"Boogah Boogah Boogah"
Posted on 05/07/2006 10:26:47 AM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The day after the 2004 election, five people on Daily Kos started talking about how to fight back. We talked about the power of corporations to fund political campaigns, overwhelming the contributions of citizens. We talked about the potential power of the netroots to inform quickly, to make community quickly, to establish working relationships quickly, to raise money quickly, to reach outward virally, to millions of readers – quickly. And we talked about the historically crucial moment in which we are living, the intent of the marketocracy to take over the world and destroy any pretense of democracy in the United States, let alone the rest of the world.
For myself, I was satisfied that the Ohio vote was rigged, an inevitable element of the war against U.S. democracy successfully conducted by the Republican party. At the January 2004 GOP gathering in suburban Virginia, as reported in the Washington Monthly, Karl Rove had laid out the 2004 plan to suppress Democratic votes, intimidate and challenge Democratic voters. The plan included fielding 30,000 lawyers and pollwatchers in Democratic precincts around the United States to interfere with voters. During the summer of 2004, I researched GOP voter intimidation and the 1980’s Karl Rove –led attempts to use computers to disenfranchise voters. I expected a repeated attempt to rig the vote with the use of black box voting machines, and turn the 2004 election into a third-world-country-sham. I shouted iceberg, but nobody in the Titanic’s helm heard.
I had written a paper on the marketocracy, the transnational corporations’ intent to replace rule of law and its consent of the governed by rule of corporations with no voice for the governed. I’d read about NAFTA, GATT, CAFTA, and the related projects. I knew about the Trans Texas Corridor Plan (see www.corridorwatch.org) and related plans. I did not know whether we had the time or the power to beat the world-destroyers.
But after consulting the wisest counselors I know, I decided to join the small group of challengers on Daily Kos in a concerted act of empowerment. We would start an online organization to give people the information with which to vote with their wallets.
We formed www.Buyblue.org on Daily Kos and had our first website up December 1, 2004. We presented a list of corporations that make products and services people buy and use at Christmas and around the calendar. We identified the companies whose PACs and executives had contributed to Democrats and to Republicans for the 2004 election campaign. We urged people to support companies that support their values, and vote with their wallets. A friend of ours with a similar website, www.choosetheblue.com, put it this way: if everyone who voted Democratic in 2004 shifted just $100 from “red” to “blue” companies in one year, that would shift $5 billion away from red companies in one year.
We called for volunteers, and people came out of the cyberwoodwork to help us research companies and their campaign contributions. And the media swarmed us; Buyblue was written up in Le Monde, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, Fox News, everywhere. The idea that regular people could shop conscientiously, aware of the consequences of their choices, seemed revelatory to the reporters.
But people shop conscientiously every day, when buying healthy food for our families, driving fuel-efficient, low-emissions cars, choosing compact fluorescent lightbulbs, safe car seats, and so on. It is an ordinary, everyday event, not a new wave, and people have been so eager to learn what companies and products are in line with their values that Buyblue had got 1 million visitors before it was a year old.
Today, Buyblue.org has information on more hundreds of products and services, the campaign contributions of the executives and PACs of the companies that provide them, and the environmental, labor, industry practices, social responsibility, and human rights records of hundreds of companies. Find us on the web at www.buyblue.org, and find ways to enhance your own triple bottom line of planet, people, and profit. You can use the site for information gathering, you can find out what companies are contributing to what 2006 Congressional races, you can volunteer, blog, and contribute. We look forward to welcoming you in our community.
In the days ahead, we want to make it easier to vote with your wallet.
Hopefully the Smurfs will REALLY punish "Big Oil" and stop buying gasoline. That would be "hugh and series" for "Big Oil." They could REALLY hurt 'em. You DUmmies listening?
This one needs a BARF alert! If you want to have some fun, call up Progressive insurance and ask them for information about their (and their presidents) political contributions.
Other than that... I can use the time I would have used for Snowe to help Santorum and Talent and other vulnerable republican candidates.
If your state is secure this 2006 I recommend others do the same. ADOPT A CANDIDATE
Another thing I plan on doing is posting articles I see here at FR in other newsgroups where everybody is NOT a republican. Sometimes we forget that we are preaching to the choir and we need to go out among the "sinners" and spread the good news of conservatism. So I often combat the liberal moonbats in USENET / GOOGLE POLITICAL NEWSGROUPS
I also recommend joining (for free) this wonderful site called www.gopteamleader.com
I'm not enthused about dividing the American economy in half and half the country boycotting half the companies.
I use BuyBlue all the time to make sure I'm not buying from blue companies.
Leave it up to the Dimowits to create a valueable website...that's a valueable tool to the enemy, LOL! You gotta love 'em. They can NEVER see more than one chess-move ahead of themselves. Dorks.
I went online for a quote from Progressive when I changed auto insurance carriers last month. They cost too much, so I didn't choose them, anyhow. If your implication is that they support liberals and Democrats, perhaps they should rename themselves "Regressive."
Let's see what Hollywood thinks about dividing companies into 'Red' and 'Blue', to be supported only by people of that persuasion.
***For myself, I was satisfied that the Ohio vote was rigged***
Yeah, yeah, yeah...
We get it...
Ohio was rigged and you lost by over 110K votes, but the PA win by 21K wasn't, despite the massive Dem fraud, disenfranchisement of thousands of military voters,etc.etc...
What planet do these idiots live on??
Buy Blue is VERY old, started days after the end of the 2004 election, and as with most things lib, failed.....
"This one needs a BARF alert! If you want to have some fun, call up Progressive insurance and ask them for information about their (and their presidents) political contributions."
Isn't PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE owned by that far-left Lewis guy who along with Soros provided millions to the Dems and moveon.org type radical groups? I'd never buy insurance from that crowd.
I appreciate and sincerely respect your position but.... it's too "pollyanna-ish" for these times. Blue State America (read those who have a lib/lefty mindset and NOT necessarily those who reside in Blue States)is consumed by Bush hatred much like Captain Ahab was with the great white whale. Unfortunately, we are at the "fight fire with fire" stage. To do otherwise is to surrender our ideals just for the sake of getting along with these jerks.
Besides, we have more economic power on our side. A boycott blue movement would really get their knickers in a twist. And lefties are so much fun to laugh at when they get angry.
I remember that boycot stuff from the 60's. It just gets to be a pain. I'll not take politics to the store, just the invidisable hand.
"Boogah Boogah Boogah"
>>Besides, we have more economic power on our side. A boycott blue movement would really get their knickers in a twist. And lefties are so much fun to laugh at when they get angry.<<
Another issue is how complex large corporations are - few are truly red or blue - and how far should this combat go - should they be firing people who donate wrong or who vote wrong? Should we check the politics of local small businesses or even our neighbors before we decide how to treat them?
I prefer to look the more elusive and no doubt harder solutions...
I took a real quick peek at the list and there's lot of big red elephants. Most of the blues look predictable, i.e. Apple. I don't know where these people will shop for some of they're stuff if they don't buy red. Do without, I guess. Heh...heh...heh.
However, I did do a quick perusal of buyblue.org. I was not surprised to see the BS and spin. They label companies "big" Republican supporters (donating from $10K to $200K) ... but when you click on the link to the company itself you find that they contributed $170K to Republicans and 'only' $120K to demonRats.
What a joke. These people can't even tell themselves the truth.
We don't call them "useful idiots" for nothing, you know.
Interfere?? Tell us what really bothers you about this. Because most of us know exactly why Democrats don't like "pollwatchers".
I'm starting to be more thankful I didn't buy from them...
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