Political parties require work

Registered independent voters do not seem to understand something about political parties: it takes a lot of work to build one. In particular, the Democratic Party is the sum effort of millions of people over the course of a hundred plus years. We haven’t always stood for the same positions and values over those years but we have put in the work.

Party members canvass, research, organize legislative efforts, stuff envelopes, collect signatures, raise money, get out the vote, pool resources, maintain voter data, reach out to media, and compete against the collective efforts of all its opposition. They also nominate candidates for office.

It’s the height of arrogance to skip all the work and still feel entitled to rights within that party. No, if you aren’t allowed to vote on our nominee because you didn’t register to vote as a Democrat, you are not disenfranchised. Don’t say that you are. Don’t cry about “democracy” or demand “reform” over your choice to be independent.

It’s offensive to the people who actually were disenfranchised and to those who died trying to fight for the right to vote. Their “crime” was being a minority. Or being a woman. It’s offensive to this guy who literally was disenfranchised by a Republican governor even though he made extreme efforts to participate.

So it’s a closed primary in New York and you missed a deadline. That sucks. Maybe you never got around to it. Maybe you were too uninformed to know the rules. The truth is, if you had called your local party office before the deadline, we would have helped you register.

Or maybe you registered but you chose to remain independent. Well, then you chose not to participate in our primary in New York. So STFU about your rights.

The great myth of the independent voter is that somehow they’re more pure in their views because they are not beholden to a political party. I know. I used to subscribe to that myth myself when I was younger.

But organizing is hard work. It’s not a once every four years task. It’s not about a single hero candidate who flatters you that you can be a part of history by listening to a speech. It’s not about swarming people in comment threads or on twitter. If the movement you’re in reinforces the notion that our political system can’t work, if the movement you’re in denigrates the vote of wide swaths of the country (that just so happens to have sizable minority populations), then my advice to you is to put up or shut up. Try to organize your own ideal model party and leave mine alone.

Serious movements reinforce the best of what our political system has to offer without fantasizing about easy cures or waving away the work involved. Organizing requires resources, message discipline, and training. It’s about handing out jobs and doing them even if they’re tedious.

I’m a Democrat. I’m proud of it.

I’m proud that my party is one of the few paths to political power for minorities in this country. I’m proud that my party unapologetically recognizes the dignity of the LGBT community. I’m proud of President Obama and Senator Reid and Nancy Pelosi. I’m proud that we fight for a women’s right to control her body. I’m proud of Hillary Clinton and her husband. Warts and all, they put in the work to help people in this country (and in the world).

As a Democrat, I don’t just point out problems. I try to be the answer to those problems. If you want to remain an independent but assist the cause, I welcome you. But you don’t get to own what my party helped build if you’re not willing to do the work.

The price of your independence is that you only get to participate in our process on our terms, not yours. I’m sorry if that offends you. But I’m a little tired of hearing all the attacks on who we are, what we’ve done, and what we’re still trying to do just because your pure independent soul doesn’t approve of who we’re collectively deciding to nominate.

I’m a liberal Democrat who believes in public service. What are you? Better yet — where are you… the other 364 days of the year?