Reply #260: The Democratic Party is afraid of the grassroots

[CAcyclist]

The in-crowd at the top are afraid of trusting those of us on the ground.

They derailed Tom Ammiano's bid for mayor for SF against Willy Brown, too. I left the Democratic party partly over that but then came back when the Green Party candidate split the progressive vote in the next mayor's race and allowed the most conservative candidate, Gavin Newsom, to win the mayor's race, when otherwise Tom Ammiano was poised to win. Thus, I learned third parties aren't necessarily better.

Tom Ammiano is a true progressive Democrat and truly independent of the power elite in the party. Paul Hackett may have positions I disagree with, but he reminds me of Tom - truly committed from a desire to better society and fix our problems and not at all lured by power or prestige or the chance of a lucrative lobbying job afterwards.

I hope Sherrod Brown wins, but I will not give one thin dime to his candidacy and he will leave a sour taste in my mouth forever. I am also considering thinning my subscriptions because I am not at all pleased that In These Times and the Nation supported Brown and ignored Hackett's work. If it hadn't been for Hackett, Brown wouldn't even be running - I see Brown as a spineless opportunist.