by Mike G

The inspiration for this site started with Bill McKibben, in a blog on Huffington Post 4/7/13, entiiled "Is the Keystone XL Pipeline the 'Stonewall' of the Climate Movement?

The question was, and still is, what will make us wake up to reality and deal with the earth changing consequences of running our society on carbon based fuels. As usual, the problem is our leadership, either asleep or intentionally hobbled, failing to see actual action as a political possibility. Bill dismisses the Republicans as hopelessly in the pocket of the polluters and the Democrats only marginally better. Our hope lies in pursuing an agenda of ideas. Bill said "we need a genuine movement for fundamental governmental reform -- not just a change in the Senate’s filibuster rules, but publicly funded elections, an end to the idea that corporations are citizens, and genuine constraints on revolving-door lobbyists. These are crucial matters, and it is wonderful to see broad new campaigns underway around them.  It’s entirely possible that there’s no way to do what needs doing about climate change in this country without them."

I read that and began to think of what builds that package of ideas to get the money out and return representational democracy to the people. This Twelve Step Program to End Political Dysfunction was the result. Twelve Steps, taken on as a progressive agenda, unites Greens, Blacks, Latinos, women and labor all under the same banner. This strong offense is aimed at the heart of corrupting Dark Money Laundering that trolls our society and hobbles our government.

The agenda is drawn to be non-partisan to attract independents and libertarians to join us in the common goal to achieve good governance by kicking the bully trolls in their Dark Money shins.

But this plan only works if we rally around it. My hope is for progressive movements to adopt the Twelve Steps and find candidates to run on a common goal set.

The first group in years to change the public dialogue was Occupy Wall Street. A leaderless collective right out of Monty Python. But their message was clear and accurate to the issues, income disparity. They make their point still, in quieter ways for the time being. 

Imagine the movement that could roll out in September of 2014, Twelve Steps in the hands of the growing Progressive Caucus on the Capitol steps, focused marches across the nation in all our major cities uniting Greens, Blacks, Latinos, women and labor, and Occupiers in targeted short-term Occupations that move before being dismantled. Imagine the national press as all these groups demand the same progressive agenda! Our leaders will have to listen.

That is the kind of change that could move the needle. Bill concludes "And so, as I turn this problem over and over in my head, I keep coming to the same conclusion: we probably need to think, most of the time, about how to change the country, not the Democrats. If we build a movement strong enough to transform the national mood, then perhaps the trembling leaders of the Democrats will eventually follow."

The closest thing I’ve got to a guru on American politics is my senator, Bernie Sanders. He deals with the Democrat problem all the time. He’s an independent, but he caucuses with them, which means he’s locked in the same weird dance as the rest of us working for real change.

A few weeks ago, I gave the keynote address at a global warming summit he convened in Vermont’s state capital, and afterwards I confessed to him my perplexity. “I can’t think of anything we can do except keep trying to build a big movement,” I said. “A movement vast enough to scare or hearten the weak-kneed.”

“There’s nothing else that’s ever going to do it,” he replied."

It puts me in mind of the famous Margaret Meade quote: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

The Problem: "Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and organize." On that principle the Great American Middle Class was forged by our grandparents, in union sit-ins, suffrage marches and civil disobedience against second class citizenship. Today it is threatened by political dysfunction as dark money buys crooked politicians.

With Citizens United, SOCTUS has made bribery legal. Our Pols have been bought. Corrupting "dark" money, exemplified by best by the Koch Brothers and Karl Rove, corrupts at every level, school board to White House. We must stop the money laundering machine to take our democracy back from dark money interests that answer to no one. Their goal to stifle government as they amass fortunes ruining earths climate and stealing our pensions and social safety net. So it is not just the Great American Middle Class at risk, it is the garden planet and sustainable human society.

Today voting rights are in the Koch machine's targets. They know they can't win elections so they must steal office instead, with Dark Money Laundering to hide illegal campaign activities. This is GBT, Government By Troll.

Twelve Solutions:  Twelve Steps to End Political Dysfunction restores democracy by the people to the people, by eliminating today's "mothers milk of politics", corrupting Dark Money, and it's illegal Laundering. It establishes national voting rights, regulates the big banks and restores the public responsibility for justice. 

The American Middle Class needs an offense. Arguing Republican talking points one by one has been a losing strategy. 

     The media needs a story, let it be the people's Twelve Steps to End Political Dysfunction. Solve the problem that begets all problems, Dark Money.

Twelve Step programs address dysfunctions. We need a Twelve Step program to address our political dysfunctions, so we can deal with climate change, heal our economy, restore faith in businesses and civility to society. It starts with understanding that everything that is happening is the will of a small group of committed people with a whole lot of money. And they have a big head start. 

Government is broken because of corrupting money. When money is speech, bribery is legal. Dark money organizations funded by dark money organizations, as detailed in Eric Zuesse’ article How the Kochs and their Friends Engineered the Federal Shutdown have worked an organized assault on the democratic process to hobble government. Hobbled government enables them to continue their fossil fuel business while imperiling our garden planet. It is enough to stifle hope.

