How the Democratic Party Establishment Suffocates Progressive Change

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/03/22/how-democratic-party-establishment-suffocates-progressive-change

As with the extremism insinuation, the unelectability charge lacks foundation. Polls show Sanders beating all the potential Republican nominees, and beating Trump handily.

The third charge is lack of qualification. The reality is Sanders has a 50-year history of political involvement, working his way through the political ranks serving people. He was mayor of Vermont’s largest city; then Vermont’s representative in Congress, where he co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus; and after that became a senator for Vermont. That seems to be exactly the career and CV a president should have.

Lastly, Sanders has been dismissed as selling unrealistic pipe dreams. Social Security would be a pipe dream if we did not already have it; so would Medicare and public education, too. There is a lesson in that. Pipe dreams are the stuff of change.

Rather than an excess of pipe dreams, our current dismal condition is the product of fear of dreaming. The Democratic Party establishment persistently strives to downsize economic and political expectations. Sanders aims to upsize them, which is why he has been viewed as such a threat.

November will be a time for Democratic voters to come together to stop whoever the Republicans nominate. In the meantime, there is a big lesson to be learned.

Today, the status quo defense mechanism has been used to tarnish Bernie Sanders: tomorrow it will, once again, be used to rule out progressive policy personnel and options.

[chwaliszewski]

1. This is a repeat from an earlier post...

but it points to what this article is saying...


"I guess my biggest issue is that I feel Bernie, as a democratic socialist (or independent), is closer to being a true democrat (i.e., progressive) whereas Hillary seems to be a self-serving, opportunistic moderate republican. This is just my opinion. As such, I was hoping more people would be getting behind Bernie than Hillary for this very reason. Alas, it seems that some lifelong democrats are sticking with Hillary because either they don't feel Bernie belongs here, or a desire to have the first female POTUS, or that Bernie can't win in the GE. Whatever the reason, I think the sometimes blind allegiance to her, no matter how much she cozies up to Wall St. or how many trade agreements she is on board with, is pulling this party to the right, and it quite frankly scares me. I don't hate Hillary, I just don't trust her.

I feel like if Bernie doesn't get the nomination, Hillary will either a) not win the GE, b) win the GE but get nothing accomplished because a lot of republicans hate her, or c) get things done that only benefit her own interests and not that of us real progressives. Because of all these feelings, I am getting frustrated with what I perceive to be a golden opportunity being wasted by not nominating Bernie and it shows with my comments sometimes.

Other than that, things are peachy."

[debunction.junction]

3. I don't hate Hillary, I just don't trust her.

My sister said to me yesterday morning, and I quote, "I had always thought I would vote for Hillary, but when it comes down to it, I just don't trust her."

It's pretty pathetic when the best option is voting for someone they don't trust.

[Fast Walker 52]

5. there's no doubt that Hillary will maintain the status quo, at best...

and she could be even worse than Obama in important ways such as foreign policy. Plus, the GOP will go nuts over her as with Obama, but she is actually less sympathetic than Obama.

[Ford_Prefect]

2. "Do you presume to criticize the great and powerful OZ ?" Too Damn Right We Are!

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

Rather than an excess of pipe dreams, our current dismal condition is the product of fear of dreaming. The Democratic Party establishment persistently strives to downsize economic and political expectations. Sanders aims to upsize them, which is why he has been viewed as such a threat.

November will be a time for Democratic voters to come together to stop whoever the Republicans nominate. In the meantime, there is a big lesson to be learned.

Today, the status quo defense mechanism has been used to tarnish Bernie Sanders: tomorrow it will, once again, be used to rule out progressive policy personnel and options.

Progressives must surface the obstruction posed by the Democratic Party establishment. Primaries are prime time to do that, which means there is good reason for Sanders’ campaign to continue.

[Scuba]

4. The Third Way's minions seem to spend a lot of time minimizing the expectations of progressives.

I see it on this board, and elsewhere. Sad.

[Fast Walker 52]

6. It's more than sad. It's totally fucked up and dare I say, sickening?

Enough is enough!

[stillwaiting]

7. It is clear that this is their PRIMARY job.

If they wanted to, they could easily expose, ridicule, and banish Republicans to minority status by simply exposing them for what they have been doing while also FIGHTING for average Americans.

They don't fight or expose the Republicans on so much because they want a lot of the same agenda to be enacted (outside social issues).

We have lost the Democratic Party to financial elites, and we have our work cut out for us to get it back to the Democratic Party of the mid 20th-century.

[noiretextatique]

10. It is so absurd that people actually believe Clinton is a liberal

Or Obama, for that matter. They are only liberal on social issues, and Obama is more liberal than Clinton.

[chwaliszewski]

8. Feel free to use my signature line...

"You can't spell Hillary without L I A R."

[noiretextatique]

9. After this election, I am not sure what I'll do

I am tired of throwing my vote away for one disappointing D candidate after another. The rw of the party is firmly in control, and unwilling to veer from its self-destructive course, and too many voters who should know better are twisting themselves in knots to support ever more horrible things, in hope of fixing it later. Obama squandered two years of a majority...for me, that is a big part of his legacy. I don't care how many people vote for Hillary: she is a terrible candidate who may very well lose in the GE, if she isn't indicted first. Perhaps that is the only thing that will save the party, and the country. Anyway, I will vote for Bernie in the CA primary.

[felix_numinous]

11. The left hasn't had representation in many years

and this is why the country is such a mess. Without labor, environmental, civic laws our quality of life is slipping.

The left balances out the extreme right and without it their abuse of power has no bounds. It's just a matter of math, really.

[jomin41]

12. I plan to continue to support the Progressive Caucus

of the Dem Party. Seems an obvious strategy, no?