My fellow Kossacks,
I have been a proud member of this website since the beginning of 2003. I was a front-page blogger poster here from late 2003 to late 2004. I have written hundreds of diaries, worked for numerous campaigns, and worked in my own small way to make this country better. So before you accuse me of being a troll, based on what I'm about to say, I urge you to take a look at what I've done here and elsewhere. Hell, do a google search for "Stephen Yellin" if you want, and see what you get. Now, with that out of the way...
"Do you hear the people sing,
Singing the song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again?
When the beating of your heart,
Echoes the beating of the drums,
Then there's a life about to start
When tommorow comes!"
(From the musical "Les Miserables")
In my AP European History class that I'm currently taking, we learned about the (mostly) young, idealistic liberals who would throw up barricades in the streets of Paris, Berlin and Vienna and proclaim their values to the masses.
They were all dead a few weeks after they revolted.
Indeed, the liberal ideas proposed in 1830 and 1848 (the two biggest rebellions of the 19th century) were only enacted later in the century, by such wonderful liberals as Benjamin Disraeli in Britain and Otto Von Bismarck in Germany (sarcasm). Full voting rights? Disraeli, leader of the Conservative Party, with his "leap in the dark". Welfare systems? Bismarck's autocratic rule, with his determination to satisfy his country's socialist wing. And that is without forgetting that the New Deal was the middle ground for an America with Communist and Fascist parties on the march. FDR was the establishment, and Huey Long was the populist, lest we forget.
It is 2006, and our nation's liberal institutions are under attack. A Republican Party hijacked by Roy Moore and the NRA is hell-bent on destroying everything that makes our nation great. The Democratic Party - the voice of the average American, the party of FDR, Harry Truman, JFK and Bill Clinton - stands ready to ride the tide of resentment towards this assult our nation's values and begin a march back to political power.
Bush's approval rating was 51% on Election Day 2004. Today it is in the high 30s (and 34% in one poll). In 2004 the Democrats were defending five Southern Open Seats. Today, we have Bill Nelson, whose opponent is sinking daily. Meanwhile, the GOP is hard at work trying to save at least 4 incumbents, maybe more. In 2004, the Democrats lost five House seats in Texas alone, thanks to the cowardly Tom DeLay. Today, DeLay is one step away from the jailhouse.
Truly, these are heady times. And I'm not suggesting we just shut up and go for the ride. What we need to do, instead, is to see where we can be of most use for progressive candidate THAT ARE RUNNING AGAINST REPUBLICANS!
For example, we are making a real difference in Virginia. James Webb - a remarkable man, and a reform-minded convert to our party - is poised to reap havoc on George Allen, and possibly kick him out of 2008 contention. The persuasion and efforts of many members of the grassroots, including the "Draft James Webb" people made a real difference, and will continue to help him greatly.
An example of a race we can truly make a difference in is Nevada. Jack Carter, the likely nominee to take on John Ensign for the US Senate is a viable candidate who could really use our help. Carter needs money (as do all candidates), but he also needs volunteers - people who are willing to spread the message throughout Nevada and the country about Carter and his campaign. After all, electing Jimmy Carter's son to the US Senate would be pretty damn good, no?
Instead, my friends, we have chosen to attack certain members of the Democratic Party that we believe are "not one of us". By that statement, we dare to imply that Democrats like Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson and Henry Cuellar are not equal members of our party. We also dare to imply that "our way is the right way" to describe America and to view the political world. We either view politicians as "with us" or "against us", depending on which politician we're talking about. We have few saints, but we worship them without reservation and forgive every flaw in them.
In short, we in the "netroots" have become the liberal version of George Walker Bush.
I have watched with growing consternation over the last three years as Daily Kos has changed from anti-Republican in nature to anti-Establishment. To borrow from Dylan Thomas, we "rage against the machine", oftentimes for the slightest reasons. A number of veterans at this site have left or disappeared because of the this increasing trend towards knee-jerk sentiment. We, like the barricade builders of old glorify in our purity and confidently await the arrival of the "common man" to join us at our fortress.
They will never come.
