the Progress Report: “Prescription For Decline” of the Middle Class … THE GOP

The GOP ‘Prescription For Decline’

By ThinkProgress War Room

President Obama: 2012 is ‘Make-or-Break Moment for the Middle Class’

Speaking today to a convention of news editors, President Obama laid out in the clearest possible terms the two competing visions for America’s future and the choice the country faces over the next few months:

I believe this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and I can’t remember a time when the choice between competing visions of our future has been so unambiguously clear.

The president, in stark and unambiguous terms, attacked the extreme Republican budget passed by the House of Representatives last week:

This Congressional Republican budget is something different altogether. It is a Trojan Horse. Disguised as deficit reduction plan, it is really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country. It is thinly-veiled Social Darwinism. It is antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everybody who’s willing to work for it — a place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class. And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last — education and training; research and development; our infrastructure — it is a prescription for decline.

The president also took the opportunity to drive home one of the central elements of the GOP’s disastrous budget plan — that it “ends Medicare as we know it”:

Instead of being enrolled in Medicare when they turn 65, seniors to retire a decade from now would get a voucher…The net result is our country will end up spending more on health care and the only reason the government will save any money is at — is because we have shifted it to seniors. They will bear more of the costs themselves. It is a bad idea. It will ultimately end Medicare as we know it.

The president added that the Republican budget — and the conservative vision for the future — is now “so far to the right it makes the Contract with America look like the New Deal.”

The president’s entire speech is a must read (which you can do here) or watch (which you can do here).

IN TWO SENTENCES: The conservative vision for the future leaves everyone on their own and doubles down on the failed conservative policies that caused the economy to collapse, income inequality to reach record levels, and jobs and middle class incomes to decline. The progressive vision for the future is one where we’re all in it together, where we invest in a strong middle class, and where the economy works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed

A District Court judge has ordered the military to release information on sexual violence.

There is no voter fraud in South Carolina. So why is their Attorney General insisting there could be?

Implementing Obamacare would put a serious dent in the debt. Repealing it would make it explode.

Some colleges are withholding transcripts from students who are in loan default.

Denver illustrates why privatizing infrastructure doesn’t work.

Why does Hollywood treat teenagers like they’re stupid?

Mitt Romney ripped the Chevy Volt just as General Motors announced surging sales of energy-efficient vehicles.

The New York Times uncovers even more hypocrisy in Romney’s attacks on President Obama over high gas prices — namely that Romney once sung the virtues of rising prices.

ThinkProgress launched a new Election 2012 blog today. Be on the lookout for even more hard-hitting news and analysis as the election heats up.

Other recent Progress Reports

Apr 2, 2012: War On Women Taking Its Toll On The GOP

Women Are Running Away From Republicans A new poll of battleground states out yesterday underscores the political consequences of the GOP’s all-out war on women and their health care. The poll’s key findings: Among all registered voters, the president leads Mitt Romney 51 percent to 42 percent after trailing Romney by 2 points in the [...]

Mar 30, 2012: REVEALED: Mitt Romney’s Secret Donation to Race-Baiting NOM

Romney Helped Fund Race-Baiting, Anti-LGBT Group, Secret Document Shows Earlier this week, we told you about the previously secret documents that revealed the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) divisive, race-baiting strategy for combating marriage equality — a strategy which was quickly denounced by leading civil rights organizations including the NAACP. Another secret document revealed today by the [...]

Mar 29, 2012: OOPS, They Did It Again!

GOP Votes to End Medicare In Order to Finance Giveaways to the Wealthy, Big Oil Today was a big day on Capitol Hill. Republicans made crystal clear exactly whose side they’re on — that of the wealthiest 1 Percent and special interests like Big Oil. Here’s a rundown of today’s action. House Republicans Approve Budget [...]

Mar 28, 2012: Will Your Senator Side With Big Oil?

It’s Time to End Tax Giveaways to Big Oil On the same day that House Republicans are likely to pass their Medicare-ending, taxes on the wealthy-slashing budget, tomorrow the Senate will vote on a bill sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) that will eliminate nearly $24 BILLION in tax giveaways to the five largest oil companies. [...]

the Daily Share: Colonel Sanders, Nikki Haley and more

The Most Unreasonable Assumption We’ve Ever Heard One Woman Make About Other Women

This Amazing Young Lady Stuns UN Delegates With A Powerful Speech

One Guess Who Wants To Give Your Boss Your Facebook Password

This Woman Tells Her Powerful Story About The Night She’ll Never Forget

 

The Secret That Colonel Sanders Gets But Women Who Vote Republican Don’t

 

Media Matters for America: “Unelected” Judges – yes, activist judges exist

It Would Be “Extraordinary” To Strike Down Health Care Reform Law
Right-wing media are attacking President Obama over comments he recently made in which he pointed out that if the Supreme Court decides to strike down the Affordable Care Act, it will be an “unprecedented” and “extraordinary” step. In fact, the Supreme Court has not struck down a central provision of a landmark federal statute since the 1930s. Read More

