PDA, Peoples Summit, and the People's Convention
Living with uncertainty is not really pleasant. People are waiting for indictments, Assange's email releases, suits to be filed, and so on. So much is in play that none of us really knows what will happen at the conventions and beyond. What follows are several views that you can take or leave because their guess is as good as yours in this unstable election cycle.
First, an email I got today from the PDA progressive democrats of America
DNC: To Be or Not to Be? That is the Question
What a week for those of us who support Bernie. I almost typed Senator Bernie Sanders, but then pulled back to re-type Bernie because even formalizing his title and his name seems somehow a concession. Bernie was not defeated. The movement for climate, economic and social justice was not defeated. And I was certainly not defeated.
Many of us began this week gathered at the People’s Summit in Chicago where Bernie supporters were plentiful and empowered even as we grieved the apparent loss in the California primary and, in all likelihood, the nomination itself. There was broad agreement that even if Bernie’s presidential campaign was coming to a close, the movement to achieve the policy agenda advanced through the Bernie campaign was gearing up for a longer struggle.
As the People’s Summit convened, we learned of a personnel shuffle at the DNC. Was Debbie dumped? Nope. Shuffled. Was it fairly routine for the DNC chair to change when a new nominee/party leader emerges? Yes. The changing of the guard might have been accelerated by widespread dissatisfaction with Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, but she was by no means dumped. Call me cynical, but I saw a rather poorly veiled attempt to appear to be responsive to Bernie.
I’ve said it hundreds of times in the last few months. Bernie is not foolish. He understands that movements matter. As a 74-year-old man and a United States Senator, Bernie knows that no matter who sits in the Oval Office, the deeply populist and progressive agenda he championed on the campaign trail will require sustained and powerful, bottom-up movements to be achieved. Does it matter who is in the White House? Of course. But it matters much, much more who and how many are part of our movement.
It is too early to ask about votes being cast for HRC in November. And it is way too early for Bernie supporters to walk away from the fight for the agenda with which Bernie inspired many millions of us. We, the aforementioned Bernie supporters, are a force to be reckoned with, and we are a movement borne of decades of waiting to be heard and waiting to be represented. This will not be a gentle pivot from one Democratic primary candidate to another as the nominee.
So, from the energy of the People’s Summit to the Tomfoolery of the Democratic Party platform drafting committee we go last week. We listened as that drafting committee did its dirty work on behalf of some very near and dear special interests. $15 minimum wage? Not without a huge fight. Medicare for all, single-payer healthcare? Nope. And as you might imagine, we could go on.
We were so thrilled to hear Keith Ellison and Cornell West speak so forcefully in favor of a truly progressive agenda, and we were happy Barbara Lee joined in on single-payer too after a bit of a dust-up in Phoenix surrounding that issue. But that is not enough, my friends at the DNC. That is not nearly enough. Though you are doing your best to tell us to celebrate this platform, we are not celebrating.
Earlier in the week, a wise advisor and mentor of mine said any person or group will be forever ostracized if that person or group in any way screws up the optics of the prime time HRC coronation that will be the DNC convention. OK. That is probably true. But I have to say that unless the DNC starts taking a very different path forward in terms of a progressive platform that truly represents what its base – and, yes, especially the Bernie base right now–are demanding, I think achieving any even moderate level of Party unity is out of the question. It simply is not enough to ask us to defeat Trump.
You see, coming into the DNC convention in Philadelphia will be 1,900-plus Bernie delegates – many of whom fought hard to become delegates for this candidate and his agenda. Many of them supported his campaign with their time and their money for many months, and hundreds are on-line now raising money to be able to fully participate as Bernie delegates in Philadelphia. We walked in the cold wind in Iowa in the deep of winter and in the sweltering heat of the Deep South in the late spring.
We rode buses for days, and sometimes for weeks. We made phone call after phone call, and knocked on doors in our own neighborhoods where we found other like-minded voters. We came home from volunteering and got online to fight the good fight for Bernie and for ourselves and for one another.
We did not work this hard as Bernie supporters–though thwarted by the mainstream media in ways we wish might have been more justly and wisely applied to Donald Trump–because we thought Bernie the Jewish version of Santa. We believe in Bernie because we believe in justice. We believe in the policy agenda Bernie articulated. And if the DNC thinks we will all link arms and forget the kind of America Bernie helped us envision in favor of a watered down social agenda and an intensified hawkish agenda, then the DNC is making a serious miscalculation.
The DNC platform committee will meet one more time as a whole in Orlando before the DNC convention at the end of July in Philadelphia. That may be the last chance for the Party to demonstrate in a very concrete way that they want the 12 million votes cast for Bernie to lean strongly “D” in November. While a platform is largely symbolic, it does not have to be so. Bernie said he would push for the most progressive platform in the history of the Democratic Party. We said we are taking our cues from Bernie on this matter. So far, the DNC is thumbing its nose at Bernie’s delegates to the DNC and to Bernie’s primary voters. What a real shame.
If the DNC thinks the optics of the prime time convention shows from Philadelphia are their biggest worry, perhaps they might want to reconsider what happens if Bernie’s voters become disenfranchised and fail to vote now or ever as a “D”? Is your platform symbolic? Sure. But between now and the end of July, DNC, only the platform and choice of HRC’s running mate offer the opportunity to prove you really want Party unity going forward. It might be wise to stop thinking you’ve outsmarted and out-maneuvered the progressive left in your base. What we lacked in transformational leadership was ignited by Bernie. Our work is not done, and neither is yours.
