"The Resurgance of Movement Politics"

[dajoki]

The Democratic Party is caught in a downward spiral and is using its supposed "big tent" as an excuse for its weaknesses. Democratic politicians have always said that "ideological diversity is the Democrats strength," but that refrain is now being shamelessly used as a way to obscure the fact that the Democratic Party is ideologically rudderless. The party often permits and even congratulates those within its ranks who sell out America's middle class, whether it be those who voted for the bankruptcy bill or those who consistently vote for corporate-written trade deals like CAFTA or NAFTA. The party elites--many of whom follow the corporate apologism of business-funded groups within its ranks--still believe they can ascend to power on the public's loyalty to a Democratic Party label, even as that party label is almost completely meaningless to much of the public.
<<snip>>
This is where the progressive movement must focus its attention, and why I decided to help establish PLAN, the Progressive Legislative Action Network. There are literally hundreds of state lawmakers all over America right now ready to fight on behalf of ordinary, hard-working Americans, ready to start helping citizens raise their wages, improve their access to healthcare, protect their pensions and, in general, secure their economic future.
<<snip>>
This is the model for the future--a model that takes its cues from historical success of sharpening an ideology that truly speaks for America's middle class, not the historical failure of trying to simultaneously appease both the Big Money perpetrators and their middle-class victims in a corrupt political system gone mad. This is a grassroots model that comes from America's most successful political stories, not from the class of professional election losers in Washington who preach an ineffective, split-the-difference politics.

THE NATION http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050829&s=sirota

[moodforaday]

1. a well-deserved

kick!

:kick:

[Q]

2. "Progressives have spent the last four years in a state of shock,...

...unable to believe what's going on in this country, and holding out hope that things will get better by themselves. We watch as poverty rises and job growth declines; corporate profits skyrocket while employee healthcare and retirement benefits get eliminated; CEO pay rises as workers' wages fall. Worse, the core economic issues that should be at the center of America's political debate have been depoliticized, while the issues of personal and religious conviction that should be removed from politics have been most politicized, leaving us with a political debate almost entirely divorced from Americans' day-to-day challenges.

This reality is shocking. But it shouldn't be surprising, because it is thirty years in the making. Conservatives long ago realized what our side is only starting to comprehend: that successful politics starts with successful ideological movements, and that those movements are a prerequisite to any serious partisan gain."

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Very astute observations in this article.

Progressives HAVE been in a state of shock since 2000. First because we couldn't get our minds around the fact that a coup d'état took place in 2000 and then by the collusion/inaction of the Democratic leadership.

The Bushie RWingers and their friends in the Democratic party have tried hard to keep an ideological movement from taking form in the grassroots rank and file. But how much longer can they hold us back?

[dajoki]

5. hopefully no longer...

we had enough of time to figure out what's going on, now it's time to act. but i'm afraid we can't trust our dem leaders, it's going to HAVE to be grassroots. ideas?

[Skidmore]

3. Yessss!!!

kick

[Armstead]

4. Kickoli

[deutsey]

6. Here's an interesting commentary on developing a mass movement

http://www.blackcommentator.com/144/144_cover_movement.html

“Democracy… does not come from the government, from on high, it comes from people getting together and struggling for justice.” – Howard Zinn, Spelman College commencement address, Atlanta, 2005.

Politicians are elected and selected, but mass movements transform societies. Judges uphold, strike down, or invent brand new law, but mass movements drag the courts, laws and officeholders all in their wake. Progressive and even partially successful mass movements can alter the political calculus for decades to come, thus improving the lives of millions. Social Security, the New Deal, and employer-provided medical care didn’t come from the pen of FDR. The end of “separate but equal” didn’t come from the lips of any judge, and voting rights were not simply granted by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. All these were hard-won outcomes of protracted struggle by progressive mass movements, every one of which operated outside the law and none of which looked to elected officials or the corporate media of those days for blessings or legitimacy. It’s time to re-learn those lessons and build a new progressive mass movement in the United States.

MORE...

[dajoki]

7. absolutely right on

anything worthwhile is worth the struggle. you are so correct, most social reform came out of grassroots movements. we must figure out how to get people involved so it can happen again.

[Toots]

8. I will gladly be a part of PLAN

I will not vote for someone any longer just because they have a D after their name. Zell Miller immediately comes to mind. I will only work to elect or reelect a true Progressive no matter what letter follows their name. I doubt I could vote for anyone with an R after their name but who knows? I do know that I am now and will forever be an Independent. That is the Classification on my Voter's Registration Card. Support PLAN is you wish for a descent America.

[dajoki]

9. yes, and...

i would like to see the list of the "hundreds of state lawmakers" who will fight for "ordinary Americans". maybe we could contact some.

[dajoki]

10. here is PLAN website

http://www.progressivestates.org