What political organizations are you a member of?

[Tahuti]

Before the SJWs hijacked the party, Democratic Party.

FDR or Grover Cleveland?

 

[caketastydelish]

FDR thought putting Japanese Americans in internment camps was acceptable. Not exactly SJW material.

 

[Tahuti]

FDR thought putting Japanese Americans in internment camps was acceptable. Not exactly SJW material.

I asked CivGeneral which of the two he preferred. There are many kinds of Democrats after all.

 

[Vahnstad]

I'm a member of the marxist Worker's Party of Belgium.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Are there any attac members on CFC? I have been advocating for a financial transaction tax ftt ever since I was 15 years old, one of my few political beliefs I stand by even a decade after. Still I am not a member, though most of my inner circle is.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attac#

If I could be motivated to join a political organization that would probably be the one.

 

[Vahnstad]

Two images of my party

The PVDA is far left socialist party. They kind of have a double goal. On the short term they persue a democratic socialist agenda, where they present themselves as the megaphone of the working class. They complain about social injustice and protest the austerity measures, while presenting alternatives that should help the lower classes of society such as cheaper energy, cheaper medicins and a 30 hour work week. Their criticism on capitalism however also serves their long term agenda.

As self-declared Marxists the PVDA wants on the long term to end the capitalist system and replace it by a socialist system where the workers own the means of production. A state regulated economy should act as a transition state to bridge the current capitalistic economy with the socialist society the PVDA persues. Unlike the old communist party, they don't favour a revolution but choose a reformist path.

Further the PVDA is fiercely against discrimination, pacifistic and they favour solidarity with the third world. More recently they added a very ecological agenda to their party program as well. The PVDA is also eurosceptic, as they see the EU as a globalist neoliberal system to force through austerity measures. Last but not least the PVDA is also one of the few national parties in Belgium, in Wallonia they exist under the name of PTB (Parti de Travail de Belgique).

For a long time the PVDA was a minor fringe party, but recently they have been rising in the election polls, especially in Wallonia where they might evolve into a challenger for becoming the biggest party there. They mainly target the old sp.a voterbase, of which some favour the PVDA over the sp.a because they think sp.a betrayed its own principles too much. N-VA, Open Vld and CD&V have stated they do not want to form a coalition with the PVDA.

 

[Tahuti]

Sounds like much cooler PvdA than the Dutch one!

 

[Vahnstad]

Sounds like much cooler PvdA than the Dutch one!

They are different.

The Belgian PVDA (Worker's Party) is more like PVDD (Party for the Animals) or SP (but even more radical than them). They're also like Podemos (Spain), Syriza (Greece), Die Linke (Germany), La France Insoumise/Front de Gauche (France) and Corbyn's Labour Party.

The Dutch PvdA is a plain social democrat party, just like s.pa in Belgium, or New Labour, PS or SPD. Those movements are declining. People either want more leftist policies (with the global warming disaster) or they care more about immigration and move to the far-right, and social democrat parties are just almost dead. It's one of the least popular parties amoung the young people. Young people who position themselves on the left, vote for the Greens or for my party (the real left, the new left, the genuine left or whatever you call it).

The center and the entire right-wing said that we're extremists, populists, or the garbage of the 20th century, but if elections would be held today. The "Communists" would likely even become bigger than their social democrat cousins. Communists are now expected to become the biggest political fraction, since in Flanders the right vote for Flemish nationalist parties, and we're the only national party of the country. And even if you take both wings together, only Liberals would be stronger than communists. We would be stronger than christian democrats. We would be stronger than the Greens (who would also increase in vote share). We would be stronger than the Flemish nationalists (who would take a bunch of seats too by the way).

In Luik / Liege, a recent polling showed that we would already have 30% of the vote share for the mayoral elections next year. It's the third biggest city there, and we are already making inroads, and there is even more potential. In Brussels, we would have 10 to 15% either. We would have 10% in Antwerp. We can also aim the 10% in Ghent, i guess. We will get 20 to 30% in Charleroi also, i guess, but Liege would be our strongest showing. I think we could have 35% to 40% of the vote share there.

My party doesn't need to be in the power, but I want at least some big changes. I want better & cheaper healthcare (like the Dutch kiwimodel). I want better housing (the state shouldn't build apartments and houses for the rich), there should be more efforts done for effectively reducing income inequality / wealth inequality (which is right now increasing). We want a 30-hour week. We want more taxes for companies and the rich (millionaires tax). Climate change should be stopped and efforts should be done immediately so that we would be ecologically clean (like China is doing right now, not only saying that climate change is actually a big problem, but also TAKING ACTION (and Paris isn't enough, and we won't reach it). Cannabis should be legalized. We need more animal rights (especially after what is happening in the slaughter houses or how do you say that).