A recent comment someone posted at this site struck me very deeply. He or she said, "What exactly does "representing the Party" entail? 'cause if it means bowing to the every whim of the 70,000 folks with keyboards..." While I don't know how many people blog here on a regular basis, his point is spot on. At most, our policies represent 5% of the American electorate. We in no way represent the Democratic Party, let alone the country.
We are a part of the Democratic Party's coalition, nothing more. If we insist on taking the party over for our ideals, we stand to lose much of the rest of the party.
For every one of us that criticizes Joe Lieberman for his unabashed support for Israel, there is a Jewish voter in New York City who loves him for it - and that voter is a Democrat for it.
For every one of us that screams at Ben Nelson for being pro-life, there is an African-American in Georgia who agrees with us on every issue, but that one - and for Ben Nelson, that person is a Democrat.
For every one of us that mocks the South for "their Confederate flags on their pickup trucks", there is a Southern Democrat who if not for people like Gene Taylor, John Spratt and Bud Cramer - conservative, but proud Democrats all - would not be a Democrat. But thanks to leadership and presence from leaders like those three men, that Southerner with a pickup truck is a Democrat.
And for every one of us that decries the state of our party, there is another Democrat that hails it as the beginning of a new era of greatness for America - thanks to the Democratic Party.
We are blessed not be a party by, of, and for the rich white businessman. We are a party of different colors, creeds and incomes, from regions around the country. And if we dare to imply that we are somehow "a cut above" the average Democrat, the average American in our beliefs, we lose all credibility with them. And the day we assert ourselves as better than the rest of the party will the day the Democratic Party dies.
We, and the nation, deserve better than that.
What, then, can we do to have progressivism (which I embrace strongly as my ideology) become the law of the land once more? In the long run, we must follow Howard Dean's basic idea of contesting every state, every seat, every time. Time is on our side in this regard; the ideas we propose in 2006 will be even more popular to the general public in 2016 than they are now. We will suffer some defeats along the way, to be sure - but they will be more than balanced out by the lasting victories we make on the local, then state levels. The State Representative or Councilman we elect in 2006 will be a Senator or Congressman or Governor in 2016 - somewhere, somehow.
We should be comforted in this by the example of Barry Goldwater. Goldwater failed disastrously in 1964, but his supporters never gave up. By 1980 they had succeeded not only in taking their party back, but the country as well. In 1965 the Democrats held the White House, 67 Senate seats and 295 House seats. In 1981 the GOP held the White House, 53 Senate seats and had a conservative majority in the House (GOPers + Conservative Democrats who later became Republicans). Conservatism has not its awful march since.
But waiting 16 years to influence our country isn't acceptable. The Goldwaterites didn't wait, either. They backed a man odious to them in 1968 - Richard Nixon. They threw all their support behind the idea of a Senate held by liberal GOPer Everett Dirksen, and to House races that wouldn't change a 155-seat edge for the Democrats. They won 3 Senate seats and 47 House seats in 1966, and 5 more Senate seats in 1968.
As I said above, let us work with, not against the Democratic Party - the only party that can eventually get our goals into place. "Politics," Hubert Humphrey once said, "is the art of the possible." We're not going to get purity for some time. We can fight the good fight while STILL supporting candidates that are far above the GOP's zombie-like nominees, even if they are not our cup of tea.
If the Democrats recapture one or both Houses of Congress in 2006, we will be the richer for it, both ourselves and our nation. A Democratic Congress means that legislation that we LIKE will be proposed, and the current legislation destroying our nation will never see the light of day. A Democratic Congress means investigation, and possibly recriminations for BushCo before they leave office. A Democratic Congress means a power base for launching ourselves into 2008.
Is Bob Casey my top choice for Pennsylvania? Hell no. Is he an improvement on Rick Santorum? Hell yeah. Would I rather have Joe Lieberman and $5 million in extra cash against a George Allen or John Ensign than Ned Lamont and $0 in extra resources for the DSCC? Hell yeah.
Change never comes overnight. It comes gradually, and by having leaders in power that will come to understand what the future needs of our nation truly are.Change does NOT come with storming the barricades, and wishing for a glorious day. Until that glorious day, let us work with the Democratic Party proudly; perhaps not always in lockstep, but with the knowledge that a better world comes with every step in the right direction.