In Thousands of Stories of Hope: One Barrier and How We Overcome It, Dylan Rattigan ponders “Do you feel that? The tension in the United States in palpable.”

“The feeling derives from the ever-increasing awareness that a tiny group of wealthy individuals have a hammerlock on our political system that prevents new ways of approaching education, agriculture, health, energy, banking, trade, taxes or climate change.”  

Dylan quotes Lawrence Lessig on the two steps to achieve a better world. "Part One: Invest your time and energy in creating and telling more stories of hope -- no matter how small -- in the issues that matter most to you.. Part Two: Understand that reversing the concentration of power among the wealthy in our government is the necessary first step in releasing the possibilities contained (in) those stories of hope..

We live in a media market controlled by a handful of corporations. And they are owned and controlled by the same entrenched wealth.  In Ted Cruz and Koch brothers embroiled in shadowy Tea Party scheme, Josh Eidelson details how they launder money in fraudulent educational nonprofits.  

Yet all we ever do is talk about their talking points. We argue their talking points on MSNBC, in congress. They lecture us every Sunday morning on Meet the Press, even as history has proven them continuously wrong. The President begins negotiations by conceding to their wishes. Progressives spend our lives dealing with the debilitating effects of the plots the dark money planned in their secret meetings two years before. We are always late. They have always moved on. To date, progressives have a weak defense, and no offense. They are disciplined and two years ahead of us… always. We need a good offense fast!

We are Way Past Impertinence 
Robert Reich ponders An Impertinent Question 
Permit me an impertinent question (or three).
Suppose a small group of extremely wealthy people sought to systematically destroy the U.S. government...
Would you call this treason? If not, what would you call it?

The title of his article sums up progressives' totally defensive position. Asking honest questions about what is actually happening... is considered impertinent. That’s how cowed we are as a society. And we all stood by as they swept the Occupy Wall Street truth to power tellers from our vision. 

We Need a Strong Coordinated Offense to Stop Dark Money
Occupy is the only social movement to actually move the dialogue off the Koch/Luntz/Rove sponsored talking points. However Occupy never wanted to lead or direct their influence to the ballot box. Yet through it's sheer will, Occupy put the excesses and frauds of the 1% on the radar. It has spurred minimum wage campaigns against WalMart and the fast food industryl. And it is good to remember, we are the 99%. It is time we exert a 99% influence.

How it goes in 2014 goes the nation, and maybe the garden earth. In Two Scenarios for 2014, Robert Kuttner ponders the defensive path we are currently on, versus the offense that could be waged. His goal seems to be to spur us to finally grasp the situation we are in and realize the enthusiasm to be generated if we finally grow a backbone and put an offense on the field that deals with the real antagonists..

Nothing is really possible if all we ever do is swat at Koch brothers' flies, fighting last year’s battles reversing plots hatched in secret meetings with laundered dark money a year before that. We need an offense that looks forward and addresses the issues, hobbling the hobblers. They are dark money laundering.

Lawrence Lessig said it well: Understand that reversing the concentration of power among the wealthy in our government is the necessary first step in releasing the possibilities contained (in) those stories of hope.

Jon Stewart once covered a protest by French farmers angry with some austerity move by the government. The farmers drove their farm equipment into Paris, parked it and shut the city down. Jon admired their ingenuity and nerve noting in America the most we ever do is write emails with capital letters.

We need to get past the emails with caps. We know whats happening. Dysfunction, caused by the obstructionist 1% trolls. The trolls are winning, and that is just stupid. We need to stop that! Doing something about it starts with cleaving money from politics, restoring voting rights and holding criminals responsible. 

We need to End Political Dysfunction to deal with... anything. End it and we can deal with everything, especially climate change. 

www.StopTheStupidNow.com introduces a Twelve Step program that prioritizes the path to restored democracy, in the belief we will make better decisions when the 1% trolls are put in time out. As a “Contract for America” type progressive agenda for the 2014 midterms, it would galvanize progressives, draw significant independents, libertarians and even some tea folk.

Twelve Steps could become the progressive rallying point from the left in the 2016 primaries. Imagine a populist firebrand like Elizabeth Warren picking up the Twelve Step torch for restored democracy, economic fairness and responsible behavior to our business and financial communities.

Stop the Stupid Now, Twelve Steps to End Political Dysfunction, Restore Economic Justice and Democracy, and Rebuild the Great American Middle Class has three goals, to fix our politics, our economy and restore justice to our justice system. We should seek candidates to run on leveling the playing field and reestablishing our rights to vote, expect good governance and ethical corporate behavior by eliminating dark money from politics.

It is high time we go after the culprits. Call them out. Demonstrate the power of the people. Consolidate all progressives with a slate of commitments that address first the systemic rot. When the money is gone, the greedy will go home. And then we'll have good government. A guy can hope.

www.StoptheStupidNow.com