Populist Reform of the Democratic Party

Segami

(14,923 posts) Mon Dec 1, 2014, 03:52 PM Dec 2014

Looking At The Fault Lines, Reading The Tremors - Is A SPLIT COMING In The Democratic Party? [View all]

~snip~

Gaius Publius has been watching to see if the Neoliberal corporate stranglehold on the party is weakening at all, and just where pushback might be coming from in the near future. Gaius Publius has been on this beat for a while. In setting up his two most recent posts on this, he references an earlier post laying out fault lines to describe what might become an Open Rebellion Caucus.

As DWT [Down With Tyranny] readers know, Steve Israel, the DCCC, and to a lesser extent the DSCC, have been disasters for the Democratic Party, if "success" means "taking or keeping control of Congress" and "disaster" means "failing to try to do that." These Democratic train wrecks have been well document on these pages-- for example, here and here. But click any link tagged "Steve Israel" or "DSCC" to get the gist.

You also know that corporate-aligned Democrats, including most party leaders and many who work with them, are more than eager to excoriate any progressives who dare to consider forcing neoliberal Dems out of office, especially if hurting neoliberals also hurts party chances in elections. Attacking the party from the left and attacking neoliberal rule of the party are cardinal sins, almost hanging offenses. The venom goes very deep.

The magic phrase, the one you hear the most, is "Ralph Nadar!" but excoriation comes in other flavors. Like: "Do you really want Romney to be president?!" Or: "The one thing that would make me vote for Hillary Clinton ... Jeb Bush!" Or these days: "OMG, it will be your fault if we lose the Senate!" Always with the exclamation point. Always with the scorn, the flecks of virtual spittle, the virtual hair on fire.

http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2014/10/are-democratic-leaders-already-tea.html

Well, after the debacle of the midterms where so many of the neoliberal favorites got trashed at the polls, Gaius Publius identified three groups to watch as the progressives being stifled by the party become increasingly frustrated:

▪ Democratic voters have arguably rejected neoliberal, corporate, billionaire-serving Democrats in 2014. The country is ready for change, and the day Democrats offer one, they'll win elections by the bucketful.

▪ Democratic activists and writers are desperate for something better from their party. Their cris de coeur are private for now, said amongst themselves, and those cries are not cried by all. Nevertheless, a great many progressive voices and hands are done, have had it, with the Mark Warners and Pryors of the world, and very vocally so.

▪ Some Democratic insiders are similarly ready to rebel. There are pockets of donors, strategists and office-holders who "get it" — get that they can't be principled (that word again) and support the Geithners, the Pritzkers, and the Orszags. And if they can't support the Geithners, how can they support a White House that regularly coughs them out for consideration?

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/enough-is-enough-open-rebellion-caucus.html

Here's the thing to watch. With Democrats in the minority in the upcoming Senate under Mitch McConnell, there will be opportunities for Democrats to vote against the Republican agenda and stake out progressive positions safe in the knowledge they won't get anywhere. But... a real test will be to see which Democrats take positions in opposition to the President and others in the party whose agenda serves the bipartisan corporatocracy. Gaius Publius has identified one such test: Elizabeth Warren's opposition to the nomination of Antonio Weiss by Obama for a senior post at the Treasury Department. As Warren proclaims in a Huffington Post commentary...

~snip~

Read the whole post by Gaius Publius - it's that important. And then look at the follow-up, where Warren is already being attacked for her opposition to Weiss. Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York Times has written a piece denouncing Warren for her opposition, with the provocative title Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Misplaced Rage at Obama’s Treasury Nominee. Gaius Publius has some pungent analysis of the Sorkin slam, and makes the following observation:

"....But it's clear the other side is engaged and wants this nomination badly. Perhaps to them it's "symbolic" of something.

Watch this appointment

Again, watch this one. It will tell you a lot about Senate Democrats, the state of my fancifully-named "Open Rebellion" caucus — Will other Senate progressives go along, or toe the neoliberal line? — and perhaps reveal the role of Harry Reid going forward. I'm reading and hearing that all is not glassy-smooth across Senate Democratic waters, at least regarding the Weiss nomination. At The Nation they're calling what Warren is doing an "insurrection" and they say she's not alone in insurrecting.

About time, say I...."

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/just-like-woman-weiss-nomination.html

cont'

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/11/26/1347799/-Looking-at-the-Fault-Lines-Reading-the-Tremors-Is-a-Split-Coming-in-the-Democratic-Party#

24 replies

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Highlight:

Looking At The Fault Lines, Reading The Tremors - Is A SPLIT COMING In The Democratic Party? [View all] Segami Dec 2014 OP

The tactic to prevent a rift in the Party is to tell Progressives and Liberals Maedhros Dec 2014 #1

Bring it on. Wellstone ruled Dec 2014 #2

Republicans should return to their own party. nt MannyGoldstein Dec 2014 #3

^^^this^^^ dflprincess Dec 2014 #13

Split the Dems = Unending GOP governments Bragi Dec 2014 #4

And the alternative -- the ONLY alternative -- is to let the GOP get everything they want FiveGoodMen Dec 2014 #8

Which only demonstrates the fact..... DeSwiss Dec 2014 #11

But, but, but if our party is divided we'll also split our votes. That would mean ... Scuba Dec 2014 #5

No thelordofhell Dec 2014 #6

I suspect if Democrats are able to nominate AtomicKitten Dec 2014 #7

Nothing will focus the Democratic Party and its base customerserviceguy Dec 2014 #9

Thanks for pulling that post together... KoKo Dec 2014 #10

If we put out "The Clintons", then we will lose. HRC has all the right wing war mongering/corporate peacebird Dec 2014 #18

I'd say there's a gaping chasm already showing. DeSwiss Dec 2014 #12

Seems their campaigns have merged by the looks of things... Segami Dec 2014 #14

Great quote. It's the same coin though. DeSwiss Dec 2014 #16

Sounds like you're ready for the streets. Eleanors38 Dec 2014 #23

And what of a 3-party system, which in fact we have, but the third party is always minimized. mother earth Dec 2014 #21

Yes, I want a say in the collapse. Eleanors38 Dec 2014 #24

There IS a HUGE split in the base of the Democratic Party. As for elected officials, not so much sabrina 1 Dec 2014 #15

But Independents swilton Dec 2014 #17

Well, that is true, Independents do have to vote for one or the other. sabrina 1 Dec 2014 #19

This is the first time I find this group, and I totally agree with what you just said. I think you mother earth Dec 2014 #20

I am not sure what it is coming. merrily Dec 2014 #22