If you want to win the presidency and win back control of Congress, you cannot do that without us. And so far, you are not demonstrating in concrete actions that you get that. We’d hate to have you underestimate our commitment to one another and to justice because that makes the November outcome much less certain. That uncertainty might rock more than the pre-ordained HRC coronation in Philadelphia, it could create social and financial market unrest.
No one group supporting Bernie adheres exactly to the opinions or actions of the others, but we have joined together behind the issues. To use the popular vernacular, we found our intersectionality, and we are finding our collective power. We just don’t know for sure that the DNC gets that. There is still time but it is waning.
Make plans now to attend Progressive Central, The People’s Convention Monday, July 25 to Wednesday, July 27. Please click here now for tickets, tabling, sponsorships, ads, etc. Registration (per person): One day $10, All 3 days $25. Includes Light lunch and beverages.
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/pdaphilly
I believe this is the People's Convention Steven has been working on and has plans to attend.
The question of working within the Democratic Party or leave it and go Green is on many people's minds. Here are six thoughtful and different views and conversations from the People's Summit in Chicago.
Published on Jun 20, 2016 At The People’s Summit in Chicago, Naomi Klein and Paul Jay discuss how to build a movement independent of the Democratic party, yet capable of waging a struggle within it 20 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR5litI_oio
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR5litI_oio]
Published on Jun 22, 2016 At The People’s Summit in Chicago, Executive Director of National Nurses United Roseann DeMoro says that the Sanders campaign has made the immense influence of Wall Street on the Democratic Party apparent, and that many don’t have faith that the party is reformable 10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10IY4GT_dI0
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10IY4GT_dI0]
Published on Jun 23, 2016 At The People's Summit in Chicago, Kshama Sawant tells Paul Jay that to create real political change, movements must abandon the Democratic Party 18 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvnPU7tRrkw
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvnPU7tRrkw]
Published on Jun 24, 2016 Carlos Ramirez-Rosa tells Paul Jay if Clinton doesn’t ‘move left’ at the convention, ‘protests and civil disobedience are not off the table’ 10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZuiVWt4Lhg
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZuiVWt4Lhg]
Published on Jun 24, 2016
At the People's Summit in Chicago, Institute for Policy Studies Fellow Phyllis Bennis says the peace movement needs to link with the coalition associated with the Sanders campaign 10 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z5kW6HwG1Y
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z5kW6HwG1Y]
Published on Jun 27, 2016
Charles Lechner tells Paul Jay that although Sanders lost the race for president, he's left a legacy of millions of people who now know how to fight this kind of a race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK3XowSid9k
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK3XowSid9k]
I find myself leaning toward the Green Party. I'm waiting till after the convention in case there is a miracle Sanders nomination, but I think the corporate controlled party would rather run with an indicted $hillary than an electable Bernie. I agree with Kshama that working within the party will be a constant struggle. We still have a month. Who knows what will happen? No one, not even Bernie. We will have to live with uncertainty.

Comments
The DLC needs to die.
Until it does, there is no Democratic Party. I will never get over the theft of this election. If they want unity, it will only come from me if they nominate Bernie instead of the slimey, corrupt Clintons. SuperDs in my reach will pay too.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I got this email today (I'll copy it)
Our movement faces a burning question:
Do we fall in line behind Clinton’s corporate campaign, or do we continue the political revolution and build a new party for the 99%?
Tens of millions are standing against the tide, resisting a Democratic Party establishment hellbent on forcing Sandernistas behind Wall Street’s “lesser evil” candidate. But how can we build a political alternative to continue the struggle against the billionaire class?
Movement4Bernie and Socialist Alternative are organizing a series of forums across the country to debate these questions facing our movement. These meetings will feature a video address from Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and Seattle’s socialist City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, making the case against backing Clinton as a “lesser evil,” how to stop Trump’s right-wing agenda, and how we can build a left political alternative to continue the political revolution.
Join us to discuss how to help Jill Stein’s campaign make the biggest possible impact in 2016, how you can help mobilize for the protests at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 23-28, and how we can build toward a socialist alternative to this crisis-ridden capitalist system.
If you cannot make it to a forum, you can still be a part of the movement!
Help us mobilize as many as possible to the major protests planned for the Democratic National Convention! The corruption of our democracy by both major parties is clear to millions, and the DNC protests will be the center of the growing debate over whether we should we fight to transform the Democratic Party or build a fighting political alternative independent of corporations and Wall Street Super PACS.
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A list of sites followed, dates before the convention edited to add that
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
I hope there is a big turn out!
I think progressive people are trying to develop a strategy. I heard someone say the corporations play the long game, the people play the short game and almost always lose. May be this time we will focus on the long game...like creating a viable third party.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Awesome review!
It will take a couple of minutes to go through the videos, but your summary of where we are is genuinely appreciated. Looking forward to hearing about the People's Convention.
Do you know if Jill Stein and Daniel Elsberg were given speaking slots? Is there a program of speakers and events out there I missed?
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Jill asked to be included
and I'm sad to say was denied. Hard to defend. I wish she had been invited!
Here's another interesting position from Lee Camp
Published on Jun 27, 2016
Where does the Bernie Sanders movement go now! That's what everyone wants to know. ...Assuming the courts and the media IGNORE the election fraud and assuming we don't find out this is all some giant prank played on us by the mainstream media and the DNC. Lee Camp explains next steps. This and more on Redacted Tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQ_C9v9ARU
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQ_C9v9ARU]
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
The revolution is on us!
Thanks Lookout. I needed a good laugh.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn