"Time To Move On."
First, no.
I’m going to be blunt: Democratic Party performance for labor and the middle class has been deplorable. Those of us all upset over the divide in the party need to realize that you created us.
Yes, that divide is a direct consequence of ongoing support for now failed “Third Way” and “New Democrat” neo-liberal economic policy.
Guys, it doesn’t work. I think we all need to admit that now.
Way too many Americans --a majority of Americans now, just can’t “move on.”
Why?
Failed economic policy. People aren’t getting what they need out of government, nor can they find jobs that make sense for their families.
This is a raw mess, and again, it’s time we admit that.
And before you all go and point fingers, I’ll be the first to admit to being complicit. I supported Clinton and Obama type Democrats with vigor! I totally thought incremental change would get there for everyone, and I fought against the naysayers over and over.
...until they were proved right!
It’s time to own that. This isn’t about who is evil, or stupid either. We meant well. I believe that. But about half of us today are wrong.
I am owning it, and I should have listened to my earlier self around the time of the ACA debates. That is when I got the first inkling something was wrong. --that it wasn’t going to work. Wrote, “Coin Operated Democrats” back then.
Know what else I wrote?
I wrote about funding our own politics, challenging the money with our money, and a bunch of other crazy shit! Back then, I could feel something amiss, but couldn’t quite wrap my head around it, and so I fought boldly on. Tons of us did!
Rightfully so too, I might add.
Then came Bernie Sanders. I know, fuck Bernie. Really, I get it. He has thrown a big wrench into the left, and it’s not pretty, but we need this. We need it bad.
We need to understand that progressive legislation, populist legislation, a return to more just economics is going to require we the people step up and fund the kind of politics we need.
I wrote that too, and was called crazy. Back then, I was.
But Bernie just did it.
There is no way I can shake what I saw this year. None. I now understand what it’s going to take to bring the left back into action and do what the left is here to do.
We can’t just “move on”, until we settle this fight! And I’ll tell you right now, I believe in the Democratic Party, but I absolutely do not believe in it’s current, established leadership anymore. Done. And because I want my party to perform again for me, my peers in need, and everyone like it once did, I am completely rejecting the old model.
It’s time for something new. It’s time we pool our money, unify as people and take ownership of our government and party back. It’s time for our money to compete with the big money and it’s time we secure real power and leverage for progressives and the left in general too.
Down with the old, in with the new!
Bernie is right. It’s time to reform the Democratic Party. It won’t be pretty, but if we do it now, and we do it together, the result will be something all of us can be proud of and benefit from.
A whole lot has been said, but these things stick in my mind from this election season:
The time to be talking about this stuff is right now. Bernie currently enjoys very significant support that likely exceeds the entire Democratic Party base, and is on par with the support President Trump has. (Hopefully, not for long.)
There really is no excuse to continue on with the current Democratic Party establishment leadership, given the seriously poor overall party performance we have seen to date.
Again, it’s just not working for enough people. Well intended, and all that, but not effective enough. Incremental change, moves to the right, endless compromises are leaving ever larger numbers of Americans out of prosperity shared by ever smaller numbers of Americans.
Some don’t like the idea of Bernie Sanders having a say in how the party is shaped. That’s fine, but let’s take a very coarse look at what that really means:
TIME GOP IND DEM
2016 Oct 5-9 27 36 32
2016 Sep 14-18 27 40 32
2016 Sep 7-11 29 38 31
2016 Aug 3-7 27 38 31
2016 July 13-17 28 42 28
Now, think about who is behind Bernie, generally. Among Dems, he won 22 States and got 45 percent of the delegates! Given what we've seen, that's half the party, flat out.
Among independents who could vote, he had 80 percent, so let's just call that 60 percent of Independents overall.
There were some Republicans too, 10 percent tops.
Do the math
DEM (28 * 50%) = 14, IND(42 * 60%)=25.2, REP(28 * 10%)=2.8
total = 42%
And that support trends YOUNG. Bernie lit up the future of the nation, filled stadiums and is currently doing it again on his book tour. Anyone seriously questioning who the rightful and best overall leader of the Democratic Party just shouldn't.
The Struggle Continues
Have you guys really looked at Bernie's subtle messaging? Bernie never, ever, puts a fail mode out there. There is always a primary thrust, but no matter what, there is always a build or contingency for the future too.
Why?