On foreign politics, i especially want to take distance from the USA (we're not their friends, and currently it's them who spread hate), and leave NATO since i'm done with NATO, and i'm also starting to question the relevance of the EU. The EU should either reform or cease to exist. Also recognize Palestina and recognize Kurdistan.

 

[Lexicus]

Can I just ask as an ignorant American whether Trump is a big issue to voters in Europe?

 

[Patine]

I have no political affiliations or loyalties. I have an idiosyncratic political ideology I haven't seen completely mirrored in any political organization. I vote purely according to my conscience.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Can I just ask as an ignorant American whether Trump is a big issue to voters in Europe?

Yes, very much so. Our media is nearly as obsessed over Trump as yours is. I think almost everyone, globally speaking, is aware of the implications of letting a "effing moron" (quote) who has little regard for human life, morality, or anything that isn't money, decide the fate of the world.

On a side note.. Almost all the South Koreans I know personally have been in panic mode for months now. They genuinely think that any day could be the big bang.

 

[caketastydelish]

Trump doesn't "decide the fate of the world". He definitely has influence, but your assertion is bogus.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Trump doesn't "decide the fate of the world". He definitely has influence, but your assertion is bogus.

Every relevant actor on the world stage decides the fate of the world with his actions.. Merkel does, Abe does, lobbyists do, businessmen do, activists do, press people do.. And on a smaller scale, so do you and I.

Trump isn't solely responsible for the fate of the world, imho he is not the most powerful nor the most influential person in the world, but this does not take away from the truth of my statement at all. Clearly, everyone who exercises responsibility over nuclear warheads is constantly deciding the fate of our world, either by actively doing nothing(which still is a stance) or by doing something.

 

[caketastydelish]

Fair enough.

 

[metatron]

Can I just ask as an ignorant American whether Trump is a big issue to voters in Europe?

Yes, very much so. Our media is nearly as obsessed over Trump as yours is. I think almost everyone, globally speaking, is aware of the implications of letting a "effing moron" (quote) who has little regard for human life, morality, or anything that isn't money, decide the fate of the world.

I slightly disagree.
Like, it's a fairly big deal yes.
But if you allow for the mockery (and angst) that would have been our answer to virtually any of the Republican candidates and if you compare to the rank that the AfD, Erdogan or Putin have in terms of attention from certain media and punditry, "nearly as obsessed" strikes me as an overstatement.

 

[yung.carl.jung]

Hmmh, now that you say it I actually agree with your assessment.. Erdogan does get a lot of coverage, though I disagree on Putin. Putin used to be much more prominent, both in serious news and as a target of satire. Especially the latter has faded a lot, imho.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

As much as the media over here focuses on Trump (and indeed American politics/media in general), I'm not sure in what way he is a consideration for "voters" here, given that we can't vote for or against him.

 

[Vahnstad]

It's utterly disgusting that we - all western nations - blindly follow Trump. I'm in favor of sanctions against the USA (for not signing Paris for example). If Americans want to destroy the planet, then they should it on their own homeland, and let Eurasia alone.

I trust Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin much more than Donald Trump (and his Republican Party). Putin has the two things Trump lack: brains and temperament. I believe Europe should align with China and Russia, advocating a diplomatic solution for North Korea (or even recognizing it as a nuclear power) and not supporting sanctions against Iran.

If war would break out between the USA and North Korea, it would be Trump's (or Trump's cabinet members) fault. North-Korea has nuclear weapons to insurance themselves from a foreign invasion and they have the right to do so. See what happened with Libya and Iraq. I however believe the "diplomatic war" between North Korea and the USA has more to do with internal politics (consolidating power) than with anything else. It was the perfect propaganda for that Kim guy and Trump already was campaigning for 2020, a campaign I believe he will win again, since Democrats are still too divided.

 

[Lexicus]

I'm in favor of sanctions against the USA (for not signing Paris for example)

Why stop at sanctions? There is a far better case now for the rest of the world to pre-emptively invade the US and depose its government than the US ever had for its own invasion of Iraq.

I trust Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin
much more than Donald Trump (and his Republican Party).

As much as I loathe Trump I have to say that this is a mistake. I'm not saying you should trust Trump more, mind, just that you should distrust them all equally.

 

[danjuno]

As much as I loathe Trump I have to say that this is a mistake. I'm not saying you should trust Trump more, mind, just that you should distrust them all equally.

Yeah, I would recommend you keep an eye on all the "big boys". As a matter of fact, with Trump and Putin distracting everybody, a good lot of the PRC's shenanigans have gone unnoticed.