Turning On A Dime, Conservative Media Recoil At Obama’s Remarks About “Unelected” Judges
Conservative media are on the attack after President Obama responded to a question about the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Affordable Care Act by pointing out that conservatives criticize “unelected” judges who engage in “judicial activism” to “overturn a duly constituted and passed law.” But Obama is right: for years conservatives have railed against “unelected” judges who overturn laws passed by the people’s representatives. Read More

Save The Bees … Corinne Ball, Change.org

EPA: Ban the pesticide that’s threatening American bees with extinction Sign Susan’s Petition Here’s the buzz: American honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and the government knows why. Scientists say a pesticide called clothianidin, made by chemical giant Bayer, is strongly linked to the rapid decline in bee populations. When exposed to the chemical, bees get lost: they are literally unable to find their way home back to the hive and drop dead from exhaustion. Susan Mariner uses her backyard garden to grow extra fruits and veggies for her family and teach her children where their food comes from — and in the past few years, she’s seen the decline in bees firsthand. When Susan heard about the recent studies linking this specific chemical to the widespread death of the bees who pollinate our food, she started a petition on Change.org to get the chemical banned. Click here to sign Susan’s petition asking the Environmental Protection Agency to ban these bee-killing pesticides ASAP. One-third of the U.S. food supply relies on honey bees. Without bees to pollinate crops, many essential (and favorite) foods are at risk, including apples, squash, tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, and even chocolate. Several countries, including Germany and France, have already banned clothianidin. And after the bans, bee populations began to rise again. But in the U.S., clothianidin is used on millions of acres of crops and American beekeepers report losses of up to 90% of their bees. Many worry that their hives won’t survive another season. Sign Susan’s petition urging the EPA to save the bees and immediately end the harmful pesticide’s use. Thanks for being a change-maker, - Corinne and the Change.org team

68-year-ol​d veteran killed in his home …by Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr.

Below is an email from Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., whose father, a 68-year-old veteran of the U.S. Marines, was killed in his home by the police in White Plains, NY, on November 19, 2011. Kenneth created his petition on SignOn.org, a new site that allows anyone to start their own online petitions. You can read more about his father’s death here.

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We demand justice for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a 68-year-old veteran killed in his home by police. Sign the petition

Dear MoveOn member,

On November 19, 2011, my father, 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., was shot and killed in his home in White Plains, New York.

My father was a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections and proudly served the United States of America as a Marine. He stood about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and he suffered from a heart condition.

The events that led to his killing began around 5 a.m., when his medical alert device was accidentally set off, sending a call to the City of White Plains Department of Public Safety. Everything that happened after that was recorded by an audio device installed in my father’s home as part of his medical alert system.

When the police arrived at my father’s home, he and the staff for his medical alert service told them that there was no medical emergency and asked them to leave. And yet they insisted that my father let them into his home, banging loudly on my father’s door for over an hour. On the recording, the police can be heard calling my father a “nigger.”

Ultimately they broke through his apartment door and first shot him with a Taser. He was wearing nothing but boxer shorts when the police began their assault against him. Shortly after that, he was shot with two 40-caliber rounds and killed.

My family is asking the Westchester County District Attorney to bring a criminal indictment, and we call on the United States Department of Justice or the New York State Attorney General to prosecute this as a hate crime.

Will you sign our petition? Click here to sign and please share with your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=273615&id=38418-17809870-UNjravx&t=3

The petition says:

This petition is regarding the upcoming grand jury hearing in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an unarmed elderly black citizen who was shot to death by the White Plains Police Department.

This case not only brings into question the policies and practices of this department; but it is an open question whether it was inevitable, particularly in light of the audio tapes and video tapes witnessed by Mr. Chamberlain’s family members and attorneys where racial slurs and expletives were used before ultimately shooting him twice in the chest and killing him.

It is imperative that those tapes be made available to the grand jury, and that all other evidence be presented as well. I am concerned that secrecy so far—for example, the names of officers involved have not been released—bodes badly for transparency in this case as it moves forward. Nor am I aware of any public statements about the case from elected officials calling for openness.

Members of Mr. Chamberlain’s family and community—and a much wider circle of people who need to know there is fairness in the criminal justice system—seek reassurance that, no matter what the verdict, the process has been open, honest, and just.

We, the undersigned, implore Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to no longer allow police misconduct, brutality, or criminality to happen in this community and ask that these officers be indicted and charged with murder and civil rights violations.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=273615&id=38418-17809870-UNjravx&t=4

Thanks!

–Kenneth Chamberlain Jr.

The text above was written by Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., not by MoveOn staff, and MoveOn is not responsible for the content. This email was sent through MoveOn’s secure system, and your information has been kept private.