Simple! As long as America is in pain, as long as the middle class continues to shrink, as long as wages are flat, and as long as over half of us live in poverty despite living in the wealthiest nation in the world, there are simply no excuses!
Bernie ran a campaign for POTUS in order to kick off a movement. Now it’s time to reform the Democratic party and build that movement up to win elections needed to not only blunt the worst of what President Trump may do, but prepare the party, and independents, who support the great ideas the left has, to come back and win the Presidency in 4 years.
Nobody will do this for us either. If any of you expect seriously great change while depending on the same money, the same leadership and the same ideas that got us here, think again. It’s not gonna happen.
Never forget that.
We've all seen how "the money" corrupts things in that all the incentives are in the wrong places which results in policy not well aligned with the majority of Americans. We've also seen how "our money" can easily compete on a national level and how that empowers us to get involved in the political process.
Millions of Americans involved in the process means taking government back!
In particular, we must become government with the goal of securing real power and leverage to put behind our ideas improve Congress and hold President Trump accountable for that brighter future he was elected on.
Given his cabinet, we have a raw, bloody fight on our hands, and how many of you hold any confidence at all in our current party leadership?
Me? None really.
Revolution will cost us $27 per month. A while back, Bernie outlined a vision with three organizations in it:
Central Funding Organization
The primary purpose of this organization is to present one primary face to the movement for the purpose of collecting recurring donations needed to grow our movement, fund great candidates and win elections! This organization will publish funding goals, metrics, allocate funds to the other organizations and candidates as needed, and be a central place to see results and help winners take it to the people who elected them and secure longer term, sustainable funding of their own.
This is our money, and it's purpose is to enable us to compete with "the money", currently working against us, leaving ordinary people out in the cold, shut out of the process with perfectly understandable and unacceptable results!
Until such time as we have undone the damage caused by Citizens United, it is necessary for we the people to pool our money, time, energy and votes to insure our government actually does work for us, not over exploit us, or ignore us.
We raised nearly a quarter billion dollars for Bernie. Runs for Congress range from $100K to some millions of dollars, depending on where and who the challengers are. Do the math, and it's obvious we can run a few hundred people and given the broad support we have, win a lot of those races. We have more time, if we get this kicked off right now.
That is what this organization will help us do, and it needs to be the right kind of legal entity to make these things happen.
Strategic / Knowledge Organization
First and foremost, this organization collects all data we have from this election season, from the primaries, various Berniecrat campaigns and any interested others, such as delegates, phone bankers, volunteers and advocates willing to share what they know.
It will take this information, perform analysis and formulate election strategies today, well in advance of any future elections and distribute that knowledge among movement candidates. Little things like:
- Deadlines in various states and elections
- Early voting, absentee / mail in
- Problem areas, short on machine, known troubles
- Prep legal arguments, pleadings, have it all ready to go in advance
- Recount rules, challenges, deadlines, costs
Think, fewer rookie mistakes + smart strategies known in advance of elections + accurate, reliable data = more wins!
This organization should also be responsible for creating necessary infrastructure, such as phone banking tools, voter list management, competitive analysis on likely targets, and anything else deemed necessary to empower our movement nationally as well as locally:
- Voter List Software
- Campaign / activism tools
- Competitive Arguments by region, issue
- Tools for smaller / regional / county groups to use
- Specifics on targeted races!
- Demographics, and a ton more I can't list right now
As elections and campaigns run, that data is added to the repository such that future elections always run with the best data and strategy available all the way down to local dog catcher type campaigns.
Most importantly, there is no way we will just blow our money on consultants, ADS, and the like. That stuff will be needed, but this investment is about not only reforming the Democratic Party, but literally prying it out from under big money, proprietary software, and handing it to the people, for the people, run by the people for the longer term!
Here is the beauty of it: Should we do this, and do it right, we will also build up a huge amount of issue / activism type power and leverage! All of the great advocacy we know how to do will get multiplied by having people in Congress working for us.
Think: Not buying a campaign that wins or loses. We are funding the politics we want, the better future we want, and the means to get there, step by step. Our kids will benefit from these investments!
Media / Production Organization
This organization will produce great Bernie Style political ads, featuring positive, compelling messaging and it's charter will be to empower anyone willing to run on people money to do so with well produced, clear, compelling media production at their disposal.
Think: Campaign in a box!
Positive Politics is distinctive and having an organization capable of consistent and compelling production will serve to unify our movement and make our campaigns, ideas, people well differentiated and successful.
