberals and Independents to come out and vote.

But how long can the Democratic party run as the "lesser of two evils" party? How long can liberal elites use Republicans to divert attention from their own reactionary beliefs?

According to a report from Pew Research Center, the least financially secure Americans largely preferred Democrats in 2014, but a majority of them did not vote. There is an understandable political apathy among lower class Americans — not to mention voter suppression, which tends to hurt poor people and minorities. After all, both parties supported corporatist trade deals that eliminated working class jobs, both parties supported Wall Street bailouts, both parties are largely dependent on big money donors — it goes on and on.

When Sanders announced his candidacy last year, he barely registered in the national polls, and Clinton had a enormous 60 percent support. Today, Clinton and Sanders are just about tied in national polls (according to HuffPost Pollster, 47.9 to 44.1 percent). Sanders' egalitarian vision has energized many Americans who had lost faith in the political process — and while Clinton's hold on delegates may be insurmountable, her hold on the Democratic Party is not.


Conor Lynch is a writer and journalist living in New York City. His work has appeared on Salon, AlterNet, Counterpunch and openDemocracy. Follow him on

"Behind every great fortune there are great crimes" – Balzac

 

End of MPEN e- Newsletter