Last week, I wrote a post examining the ideological corruption and cronyism that so destructively hobbles the progressive movement. I looked at this persistent problem through the prism of AFSCME president Gerry McEntee's full-throated endorsement of Rahm Emanuel's candidacy for Chicago mayor.
My point was pretty simple: When the labor movement rewards Emanuel - the architect of NAFTA, a key proponent of deregulation, an opponent of the public option and the White House official who said "fuck the UAW!" - with lockstep support in his latest run for office, the labor movement is effectively telling all politicians that there are no consequences, and even vast electoral rewards, for selling out the labor movement. This, of course, speaks to the larger and more systemic problem that I dealt with a great length in my book, The Uprising: namely, the prevalence of leaders of progressive organizations based in Washington, D.C. prioritizing their partisan and personal cronyish relationships above the stated ideological/nonpartisan missions of their organizations. This quite obviously betrays these organizations' hard-working dues-paying members - all in the name of organizational leaders' social/political status inside the Beltway.
For this, I was rewarded with an angry, profanity laced phone call at my home from Gerry McEntee. After listening to him tell me I have "no right" to question any of his decisions and then tell me how unimportant I am, I said two things: 1) If me and other progressives are so unimportant, and he is so important, then why was he bothering to call me at my home to yell at me? and 2) I have nothing to discuss in private with him that shouldn't be discussed in public on my statewide morning radio show here in Colorado on AM760. I told him I'm sure labor union members in our local audience and in our show's national listenership would be interested to hear him explain himself. To date, he has refused to appear on the show.
The story could end right there, but it hasn't - and that's a good thing. As reported by In These Times magazine, Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez has finally ended the political class's silence on the corruption/cronyism/insiderism plaguing the progressive movement:
On Saturday, I had the chance to catch up with Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who has formed an exploratory committee to run for mayor. Gutierrez had not yet heard the news when I told him of McEntee's endorsement of Rahm Emanuel at the One Nation Working Together rally. He was outraged. "I'm shocked that Gerry McEntee would endorse Rahm Emanuel, considering what Rahm has done to working people," Gutierrez told me.
"This is the same Rahm Emanuel who said 'Fuck the UAW!' " Gutierrez characterized McEntee's endorsement of Emanuel as "a disgrace to the labor movement. ... What about all my years paying dues as an AFSCME member or all those year walking picket lines as Congressman? I guess that counts for nothing," Gutierrez continued.
The Congressman does indeed have a record as an activist community organizer that is rare among public officials. Union activists say that without Gutierrez’s involvement in the Republic Windows and Doors Factory occupation in 2008, they wouldn't have been able to beat Bank of America. Gutierrez was also the only elected official invited to speak at the One Nation Working Together because of his role in mobilizing the immigration rights movement. Earlier this year, Gutierrez was arrested outside the White House in protest of its inaction on immigration policy. Emanuel's track record as an activist willing to stand up for unions and community organizations pales in comparison.
Gutierrez obviously has a self-interest in breaking the silence on the corruption/cronyism/insiderism that plagues progressive politics. He may run against Emanuel, and so he wants to deny Emanuel as much political support as possible. But who cares? If politics is always about opportunity, then it's good news that Gutierrez's electoral opportunity (and other potential candidates') is congruent with questioning the rot at the heart of the Democratic Establishment - whether that rot is a compromised and corrupted union leader or anyone else.
That's why if Rahm somehow circumvents Chicago's strict anti-carpetbagger laws and runs for mayor, the campaign could represent a national watershed moment in the fight for the true soul of the Democratic Party. Finally, inside the confines of a major election, the true cancer plaguing progressive politics could be publicly and explicitly confronted by Rahm's opponents - and, perhaps, finally defeated.