This frees our people to get out there to work the crowds, shake hands, visit homes, hold town halls, and any other thing they believe will help build support for and advance our ideas.
Campaigns can also submit local issues for production, and or get their own staff trained up to do it better, faster, more live, more local, more relevant! This allows for their region / district as well as their need to position themselves personally as needed.
This org will work closely with the strategic organization to insure messaging is on target and available as soon as any campaign requires it. Our ideas are clear, well understood, and a lot can be produced and ready to roll into the action when it's election time. However, some of it may be used to build name recognition well in advance of any election, targeting bad votes, or statements made by the targets to be replaced too.
Advance activities such as strategic media buys and allocations, production of collateral, banners and many other things the movement campaigns will need can be allocated, reserved, or bulk purchased to maximize impact, and or leave options open where needed.
New Leadership Is Needed, This Is How We Get It
I'm done guys. What I saw this year, I can't shake. To us, Bernie, and millions of Americans today, the corruption is unacceptable, and we need to fight it face on, or we may never get the opportunity to do so.
Why?
You bet your ass they saw it too, and I'll bet they are worried sick at just what the progressive left, and like minded friends of the ideas, are looking to do.
Just think what we are capable of if we start pooling our money now and put it into a plan like this!
We must become government. New blood is needed. That means some of us, and perhaps some people out there who really can step away from "the big money" and join us. Some will do that, and the better our plan is, the more effective they believe it will be, the more likely we are to capture them.
If we do not do this, I expect we will end up with the same career politicians, all shuffling problems around, all still plugged into their lobbyists, "the money" and the most we are likely to get is lip service to ideas long past due for legislation.
After what I saw this year, no way. We can, need, should, want to do better!
Our money can insure our people we elect are empowered to work for us, and are free from working call center duty too.
Right now, Democrats spend nearly HALF their time in a grubby little room, with a handler who basically forces them to make phone calls to wealthy people, dialing for dollars. That handler has a spreadsheet showing how much they have to raise for the party machine, how much they need to get reelected, and how much might be needed otherwise.
Right now, that machine is running, and polluting the next elections as we speak. The new people are already getting dragged in there, indoctrinated. We will lose them as they succumb to the non stop promises and non stop chatter from upper class people.
We can end that cycle. I believe we must.
Instead of time in the call center, our people can be holding town halls, engaging with local voters, business and other leaders to better understand how we can improve life for everyone, not just the one percent. We can offer Americans a better choice. Our people will be able to do the work needed in their hometowns and districts to be the best representatives they can be.
Winners of their elections will continue to see funding from the primary organizations, but will be required to build their own local, sustainable funding so that we may continue building our presence in government, free from big money and all the obligations that come with it. The organizations help with that too. Insure success.
This breaks the cycle and insures our people can remain true to the people.
This is government of the people, for the people, by the people as is necessary in these difficult money in politics times.
It goes without saying our goal is to be rid of money in politics, but until such time as we secure the power and leverage needed to accomplish that, we must fund the kind of politics needed to improve the lives of everyday working Americans.
It is time to fight. The left needs to talk about money. We can put our ideas in business terms as well as people terms. We can speak to everyone and build on our already massive support. Support that is just itching for something to latch on to.
"Where do I put that $27?"
It is time to begin this work and form these organizations.
Many of us stand ready and willing to begin our recurring $27 per month donations as well as encourage others to do the same.
Despite all the election problems we are aware of today, many elections are reasonable and winnable. Election reform is a high priority, and many of us will say it's a top priority. Winning the elections we can win will put us into a position of strength and independence the left has not enjoyed for a very long time.
It is time to take government back for the people. Reform is long overdue and new leadership is needed. This vision does not require anything other than our time, money and votes to succeed.
Comments
Interesting you should mention impoverished white males
…(who are dropping like flies, by the way). I've been looking at Basic National Income proposals — there are quite a few out there — and I'm getting the impression that such programs will not work unless it is mandatory that all citizens receive the income, regardless of age or status. It appears there will be a social psyche malfunctions if someone somewhere in the United States gets something for free.
A Basic National Income would act as a social safety net. At the very least, it will allow all Americans to purchase the long-promised plateau of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, without further delay. It's not glamorous, but it is a dignified and affordable survival plateau from which one can safely launch one's life without committing a felony or entering indentured servitude.
(Americans will finally have that sense of personal security that citizens of other developed nations have. Perhaps it is the ever-present sense of economic fear and dread that keeps Americans passive while their military aggressively brings murder and mayhem to poor nations that possess valuable resources. They're afraid to speak up.)
