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Galindez writes: "While I do believe the Democratic Party can be taken back by progressives, it won't happen if progressives don't believe it. Too many over the last 35 years have given up and let the corporate Democrats solidify their takeover of the party."

Howard Dean and his organization Democracy for America are fighting to take the Democratic Party back. (photo: AP)
Howard Dean and his organization Democracy for America are fighting to take the Democratic Party back. (photo: AP)


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We Can Take the Democratic Party Back

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

09 December 14

 

hile I do believe the Democratic Party can be taken back by progressives, it won’t happen if progressives don’t believe it. Too many over the last 35 years have given up and let the corporate Democrats solidify their takeover of the party.

The takeover began in the early eighties, when Tony Coelho took over the DCCC and set out to raise as much corporate money as the Republicans. The result has been a party that went from defending workers to a party that too often sides with Republicans on legislation that benefits corporations over labor.

While it is understandable that Coelho wanted to close the fundraising gap, the result was two corporate parties controlling the country.

Then came the Democratic Leadership Council, whose original goal was to recruit candidates who could get votes in the South. The Blue Dogs were jumping ship and either joining or losing to the Republicans. The DLC thought the Democrats needed a presidential candidate who could win Southern states. Their first attempt failed because the Rainbow Coalition and Jesse Jackson won too many delegates in the South, allowing a very liberal Michael Dukakis to win the nomination.

They would get their man, though – Bill Clinton allowed the DLC to take control and solidify corporate control of the party.

In my opinion, too many progressives surrendered and either went green or got completely out of electoral politics. There are some progressive and liberal or small “d” democrats left but, once the soul of the party, they are now mere relics in a party controlled by the corporate oligarchy.

There are groups fighting back, like Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and Democracy for America (DFA). But too many progressives, and liberals for that matter, have stopped trying. What will it take to get them active again?

Perhaps another Clinton v Bush election. I hope we don’t have to wait for that. I was optimistic after Obama beat Hillary. But of course Obama chose Goldman Sachs to run his economic team and the corporate control continued.

What can we do it about it? We have to get one foot back into electoral politics. We need to keep one foot in the streets, but far too many of us have both feet in the streets, or worse, both feet in their living rooms.

It may take decades, but we have to wrestle the Democrats away from the oligarchy. When I was in college, labor, women’s groups, peace groups, civil and human rights groups, environmental groups, and other progressives had a huge influence over the Democrats. We must return to those days again.

We can sit back and say the system is broken and without reform all is lost, or we can seek the power to make those reforms. The reforms we want will only happen if we have the power to make them reality.

Join your local MoveOn, PDA, or DFA, go to the local Democratic Party central committees, and support progressives for party chairs and officers. Volunteer for progressive candidates and, even if they lose, help them build momentum for future elections.

I know I said that we can’t wait for Iowa and new Hampshire in my last article but I’m looking to move to New Hampshire or Iowa and get active and cover the election. (Email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you know of a cheap living arrangement for me in either Des Moines or the Manchester/Concord/Nashua area.)

Get involved in your local area and if you can, volunteer in Iowa or New Hampshire for progressive candidates. The time to start is now. Don’t wait until 2016.

If enough of us get back into the game, we can win.


Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

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