Galindez writes: "I have been advocating for progressives to take over the Democratic Party for a while now. Many of you are probably tired of hearing it. There is currently a battle being waged for control of the party that has gotten pretty nasty. It's not just the comment sections here on RSN that have gotten heated, but also Democratic Party discussion groups and meetings throughout the country."



Supporters of Bernie Sanders and the Green Party march with Cornel West in Philadelphia, PA, during the Democratic National Convention. (photo: Andrew Stefan/RSN)

Organizing Is Reaching Out, Not Tearing Down

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

have been advocating for progressives to take over the Democratic Party for a while now. Many of you are probably tired of hearing it. There is currently a battle being waged for control of the party that has gotten pretty nasty. It’s not just the comment sections here on RSN that have gotten heated, but also Democratic Party discussion groups and meetings throughout the country.

We need to tone down the vitriol coming from progressives toward centrist and conservative Democrats, many of whom are great people who believe they have been supporting candidates who could get elected and usher in a more progressive agenda than the Republicans. We have to remember that it is a two-way street. Centrist candidates need us to win in November, and progressive candidates need centrists to win general elections when we have the nomination.

We need to come together and work to win the centrists over with a positive agenda. Tearing them down and playing the blame game will only alienate them and not encourage them to join us in moving the party in a new direction.

Many great progressive activists are organizing to change the direction of the party. Their job is more difficult when the people they need to win over are attacked and demonized by angry progressives who are shouting from the sidelines.

People like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are not the enemy. Their supporters are not the enemy. They are the people we have to convince that our agenda is the right message for the Democratic Party. Our job is to convince them that establishment politics is not what the American people want anymore.

Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and politicians like Dick Gephardt thought the party was too liberal and blamed that for the party’s lack of success in presidential elections. That is what led to the “New Democrats.” They succeeded with Bill Clinton and took control of the Democratic Party.

The people who supported that shift are not evil people. They thought they were doing what they needed to do to keep the right wing out of power. Our job is to convince them that our country is ready for bold progressive politics. People are looking for candidates who represent their interests, not the interests of the establishment. That is why Donald Trump was able to pull out an Electoral College victory. As flawed as he was, the political establishment was resisting him. The American people are ready for real change, not politics as usual.

As you have heard me say many times, Bernie Sanders showed us the winning formula. I remember a rally in Marshalltown, Iowa, where I thought Bernie expressed it best. Watch this video and then go to work to make this the message of the Democratic Party. Organizing is reaching out, not tearing down.

Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott will be spending a year covering the presidential election from Iowa.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.