Egberto Willies is a self-employed software developer/engineer & political activist who lives in Houston, TX. He is the author of the book, As I See It: Class Warfare The Only Resort To Right Wing Doom and founder of the Coffee Party 2.0 program Americans for Racial Equality & Economic Justice.
Something amazing happened today. An extreme faction of the Republican caucus in the US House of Representatives tried to hold hostage an extension of payroll tax relief for the middle class and the poor, hoping to force ideological demands into the bill. But, they were forced to cave by a trans-partisan coalition.
Make no mistake; this did not occur because of leadership from the President, the Democrats, or the Republicans. This was a direct result of the outrage of the middle class. This is the type of power money cannot buy. This is the type of power that money cannot co-opt, misdirect, or mislead. Do you know why? We the People framed the issue in a manner that illustrated how a failure to pass this bill would materially affect us — our families, our economy, and our nation as a whole. That is the only basis on which we should make decisions as a democratic republic, and this is the crux of the new notion that has entered public discourse in recent months: "the 99 percent." In whose interest should our government operate, the most wealthy and the most powerful, or our nation as a whole? This week, we voiced our opinion loudly and clearly, and we prevailed.
Coffee Party USA is focused on three policy goals: getting money out of politics, reforming our tax code, and reforming/regulating Wall Street. But in fighting for progress on these issues, it is essential that we help to change the national conversation over time. Policy disputes like the payroll tax relief standoff this week in Congress present us with an opportunity to explain to our fellow countrymen how the decisions we make as a people directly impact the middle class and the poor at a visceral, personal level. Ultimately money cannot purchase or reverse a collective learning process and the accumulation of knowledge in a free country. If we couple that with active participation in our democracy — and I believe we are — we will neutralize the corrupting influence of money in politics and restore self-governance to the People.
That is the goal of Coffee Party. We are everyday Americans, not political professionals, not only advocating and educating, but also learning together. Our posts to the Coffee Party Facebook page are shared thousands of times reaching a million people PER DAY. Contributing your voice to our on-going virtual town hall is just one of the ways you can be part of the solution for America.
This is just the beginning. I will be a member of the Coffee Party Board of Directors starting January 1, 2012 and I could not be more excited. Let's work together going forward. Feel free to contact me, or call in during our radio shows to share your thoughts and ideas. (We are building up a regular schedule of radio shows: stay tuned). Let’s keep the pressure on ALL of our representatives in Congress so that we can continue to have positive outcomes like the one we had today.
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