TO DEMOCRATS PROGRESSIVES AND GREENS
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
HTTPS://LUCYWARNER2013.BLOGSPOT.COM/
BY LUCY WARNER
SEPTEMBER 27, 2017


A BILLIONAIRE AND CORPORATION BASED AUTHORITARIAN POWER STRUCTURE OPPRESSES US ALL AT THIS TIME, OF WHICH DONALD TRUMP IS JUST THE FIRST ACT; AND SINCE THE SAMPLE I’VE HAD OF DONALD TRUMP, IT CAN ONLY GET WORSE IN THE FUTURE. WE NEED TO FIGHT THOSE FORCES TOGETHER. THAT’S HOW TO BUILD A NEW PARTY WHO CAN WIN ELECTIONS FROM THE LOCAL TO THE NATIONAL LEVELS. BERNIE SANDERS’ SUGGESTION IS FOR EVERYONE WHO CAN DO SO TO RUN FOR LOCAL OFFICES OR EVEN TAKE VOLUNTEER POSITIONS, TO FILL UP THE GOVERNMENT WITH LIBERALLY THINKING PEOPLE. IF WE DO THAT WE CAN START IMMEDIATELY TO MAKE CHANGES ON THE LOCAL LEVEL. THIS IS HOW THE DREADED TEA PARTY GOT ITS’ STRANGLEHOLD ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

THESE COMMENTS ARE MY ANSWER TO THE FOLLOWING MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS ARTICLE FROM THE HILL. READ IT FIRST, AND THEN MY COMMENTS. LET’S FACE IT, WE NEED A NEW PARTY CALLED, PERHAPS, THE PROGRESSIVES, EXISTING SEPARATELY FROM THE “DEMOCRATIC PARTY,” OR WHATEVER OTHER NAME YOU MIGHT CHOOSE – NEW DEMOCRATS, FOR INSTANCE. NEW DEMOCRATS AND PROGRESSIVES CAN THEN BE IN COMPETITION ON SOME ISSUES, AS WE SURELY WILL BE, AND VOTE TOGETHER ON OTHERS. THERE ARE MANY NATIONAL ISSUES THAT PROGRESSIVES, LIBERALS AND OTHER SEMI-ENLIGHTENED SOULS SHOULD FOLLOW. I’M THINKING OF A LOOSE AFFILIATION OF SEPARATE PARTIES, INCLUDING THE GREENS AND, ASSUMING THERE ARE ANY MORE LIBERAL GROUPS, WE SHOULD CONSIDER JOINING WITH THEM AS WELL – IN AN UMBRELLA STRUCTURE, NOT A TOWER OF POWER. NO MORE “KING OF THE HILL” GAMES. I’M THINKING OF SOMETHING MORE LIKE THE “COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE” NETWORK OF THE PRE-REVOLUTIONARY WAR PERIOD.

WE SHOULD DISCOVER WHAT BLACK, HISPANIC, WOMEN, ENVIRONMENTALIST, HOMELESS AID WORKERS, MEDICAL PROFESSIONS, LGBTQ, JEWISH OR OTHER RELIGIO-ETHNIC GROUPS THAT EXIST IN NICHES AROUND THE COUNTRY, WHO HAVE BECOME INTERESTED IN A POLITICAL PATH TO GROUP IMPROVEMENT. I CAN FORESEE THAT GROUPS CONCERNED WITH SUCH ISSUES AS PROCHOICE OR ANTI-ABORTION, CHRISTIAN VERSUS JEWISH, ISLAMIC, SIKH WOULD DISAGREE STRONGLY, BUT IF THEY CAN FORM A LINK ON THE OVERALL HUMAN NEEDS AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THEY MIGHT STILL WANT TO WORK TOGETHER.

WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN GET REPUBLICANS TO ADMIT THAT AIR POLLUTANTS ARE CAUSING GLOBAL WARMING, WE CAN POSSIBLY GET THE AMOUNT OF THEM WHICH FACTORIES AND POWER PLANTS ARE SPEWING OUT REDUCED. WHAT ABOUT THE NATIVE AMERICANS, FOR INSTANCE? THEY’RE POOR AND PROUD, BUT WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT THEM IN POLITICAL DISCUSSION. I KNOW THEY ARE MAINLY POOR AND CAN’T DONATE TO THE PARTY, WE MUSTN’T LET OURSELVES SIMPLY FORGET THAT THEY EXIST. THEY WERE THE FIRST PEOPLE IN THIS LAND. I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS DUE TO THEIR OWN CHOICE, BUT TO A LACK OF OUTREACH FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. NO TICKEE, NO LAUNDRY.

