Paul Rosenberg wrote an informative and suggestion filled article over on OpenLeft (Third Party Folly) which references those perennial voices calling for political mobilization outside the Democratic Party. His position: don't waste your time.
It should be: don't waste your time at the national level, but by all means, pay close attention to third party efforts which have proven themselves in the real world. Like the Working Families Party in New York, Connecticut and elsewhere.
Right now a major test of this model is underway in New York City. The WFP has backed a handful of insurgent candidates fighting against entrenched, incumbent Democrats - the same kind of uninspiring politicians who usually have nothing to worry about, given the 97% reelection rates for NY City Council races.
Can the WFP-backed candidates prevail? A single win against a sitting politician would be enough to rattle the cages of the political establishment in the city. Er - actually, consider those cages well rattled, as evidenced by this Crain's article.
"They’ve really emerged as a force, and by the end of day Tuesday could be even more potent," says Douglas Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College. "If they get any number of the insurgent council candidates to win, that will really be a coup."
The party’s growing influence has created anxiety in the business community, and among many Republican elected officials, and even some Democrats, with the latter group growing upset when the WFP backs challengers to their seats.
But back to Rosenberg. His post is really a symptom of the near inevitable disappointment many progressives experience when a Democrat assumes higher office. Grumbling, some start to fantasize about third parties either scaring the Dems back in line or blowing up and getting big.
What true in New York today is that a statewide third party has built an impressive track record of combining policy advocacy with electoral advocacy to build a broad coalition of labor and community organizations.
In the absence of fusion voting in many states, it can't replace other creative efforts. But it's proof that a particular kind of coalition can exercise a particular kind of power even in the face of incumbent Democrats in a Democratic city.
Now imagine that influence used across the country in support of health care reform.
It points to a major tension between some of the (amazing, inspiring) online efforts and the difficulties of building a real movement offline. The offline efforts are likely to grow at the local and state level, while the online efforts are nearly always about federal policy.
For all of you fans of community organizing and our community organizer in chief, it would do you well to remember something. Community organizers, almost by the very definition of the word, are operating at the local level. It would be great if more of the content on DK references the many local elections, campaigns, victories and models that are out there.
For more information about the WFP's local races this year, visit http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/... And check out our nifty tool for finding the best candidates (for New Yorkers only): http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/...