Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
*People Power* Beat Big Money in Chicago - Lessons for Progressives
People Power Beat Big Money in Chicago
Rahm Emanuel, with his $30 million war chest, may have been the headline in the build-up to Chicago's municipal election, but the real story in Chicago on Tuesday happened in neighborhoods.
Here are the top lessons for populist progressives across the country:
Lesson 1: People power can beat big money.
Big-monied interests spent $8,168,898 to try and re-elect the Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the aldermen that routinely rubber stamp his agenda. Even flush with all that cash to spend on mailers and TV ads, they failed to defeat a single sitting progressive alderman....
Lesson 2: Organizing works.
When neighbors talk to neighbors, progressives win. Reclaim Chicago volunteers put in more than 4,980 hours and reached out to 58,773 voters over the last four months. These volunteers didn't just give voters a canned pitch on the candidates. They started by asking voters what issues they cared about....
Lesson 3: Progressives with a bold platform can win.
....Each and every Reclaim Chicago candidate pledged: "With your support and agitation, I will fight for our shared vision." Then they ran on that vision, and won.
Lesson 4: A new candidate pipeline is in motion.
Coming out of the 2014 midterms, progressive populists bemoaned the tepid and unambitious agenda of many Democratic candidates. The good news is that a new pipeline of candidates is being built -- candidates who will stand up to abusive corporations and fight for racial and gender justice....
*****************
...A new movement to put everyday people first is rising across the country.
Cynics said Rahm and his cronies on the City Council could not be beat.
Plutocrats spent millions trying to make sure they were right.
A group of dedicated grassroots activists just proved that they were wrong.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-goehl/people-power-beat-big-mon_b_6764394.html
Rahm Emanuel, with his $30 million war chest, may have been the headline in the build-up to Chicago's municipal election, but the real story in Chicago on Tuesday happened in neighborhoods.
Here are the top lessons for populist progressives across the country:
Lesson 1: People power can beat big money.
Big-monied interests spent $8,168,898 to try and re-elect the Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the aldermen that routinely rubber stamp his agenda. Even flush with all that cash to spend on mailers and TV ads, they failed to defeat a single sitting progressive alderman....
Lesson 2: Organizing works.
When neighbors talk to neighbors, progressives win. Reclaim Chicago volunteers put in more than 4,980 hours and reached out to 58,773 voters over the last four months. These volunteers didn't just give voters a canned pitch on the candidates. They started by asking voters what issues they cared about....
Lesson 3: Progressives with a bold platform can win.
....Each and every Reclaim Chicago candidate pledged: "With your support and agitation, I will fight for our shared vision." Then they ran on that vision, and won.
Lesson 4: A new candidate pipeline is in motion.
Coming out of the 2014 midterms, progressive populists bemoaned the tepid and unambitious agenda of many Democratic candidates. The good news is that a new pipeline of candidates is being built -- candidates who will stand up to abusive corporations and fight for racial and gender justice....
*****************
...A new movement to put everyday people first is rising across the country.
Cynics said Rahm and his cronies on the City Council could not be beat.
Plutocrats spent millions trying to make sure they were right.
A group of dedicated grassroots activists just proved that they were wrong.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-goehl/people-power-beat-big-mon_b_6764394.html
If we organize like Chicago, all across the country, we can bring Democrats back to being Democrats!!!
I love this story. Thank you Chicago Progressives!!!
(Xposted in GD.)
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 1427 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (8)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
*People Power* Beat Big Money in Chicago - Lessons for Progressives (Original Post)
RiverLover
Mar 2015
OP
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)1. K&R! This post should have hundreds of recommendations!
Great deal!
aspirant
(3,533 posts)2. Could it be that
Chuy Garcia is gaining momentum? I hope so!
IF Rahm is defeated, it will interesting to see where he roams to next. Maybe he will land as Co-Chair of the DNC since they can't seem to GOTV either