Dialing For Change

Many on the left are angered by any hints of compromise with corporate interests from the incoming Obama Administration as well as congress. Meanwhile, Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is scheming to block and/or dilute any economic recovery plan put forward by the new administration. McConnell’s obstruction efforts are likely to be aided by the Blue Dogs Caucus recently formed by Indiana Democratic Senator, Evan Bayh. One may also surmise that Bayh’s new caucus will be the recipients of considerable corporate cash now that Republicans are no longer the majority party.

So how should activists respond to the situation? Admittedly, many of us, including me, are burned out after an intense election campaign and want to decompress.

However, a consumer activist named Dennis Baer has a website in which he urges citizens to take the fight to the source: corporate America itself.

According to Baer,

“Because corporations have taken over the legislative process, we citizens should join together and use our purchasing power and withhold our purchases from some of these major corporations and demand the legislation from some of these companies that have blocked progress. To this end I have formulated these telephone campaigns.”

Baer has three primary corporate targets for this telephone campaign to lobby on behalf of change or threaten a customer boycott:

• Rite Aid Pharmacies – 1-800-325-3737 – Specifically, Baer hopes to pressure the retail giant into lobbying the president and congress into enacting universal healthcare. Rite Aid is known for contributing to politicians dedicated to obstructing efforts at health care reform.

• General Electric Corporation – 1-800-386-1215 – General Electric is one of many companies engaged in war profiteering and Baer hopes to pressure them into lobbying the president and congress into ending the Iraq War sooner rather than later. There are far more companies then General Electric profiting from the war (Halliburton, Bechtel, etc.) but since they also control the NBC television network, this is as good a target as any.

• Wendy’s Restaurants – 1-800-443-7266 – Baer hopes to pressure the retail giant into supporting a minimum wage of $10/hr.

For good measure, Baer adds the office of Senator Mitch McConnell (telephone number 202 224-2541) and suggests we tell his office that no filibusters or we’ll boycott Brown-Forman of Kentucky, the maker of Jack Daniels Whiskey and a McConnell contributor.

Conceptually, Baer’s concept is a simple one: convince companies such as Rite Aid Pharmacies, General Electric Corporation and Wendy’s Restaurants that they either support progressive change or lose customers. In turn he hopes such a campaign will have an impact in the corridors of power.

Baer has his critics and was banned from Daily Kos as well as the social networking sites Facebook and My Space for aggressive promotion of his agenda. And one can argue he is being overly simplistic and naïve.

Nonetheless, I give him credit for trying to make a difference instead of simply using his computer keyboard as a soapbox to rant. Baer is asking people to not only make these calls but recruit others as well.

So, I’ve made my telephone calls, waited patiently and navigated through the 800 number vortexes to speak with a human being and express myself. The Wendy’s customer service representative insisted on directing me to their website to get me off the phone. The reps at General Electric and Rite Aid were merely flummoxed but dutifully promised to “pass on” my views. McConnell’s office also politely “noted” my telephone call.

Change is hard work. Often it’s not glamorous or exciting. Whether it’s knocking on doors or phone banking to elect particular candidates or slogging away like Dennis Baer against corporate giants. People are cynical; call you naïve and often just laugh. Yet those very same people will then proceed to whine when politicians such as Barack Obama are compelled to compromise and make no effort to provide a counter-weight from the bottom up to help facilitate progressive change.

The “system” is powerful and even politicians with their hearts in the right place have to navigate it. Therefore, the change we want won’t come from contenting ourselves with merely having elected Obama and congressional Democrats and then complain when his appointments are not 100% satisfactory. What did you expect? Did you really think the system would just disappear?

We have to remain engaged on all levels and keep pushing. That’s why I made those calls and will again. That Wendy’s rep hasn’t heard the last from me! I hope readers here will do the same, enlist your friends and even promote other companies to boycott/pressure as Dennis Baer has done.

Where's the Beef?

It was 1984 and a youthful looking Colorado Senator named Gary Hart was getting traction as the candidate of “new ideas.” Presumptive front-runner, former Vice President Walter Mondale appeared to be a dinosaur as Hart scored an upset in New Hampshire.

The two candidates were about the same age but the combination of Gary Hart’s hair and “new ideas” slogan propelled him to the top tier. Only fifteen at the time, I was astounded how Gary Hart succeeded while offering so little substance.

You may recall a popular television commercial for the fast food chain restaurant, Wendy’s at the time. Gray haired Actress Clara Peller stared at an unimpressive looking hamburger and asked, “Where’s the beef?” Mondale effectively neutralized Hart’s momentum by asking the same question about his rival's program.

I happen to respect Gary Hart. Our country should have heeded the report about terrorism he co-authored with former Senator Warren Rudman. This country would be far better off if we had. However, in 1984 Gary Hart was a platitude machine hiding behind the slogan of “new ideas.”

This week Barack Obama announced the formation of his exploratory committee to run for president and he noted the public wanted “something new.” Reading that I immediately thought of Gary Hart and Clara Peller. Where’s the beef?

As E.J. Dionne observed in today’s Washington Post, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is running on specifics. Edwards has stated his immediate priorities are not balancing the budget but addressing the nation’s investment deficit. Dionne writes:

“Most Democrats don't like to talk about it, but somebody's taxes are going to have to go up. Edwards, at least, is willing to say which taxes he would raise to keep the deficit from going through the roof. He would start by eliminating Bush's tax cuts for the top 2 percent of income earners, which he defines roughly as those earning more than $180,000 to $200,000 a year.

He wants to increase the capital gains tax for an interesting reason: In an interview this week, he argued that it's wrong to tax income from work at a higher rate than income from capital -- an extension of his long-standing theme that the country should not value ‘wealth over work.’ He also favors a windfall-profits tax on oil companies.

But since health coverage and ‘transforming the energy economy of this country’ are first on his to-do list, Edwards says he is prepared to disappoint voters who make a balanced budget their top priority.

Edwards deserves points for honesty and for stating the politically difficult truth that both fiscal and social balance demand a comprehensive health-care fix.”

My favored candidate for 2008 was Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold but he’s not running. My next preference is former Vice President Al Gore but it doesn’t appear he has the fire in the belly anymore.

As I’ve written previously, Edwards record about the Iraq War troubles me. I believe he supported the congressional resolution supporting President Bush’s misguided venture in Iraq out of political expediency. I can’t help but wonder if his “apology” for supporting the war is also about political expediency. War requires a higher standard of leadership than he’s provided. Yes, today he’s speaking out but seventy percent of the public is with him now. We needed Edwards to speak out in 2002-2003.

Nevertheless, I appreciate the progressive campaign Edwards is waging on domestic policy and the specifics he’s offering. In 2004, I regarded Edwards as a Ken Doll and his “two Americas” campaign a mere slogan. This time it appears he’s rising above platitudes.

Do platitude machines Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have any beef to offer? A cynic might recall how Walter Mondale was honest and specific. He told a nationally televised audience at the Democratic National Convention:

“President Reagan will raise your taxes. So will I. He won’t tell you. I just did.”

The deficit was out of control but Reagan promised not to raise taxes, won in a landslide and raised taxes for the middle class anyway, which he called “revenue enhancements.” And he got away with it.

An optimist however might note John Edwards on his worst day is far more charismatic than Walter Mondale ever was on his best day. Perhaps Edwards is just the candidate to sell a specific progressive program and earn a mandate for real change. Without either Feingold or Gore in the race I don’t know which candidate I’m going to volunteer for yet. For damn sure I want more than platitudes such as “something new” offered by Obama. I want to know where the beef is.