Most importantly, a Basic National Income will give Americans three universal Human Rights that they have been deliberately denied for more than 70 years: Affordable housing, freedom from hunger, and health care.
If we are going to start fresh with a New Party, I cannot imagine a better foundation for a Platform than the Basic National Income. It benefits all citizens equally and a solid majority will always have a stake in keeping it viable. What makes it affordable is that it eliminates most current social programs along with the monumental costs of administrating them. No more means testing. No more hungry and homeless children. No more fretting about "programs" that might be cut or :::gasp::: expanded. Those who cannot or do not work, will have a modest income and affordable shelter. No American will again be threatened by hunger or medical neglect.
Our workerless factories, self-driving cars, and automated services — and the Neocon globalism of the permanentely-installed Federal Government make a national income inevitable, anyway, but the vision can be celebrated and introduced by the New Party that will forever be known for delivering human dignity to the American people.
Politicians can finally get back to work re-naming post offices and slamming back shots in the Cloak Room.
Haven't seen you in awhile, CW. Hope you are doing wonderfully.
Pluto
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
This! YESSSSSSSSSS!!! The $27
This! YESSSSSSSSSS!!! The $27 Sherlock solution to the system of corruption producing and maintaining the corrupt system.
Although I'd also suggest that some enterprising group begin working on formulating, creating, crowd-funding and promoting a new Socially Democratic Party Of The People with a stated-as-binding platform while we still have internet... If The People do not take back control of their governance to create that government of, by and for the people, enforcing equal rights, treatment and opportunity for all, which the US Constitution specifies as forming the only legitimate government of the country, this can never happen.
Also, a big push needs to happen for a universal fair voting system, where every vote is counted and counts, as with Ranked Choice or some form not forcing the continuation of the Two-Party corporate Trade-Off scam but allowing people to vote their own way without 'enabling the greater evil' and initiating real choice and democracy, one secure and monitored by citizens/independent and trustworthy orgs. every step of the way, verifiable every step of the way.
Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.
A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.
Amen, potato. Dead nuts.
I would rather attempt to reform a party that has a brand name damn near 200 years old than build something new. The party is dead, long live the party! Let the Greens be the third party.
A bunch of us on Daily Kos started up a web radio effort some six years ago this feb. with the intent of helping 100 or more do the same so we'd have our own progressive radio network. Well, we've picked up one "real" terrestrial station in D.C. all this time. So, we've got 99 to go. What would we do with 100 web radio stations around the country? Well, one, have local elected Dems on to say hello, and two, even better, have local Dem candidates on to give voters an idea who they are. You don't have to be on 24/7/365 like we are. Two hours a week on Fri. night, or 20 hours a week, that's all up to you. Really depends on how many want to join you "on the air."
How much to get started? About $200 if you have a computer. How much to maintain every month? $15 plus your time, plus the cost of a webpage (maybe $5 a mo.)
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Thank you for this thoughtful & well-written essay, potatohead!
Personally, I fear that the Dem Party is too corrupt 'to save,' and prefer to work toward a third party solution; but, I appreciate your perspective, and hope that you'll continue to post here.
Your type/style of writing very much complements this blogging Community, since we strive to be (mostly) issue-oriented.
Have a good one!
Mollie
“I believe in the redemptive powers of a dog’s love. It is in recognition of each dog’s potential to lift the human spirit and therefore– to change society for the better, that I fight to make sure every street dog has its day.”
--Stasha Wong, Secretary, Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
The SOSD Fantastic Four
Available For Adoption, Save Our Street Dogs, SOSD
Taro
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Obama and Sanders headed reform movements: compromised & cheated
I would say that Obama represented a reform movement--and he got his start by his anti-war stance. People wanted positive liberal change and democrats went to him rather than Clinton. So we got the same, with some liberal gains, but mostly the same even going backwards in many areas. I credit him and his team for the party structure which then attacked and cheated Bernie Sanders. And by appearances, the same party infrastructure and people are still in place. At TOP the owner is pushing for an upper middle class white woman who is a Clinton-ite to be party chair.
So one reform movement was totally compromised and another was cheated and ravaged with smear and slander.
