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The Democratic Party calls itself the "party of the people" and labels the Republican Party the "party of money."

Republican Mitt Romney's candidacy for president in 2012 against Barack Obama was skillfully derailed by Democrats attacking his enormous wealth and lack of sensitivity toward common people.

Democrats are not immune to rich standard-bearers. President John F. Kennedy was and is a hero of mine, but without daddy Joseph P. Kennedy's millions he probably would not have made it to the White House.

Howard Metzenbaum was and is a hero of mine, but his millions gave him a leg up on becoming a U.S. Senator from Ohio.

Enter Michael Bloomberg, worth $60 billion. He is vying for the Democratic nomination for president and has been attacked by fellow Democrats for trying to buy the nomination.

The former New York City mayor had dropped $500 million on television and social media ads by late February, vaulting him into or near the lead in public opinion polls in the 12 Super Tuesday (March 3) states and earning him a spot on the debate stage February 19.

In this era of Columbus development explosion, Freep has often been critical of the mixed-use condominiums jammed into some of the city’s most unique neighborhoods.

We also feel some recent developments were much needed in certain areas, such as Italian Village and Grandview. But did the city have to allow off-campus to turn into a lame corporate piano bar and Clintonville’s Indianola Avenue into a Siberia-looking gulag loaded with condo boomers?

Speaking of Indianola, Freep has criticized the city’s lack of effort to save Olympic Pool, which of course was destroyed for a high-end condo with a stunning view of I-71. Clintonville realtor Joe Jackson of Keller Williams Realty told the Freep he just learned – and confirmed just last week – the owners of Olympic Pool had tried to gift the pool to the city, but the city refused.

The city helped save the Crew, but the team’s new stadium could cost the city $100 million. With that commitment we feel saving Olympic and rehabbing it into an updated water park would have been worth any lack of long-term profitability.

Could anything have saved Olympic?

On Monday, March 2, there was a speak-out protest in honor of She Decides Day at Ohio State University. 

At this rally, over 20 #Fight4HER, Buckeyes For Harm Reduction, Ohio State University Democrats, PERIOD, and Take Back the Night. activists spoke about what their #NewNormal would look would look like in terms of climate change, reproductive justice, global health, institutionalized racism, criminal justice reform, gender equality.  

Well-known local human rights activist Esther Flores is this month’s speaker at the Free Press Second Saturday Salon. The Free Press Salon is a gathering place for progressive people to socialize, network and have a good time. At most salons, there is a presentation on a political or social justice issue. Esther is a registered nurse, founder of the non-profit 1DivineLine2Health, and an advocate for the needy in her West Side neighborhood.

At the salon Saturday, March 14, Esther will speak about her work with 1DivineLine2Health and how they “provide care to the sick who have no access to healthcare via a line of compassionate messengers who deliver healing to victims of human and drug trafficking.” The Salon runs from 6:30-11pm and you can hear Esther’s presentation at 7:30pm. The Free Press Second Saturday Salon is at 1021 East Broad Street, is free, with no RSVP required. Join local progressives for food, drink, music, art and good company.

Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Meet with a wage theft intake volunteer who can help you get paid. We work with attorneys and advocates to recover stolen wages for workers. Enforce your rights.  Spanish speaking translators will be available.  Location:  St. Stephens Community House, 1500 E. 17th Ave., Columbus 43219.  Facebook. 

Calling on Sherrod Brown

There was an organized commotion outside Senator Sherrod Brown’s office on High Street on January 29 to call attention to National Sanctuary Action Day. A few dozen people from the support group of Miriam Vargas, who is currently in Sanctuary in a Columbus church, joined together to amplify the voices of people living in Sanctuary around the country and to urge the Senator to meet with them.

The protestors held a banner that said “Keep All Families Together,” and gave speeches calling for the local legislators to take action in support of undocumented people. Miriam has questions she wants answered by Senator Brown: What is the senator doing in Congress to push for immigration reform? How can they build a path forward toward legal residence for all people currently in Sanctuary?

There’s a monumental shift happening in U.S. politics today, whether people like it or not. While the majority of Americans have been waiting for it for years – even decades – there are many others who remain vehemently opposed to the change. These types of people have opposed each other throughout our country’s history, especially whenever a major social shift like this takes place. These battles have been fought with words, weapons and feet in the street, whether it was during the Revolutionary or Civil War, the Gilded Age or the Great Depression, the Civil Rights Movement or the counterculture revolution that followed. It’s a dichotomy that can only be described as “uniquely American.”

Why does universal health care scare so many otherwise rational people?

Why aren’t people more scared that the worker slapping the bun on their burger makes minimum wage, doesn’t have health insurance, and can’t afford to stay home from work when they have a cold or the flu?

Why don’t U.S. citizens feel they deserve healthcare, mandated maternity leave, universal childcare, free college tuition and a clean environment? These programs are routinely expected in most other developed countries. The U.S. is the outlier, with a small group of elites convincing the population that the necessities of life must be purchased in a market economy rather than part of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

People in the United States are comfortably sandwiched in between a friendly Canada, a (semi) friendly Mexico – despite President Donald Trump’s xenophobic attacks – and two massive non-hostile oceans on each side. The vast majority of residents speak just one language and have had only the limited option of choosing between the same two major political parties since 1864.

Monday, March 2, 2020, 7:00 PM
This award-winning documentary, executive produced by the Anthony Bourdain, aims to change the way people buy, cook, recycle, and eat food. Through the eyes of chef-heroes like Bourdain, Dan Barber, Mario Batali, Massimo Bottura, and Danny Bowien, audiences will see how the world’s most influential chefs make the most of every kind of food, transforming what most people consider scraps into incredible dishes that create a more secure food system. Location:  Drexel Theater, 2254 East Main St., Columbus 43209.  Sponsored by Green Bexley. 

Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign coincided with explosive growth in the American Left. Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) surged from 6,500 members in 2012 to 24,000 members in 2017. The trend is continuing in the run up to the 2020 election. DSA had 56,794 members in November 2019, Democratic Left reported.

The Columbus DSA chapter is showing the same trend. “We’ve been doing weekly canvasses to door knock for Bernie,” said organizer Kristin Porter. “We’ve been setting records in turnout for canvasses, regularly getting between 30 and 50 people. Previously we would have struggled to get 15 people to turn out.”

Porter said that attendance at Columbus chapter meetings has also increased from people who are interested in DSA’s other work in organizing tenants and transit riders, defending reproductive rights, etc.