It was a quiet week for Democrats. There was plenty of criticism in print for members of Congress, with the word “spineless” coming up rather frequently, but the only big decision at the Capitol was a showy piece of legislation meant to subsidize commercial health insurance for families of modest means. If the Dems can generate enough support among the minority party to override the veto (which was ordained in advance), this initiative should make some money for Dems’ patrons in the insurance industry. It’s not a reform of any kind, and it does nothing to confront the systemic health care issues that concern a majority of the general public.

The candidates for president published their take for the quarter just ended: tens of millions of dollars for the Dems’ first-tier prospects. The embedded mass media reported at length about the number of contributors and the amounts raised–much of which will flow to these same media companies–but they said almost nothing about who actually put up the money. If this election’s like the last few, the candidates are all receiving money from the same sources, and they’re not military families or working folk or the uninsured. Mostly, they are people with money to spare, which they use judiciously to buy friendly government and thus increase their holdings. If America again elects one of the big money-raisers of either party, it will elect a marionette whose strings will be pulled by the richest donors.

Our newborn organization now has 80 members. I decided to assess dues, but I’m making the payment optional. One person made a voluntary self-assessment of $35, so that’s where I’m setting the dues. Pay by credit card or e-check at this address:

http://www.pennypool.net/xdem.htmwhich links to a secure terminal, or send me a check at 74 Tremont Street, Hartford, CT 06105. Dues will be used mainly to advertise (and generate more dues). If I raise enough, I’ll get some bumper stickers made and distribute them to dues-paying members.I’ve posted a brief survey at this address: http://www.stepfour.com/xdem/?page_id=48Takes about a minute to complete, and it could give us a better idea of who we are and what we want. The software I’m using to maintain the site (WordPress) makes it easy to conduct surveys, so I’ll probably have at least one going all the time.I’ve been keeping our site maintained as best I can. It’s the only repository I know of that consists exclusively of progressive criticism of Democrats, and it could turn out to be a valuable resource. I still work every day, so I don’t always get to it when news is breaking. I’m a little surprised at the volume of material. By all means, let me know when you run across something that you don’t see on our site.Steve Fournier