I HAVE A FIGHTING DEMS' DREAM - We need bridges, not walls

Eric Massa, a netroots endorsed candidate, posted an important diary on Sunday, entitled "Fighting Dems, National Security, Netroots and Party Unity". In his call for unity, Eric warned:

A Dem Party that is factionalized -- grassroots versus organized leadership, Beltway versus outsiders, political pros versus upcoming novices, vets versus non-vets, liberal versus moderate, red state versus blue state, northeast versus heartland, ideological purity versus political expediency, or any other divisiveness that we are so prone to promulgate -- is a party that is preparing for election suicide. If recent polls are any indication, we have a great opportunity this fall.  We cannot afford to squander that opportunity by getting bogged down in internecine warfare. We have to recognize that the face of the enemy is George Bush and his henchmen, who, in Wes Clark's words in the Dem radio address last night, have led us nowhere. At least he has led us to some place no one wants to be.

I think we should heed such caution despite the anger and frustration many grassroots activists and Fighting Dem vets feel over being left out in the cold to wage lone, tough battles. Some candidates, like Duane Burghard (MO-09), have privately suggested plans for how candidates can do it on their own and his words strike a note of wisdom.

But I only have a dream. Unless the DCCC opens its hearts and its purse strings to candidates across the board -- as Eric Massa said in his post Sunday -- to the level the playing field, we have no choice but to do it on our own. What I think we need to do is to organize the grassroots into a single voice. That means grassroots Fighting Dems vets and non-vets alike working together to organize events that draw national publicity - and with it support from across the land to make up for the meager funds available in their own districts.

Is this an impossible dream?

I have a Fighting Dems dream of an event where Cegelis and Tammy stand side by side, after their primary, and raise their hands together and say, "We are going to take back America." I have a Fighting Dems dream that McNerney and Filson would stand side by side at that same event, before their primary, and raise their hands to say no matter which Fighting Dem wins, "We will take back America from those who would destroy it."  Now that would be a mighty message that just might bring the support of those who have the power to help us -- but it can only happen if we begin the process ourselves. No one is going to do it for us. Is it naïve to think that if candidates worked together on this one issue that they would gain the gratitude of their constituents and give hope to America?

I guess I am ever the dreamer. But what if instead of fighting each other the grassroots Fighting Dems would raise the voiced together, and instead of declaring war on the DCCC, the DSCC and the PACS we could ask them to host just such an event? Ask them to host a national Democratic unity Meetup. And if they do not, then do it ourselves. After being spotlighted by Kos and Air America, the Fighting Dem Vets got together in Washington twice (December and January) before two PACS came to their aid (after being approached by Eric Massa) to co-host the event of February 8th on the Mall with Max Cleland, and a fundraiser in at which luminaries like Wes Clark, John Kerry and others spoke. It didn't happen by itself. It didn't happen at the instigation of any organization or PAC. It happened because grassroots vets made it happen.

And why not a national coalition of Fighting Dems to display our unity against the threat of tyranny by a small, evil cabal. Could our fractious Dems really do something like that? It would mean swallowing bitter pills and holding out hands to each other instead of raising our fists. It would mean making the Band of Brothers and Sisters not just one group, but all America demanding our nation back from those who would pervert our values, shred our constitution, eliminate our freedoms, destroy our democracy, and pour money into the bottomless pit of immoral wars.

Cegelis, ever gracious, has started the ball rolling by endorsing her former rival Tammy Duckworth. This was not an easy thing to do after a hotly contested race, but it is a vital start of what needs to be done.

Christine Cegelis, who lost a three-way Democratic House primary battle last month, said she endorses the winner, wounded Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth.

"I certainly endorse Tammy over Peter Roskam. I hope for a Democratic win in November, and I wish her all the luck in the world,'' Cegelis said.

We have so much more in common than we have in differences. A "common cause" for all Fighting Dems is the dream I nurse in my heavy heart.
Such a dream cannot come from entrenched power brokers but only from the soul of America. From the grassroots and the netroots raising a single mighty voice to save our land.

I will conclude with another quote from Eric Massa's Sunday diary.

The idea of selecting a few critical races has its merits, but in this year of unparalleled opportunity to take back Congress, just a matter of $5,000 to a Fighting Dem campaign, vet or non-vet, would be a huge incentive and help prime the pump for more funds.  Giving money to what seem to be marginal races can be a better investment than a high profile race, especially in a year that has potential for upset victories.  (See Ruy Teixeira on Donkey Rising.)

In many of the districts where grassroots candidates are fighting to
build the Democratic Party from the ground up, the local folks simply
do not have the resources to battle the huge treasure chests DeLay and
cronies have helped GOP candidates to horde. We do not need to match
these amounts, but we do need to have enough to run an effective campaign. It is not enough to demand that candidates in poor, "red" districts raise huge sums before endorsing them. Candidates must be supported in order to raise such funds. We cannot put the cart before the horse.

And we cannot put divisiveness before unity. The vet candidates are not over and against the grassroots, they are a subset of it. And we need all the parts -- local, state and national in order to forge a Democrat Party that once again speaks for the heart of America. And the place to start is with the grassroots and netroots reaching out to all American to support their candidacy, and for the national institutions to fall in line and not just to stand by the side of the candidates in the trenches, but also to begin leading the way.

Noel Schutz
(Too far away in Taiwan to be boots on the ground,
but not so far away as not to dream.)
Fighting-Dems.com