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November is just the beginning… |
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Carl Hulse at the New York Times has another reminder that though I’m working to help Democrats win in November, that’s only the beginning of a much larger fight:
By prevailing in conservative districts where they ordinarily would not have a chance, Democrats are widening the ideological divide in their own ranks and complicating their ability to find internal consensus. It is a nice problem to have, but it is one that can bedevil party leaders. As their numbers expand, they have to juggle the competing interests of Travis Childers, the newly elected pro-gun, anti-abortion, anti-tax representative from northern Mississippi and someone like, say, Nancy Pelosi, a pro-gun control, liberal abortion-rights advocate from San Francisco who sees government as a solution.
The Times is holding Pelosi up as the standard bearer of the liberal wing of the Democratic party, but in my mind, she’s much more of a centrist. Folks like Barney Frank, Donna Edwards, and Russ Feingold in the Senate represent what I want Democrats to be much more closely.
I do believe in Crashing the Gate’s political calculus. If we elect more Democrats, we will be more likely to pass progressive legislation. In the short term, that means ending the war, health care for all Americans, and a renewed investment in our economy and in green energy. Certainly, electing Republicans will do nothing to advance that agenda, but electing Democrats will only get you so far.
As the Times points out, we’ve elected some shockingly conservative Democrats in recent years. Their constituency is strong enough to make the Blue Dog Coalition a powerful force in the House, to make fighting telecom companies and FISA “reforms” much harder than it should be, and to continue to pass funding for the war again and again, over the objections of most Americans. Come 2008, with multiple pickups in the House and Senate, we’ll have won the battle, but the war is just starting.
Our electoral system is set up to favor two parties. First-past-the-post, single-round elections virtually guarantee you only have two credible choices on your ballot. Given those realities, electing Democrats is the right strategy, but my work does not end there. There must be pressure put on the Democratic party internally to be real Democrats, to uphold the Constitution, and to serve the American people.
Primary challenges are a must. Grassroots pressure against conservative Democrats is crucial. We must raise the cost of being conservative, no matter the party. Only then will we actually pass a progressive agenda, and only then will we get a chance to look at other important but disregarded issues like prison reform, ending the drug war, or changing our imperialist foreign policy.
While I’m happy that Democrats are winning in places like Mississippi, and while I do expect that Democrats will make large inroads in Congress and win the White House this fall, I fully recognize that the Democratic Party will let me down.
This is far from over.
Update:
Matt Stoller at Open Left has been thinking about this too:
I’m quite optimistic about Democratic chances in 2008, but I’m noticing a problem related to infrastructure, and that is that liberal candidates on a Federal level have no logistical support in either election or reelection contests. Â Blue Dogs only give to candidates who pledge to become Blue Dogs, and plenty of good Democrats and liberals are willing to help out Democrats in swing areas regardless of ideology. Â The DCCC and the DSCC help Democrats with a chance of winning House or Senate seats, and EMILY’s List helps women running for office with fundraising, mailers, field help, etc. Â NARAL, the AFL-CIO, and Moveon have criteria to help candidates as well, and VoteVets helps veterans.
But if you are running as a liberal in an open seat, a primary, or a general election, there is no specific group to back you.
He’s proposing an EMILY’s List for liberal candidates. I think it’s a good idea, and I might even narrow it further and propose an organization dedicated to funding liberal primary challengers. Running for open seats and challenging in Republican districts is a great idea, of course, but moving safe Democratic seats bluer should be a real goal.
Yes, all true. But shouldn’t you give some credit to Progressive Democrats of America (http://pdamerica.org/)? PDA has been saying and acting on all this for 4 years, and their motto “Inside and Outside” (the Democratic party, that is) sums it up nicely.
There are tons of great people inside and outside the party doing great work, no question.