THIS NEW ORGANIZATION SHOULD HAVE NO “BOSSES” AT ALL. IT WOULD BE MORE LIKE A MEETING OF A CHURCH CONVENTION TO MAKE DECISIONS AND FORM TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT BONDS ON PURSUING SPECIFIC GOALS. WHEN THE GOAL IS A NATIONAL PUSH SUCH AS IMPEACHING DONALD TRUMP, TACKLING SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES AND, OF COURSE, POVERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER. THOSE THINGS ARE INTENSELY IMPORTANT NEAR AND LONG-TERM GOALS, AND A “BIG PARTY” PLATFORM AS WE HAVE TODAY WILL SURELY LEAVE SOME OF THEM OUT. IT ALWAYS DOES.

THE “PROGRESSIVES” WOULD RUN THEIR CANDIDATES AND THE “NEW DEMOCRATS” WOULD RUN THEIRS. I PERSONALLY AM MUCH MORE OPEN TO MULTIPLE CANDIDATES FROM MULTIPLE PARTIES, BUT IF EVERYONE FEELS THAT IT WOULD BE TOO WEAKENING, THEN WE COULD BAND TOGETHER FOR THE NATIONAL PUSH ON THOSE. THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A MUCH BETTER WAY OF CHOOSING THE CANDIDATES THAN THOSE “SUPER DELEGATES;” SUCH AS THE LEADING CANDIDATE WOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY BECOME THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, AND THE SECOND PLACE CONTENDER WOULD BECOME THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL RUNNER. I LIKE THAT MORE THAN FOR THE PRESIDENT TO BE NOMINATING HIS VICE PRESIDENT. TOO COZY, ENTIRELY, AND LESS DEMOCRATIC. IF WE’RE THE DEMOCRATS, THEN WE SHOULD BE DEMOCRATIC, RIGHT? CLEARLY, IF WE HAD HAD THIS SYSTEM IN 2016, BERNIE SANDERS WOULD HAVE BEEN VICE PRESIDENT, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH MORE INTELLIGENT WAY TO DO IT THAN THE WAY HILLARY ABSOLUTELY REFUSED TO NOMINATE HIM – BASED PURELY ON POLITICAL SPITE, I TEND TO THINK. WELL, SHE CUT OFF HER OWN NOSE TO SPITE HER FACE, AS THE OLD SAYING GOES.

ABOVE ALL, HOWEVER, I THINK MUCH MORE FREQUENT GRASSROOTS AND REGIONAL LEVEL MEETINGS WOULD CREATE HUMAN BONDS AND PULL TOGETHER IDEAS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, TO BE CONTINUED UPWARD TO THE NATIONAL. IT WOULD ALSO PUT THE ISSUES AND THE VERY ACT OF VOTING, IN THE FOREFRONT OF VOTERS’ MINDS. IT WOULD KEEP UP THE DRUMBEAT ALL THE TIME RATHER THAN JUST THE EIGHT MONTHS OR SO BEFORE THE PRIMARY, AND THEN THE NATIONAL ELECTION. SO OFTEN TODAY, WE DON’T REALLY KNOW THE CANDIDATES AT ALL OR THE GRASSROOTS INTEREST IN GETTING TO THE POLLS AND VOTING JUST ISN’T THERE. WE ALSO NEED TO KNOW WHO CAN VOLUNTEER TO FERRY THOSE WHO HAVE NO CAR BACK AND FORTH. WHAT ABOUT PARTY MINI-BUSES? FACILITATION IS IMPORTANT. THE INTERNET MIGHT BE THE BEST COMMUNICATIONS BASE, WITH PERHAPS A WEBPAGE FOR THE UMBRELLA GROUP WHICH WILL THEN HOUSE LINKS TO EACH INDIVIDUAL PARTY, AND LISTINGS OF ISSUES OF CONCERN, PARTY NEWS, ETC. I CAN EVEN SEE VOTING ON THE INTERNET, AS LONG AS LOCAL POLLING PLACES WERE ALSO MAINTAINED.

I BELIEVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ACTIVITY TODAY IS TOO NATIONALLY ORIENTED AND TOO INFREQUENT, SO THAT COMMUNITY INTEREST FALTERS. RAH RAH SPEECHES ARE FINE, BUT ADD TO THEM A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS AND PHILOSOPHICAL/STRATEGIC DISCUSSION GROUPS FOR LOCAL AREA PARTICIPATION. GET THAT NETWORK GOING, AND I THINK THERE WILL BE A MUCH GREATER DEGREE OF SUCCESS FOR THE WHOLE UMBRELLA NETWORK.