So disregarding the fact that Bernie was cheated, and let's say Hillary won legitimately, then my conclusion is that the base of the democratic party is not leftist, not progressive, barely liberal, not New Deal, and resembles more Rockefeller republicans. When Hillary won the primaries, her supporters had to re-invent her as some sort of liberal. The democratic party base chose to side with Clinton on her attacks against Sander's New Deal-based policies. And a base that accepted Clinton's obvious corruption and alliances with powerful anti-liberal forces. In fact, Schumer himself pretty much said he wanted the base to grow with suburban republicans.
The democratic party leadership and activist base has as Chris Hedges said, learned to talk liberal--while implementing the very opposite policies. I shake my head as I see the titles of front pager articles on TOP now and I ask if they realized that Clinton was against the implied and explicit policies--well, probably not as Clinton was reinvented. The base and establishment got the person they wanted.
So the question is not whether the democratic party can be reformed, but whether it can be converted. There is no New Deal base anymore. And even the "liberal elements" will not stand for the New Deal given the overwhelming endorsement of Clinton by so-called liberal super-delegates and elected officials. This older democratic party no longer exists anymore--which is probably the image the reformers have. Might as well "reform" the Tea Party to progressives for all the good it will do.
One, the under 40
crowd has no idea what a New Deal Dem is. They were born in the late '70s (or later), grew up in the Reagan '80s and Bubba '90s - and by then any semblance of the New Deal was obliterated by Third Way Dems and Reagan Repubs. The under 40 crowd has no idea what America was before Reagan, they grew up under the emerging oligarchy /plutocracy that has now claimed the government. So, when Bernie and Berniecrats push New Deal ideas the under 40 crowd thinks they're pie-in-the-sky unicorn and rainbows ideas. Total fantasy. But they once did actually exist. Yes, college was practically Free back in the day. Or certainly affordable. Only the Big Name schools - Haavaad, MIT, Stanford, Cornell, the ivy league schools - were unattainable to blue collar families. "Health Care" was between you and your doctor, often partly covered by your employer, no insurance company in the mix. I know! Fantasy Land, right?! Wrong. Actually existed. I remember to this day when some Insurance Big Wig came into our conference room (filled with 60 employees or so) talking about how Health Care was going to change. That we no longer were going to bring doctor bills to work where half (or more) of the bill would be reimbursed, instead were going to get -ahem- "pre-approved" by someone before we could even go to the doctor. Then submit a bill to something called an HMO. And just like that, circa 1983, America changed before our very eyes, on its way to what we see before us today. But, yeah, there was a time in America when it wasn't run by Wall Street, run by TPTB that want nothing except everything before they run off to their Hideaways leaving we, the 99% to fend for ourselves. Flying off in a prop plane with a big ol' sign off its tail saying "bwhahahahasta la vista, suckers!" before boarding their Lear to their Carribean hideaway.
the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.
Maybe why young people did not fear the word "socialist"?
Interesting on generational understanding. Yah, my parents came out of World War II so yes, was very familiar with FDR and Truman. In 1964 Johnson came to town I went as a kid and wove my way to the crowd to see him. Saw Bobby Kennedy several weeks before he was killed.
Since I agree with you that Bernie was cheated
Let's try not disregarding that fact for a moment and see what we can see...
That means that a lot of independents became Democrats to vote for Bernie (true) because indies really like Bernie's policy ideas and his grasp of corruption in government--
And it means that there's a significant number of Democrats who ALSO supported Bernie for either his policies or his stance on corruption.
So there are a number of Democrats who are New Deal/Great Society types even if they've never heard of either of those things. That base exists. But it exists both inside and outside of the Democratic party. The question isn't whether to reform or convert the Democratic party--the question is, given that the progressive base is both inside and outside of the Democratic party, which place provides that base more opportunities to grow? Inside or outside?
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
I really don't think it's a good idea to keep supporting the
same people who keep screwing us. Good grief.
I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks
Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa
I wish Sanders and you all the best in your quest to reform
the Democratic Party from within. I really hope you succeed. However, I think Sanders is mistaken.
I worked hard for Sanders, donated a lot to him and raised a lot of money for him. To this day, I am not sure if I regret it or not, but I know he has not seen a penny or an effort from me since California, nor will he. IMO, he has divided the already divided "left of the left" even further, which is unfortunate, to say the very least and drained a lot of money and hope from it.
I sincerely hope that he, you and others who believe in reforming the Democratic Party from within prove me wrong.
Bonne chance!
The Democratic Party is dead
and it is a graveyard for the Progressive movement.
Neoliberalism has become a way of life for this awful Party...
Progressive to the bone.
Pages