WHEN I FIRST CAME TO JACKSONVILLE, FL, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I DID WAS TO TRY TO LOCATE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HEADQUARTERS. THERE WAS NONE – JUST A VOICE MAIL AT WHICH I LEFT A MESSAGE. A WEEK OR SO LATER, SOMEONE DID CALL ME BACK, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME TO SHOW A DISTINCT LACK OF INTEREST ON THE PART OF THE PARTY. PURSUING LOCAL AND MORE FREQUENT GOALS WOULD CREATE STRENGTH BETTER THAN ATTEMPTS AT OVERT ARM-TWISTING LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, THIS ARTICLE BY MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS. IT WAS WELL-WRITTEN, BUT VERY PRESUMPTUOUS. THIS KIND OF ARTICLE JUST TEES ME OFF ROYALLY, AND WON’T MAKE ME COME BACK INTO THE FOLD. HONEST TALK WORKS, BUT INTIMIDATION OR ATTEMPTS AT SHAMING DON’T. BERNIE ISN’T “RIPPING THE PARTY APART.” IT HAS SEPARATED AT THE SEAMS BECAUSE THE FABRIC IS WEAK. IF THE PARTY WILL GET HONEST, IT CAN SAVE ITSELF WITH BERNIE SANDERS’ HELP – BUT NOT BY HIS GIVING YOU THE PRECIOUS AND HARD-WON EMAIL LIST. YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT IN MY VIEW. USE YOUR OWN DEVICES.

LIBERAL/PROGRESSIVE GROUPS COULD FORM A COALITION FOR REGULARLY MEETING AND INTERACTING. I THINK HUMAN LEVEL INTERACTION IS NECESSARY IN ADDITION TO INTERNET ACTIVITY. FACELESSNESS REALLY DOESN’T WORK FOR ME. WE COULD SEND SPEAKERS TO THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNAL MEETINGS, HAVE “TEACH INS” AS WE DID IN 1970, CREATE FORUMS FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE TO ENTER THE POLITICAL WORLD AS CANDIDATES TO PRESENT NEW IDEAS OR SIMPLY DISCUSS CONCERNS.

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS REGULAR ACTIVITIES FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF TRAINING CANDIDATES AS LONG AS THEY ARE REPUBLICANS FOR WHAT THEY WILL ENCOUNTER ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, AND HOW TO HANDLE IT. THERE WAS A NEAT NEWS ARTICLE ABOUT IT A YEAR OR SO AGO. WE COULD TEACH AND REHEARSE SPEECH-MAKING, FOR INSTANCE, WHICH IS TOTALLY DAUNTING TO MOST PEOPLE, AND SO IS SPEAKING FACE TO FACE AND SHAKING HANDS. ONE OF THE REPUBLICAN’S LESSONS WAS TO TAKE CAMERAS INTO A LOCAL DINER AND HAVE THE CANDIDATES GIVE AN INTRODUCTION OF THEMSELVES, AND JUST TALK TO THE PEOPLE THERE. THAT SOUNDS EASY, BUT I THINK IT IS PROBABLY VERY INTIMIDATING.

OUR “UMBRELLA” ORGANIZATION SHOULD STOP SHORT AT COMINGLING OF FUNDS OR HAVING THE SAME OFFICERS AND PROCEDURES, THOUGH. LET EACH BE A TRUE “PARTY” OF ITS’ OWN. THE PROGRESSIVES, FOR INSTANCE, COULD TOTALLY ABOLISH THE RECENT DEMOCRAT PARTY TRADITION OF “SUPERDELEGATES,” WHICH SERVES NO USEFUL PURPOSE IN MY VIEW AND POLLUTES THE GROUP DECISION-MAKING PROCESS BY GRABBING TOTAL CONTROL ON THE PARTY BY AND FOR THE WEALTHIEST/MOST POWERFUL MEMBERS. THAT’S REPUBLICAN THINKING, NOT DEMOCRATIC.

IT IS THESE MODERN DAY “PARTY BOSSES” WHO HAVE RUINED THE PARTY TO THE POINT THAT ITS’ NATURAL BASE OF RELATIVELY HUMBLE CITIZENS HAVE DRIFTED AWAY DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST ON BOTH SIDES. THE SOCIAL CONTRACT THAT WE ONCE SHARED IS NO LONGER PRESENT, BUT OUR NEEDS ARE STILL UNMET. ADMIT IT, HILLARY. BERNIE DIDN’T LOSE THIS ELECTION FOR YOU. YOU AND THE DNC DID. BOTH THE REPUBLICANS OF TODAY AND THE DEMOCRATS AS WELL ARE OUTDATED, HAVE DRIFTED TOO FAR OVER FROM THEIR CENTRAL FOCUS AND, WORSE, THEY HAVE BECOME TOO LARGE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE GRASSROOTS. THEY BELIEVE THEMSELVES TO BE “TOO BIG TO FAIL,” AND THAT IS NOT TRUE. THEY’RE EVEN MORE LIKELY TO FAIL, AS 2016 PROVED.

SO, BEFORE WE FAIL, I ENCOURAGE YOU NEW DEMOCRAT MODERATES TO WORK WITH THE OUR REVOLUTION PROGRESSIVES TO AMEND PARTY GOALS AND MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR POPULATION OF WORKING CLASS, POOR AND MIDDLECLASS CITIZENS, PLUS AS MANY OTHER MINORITIES AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY GET TO KNOW. ELIMINATE “SUPERDELEGATES” OR ANY OTHER BOSS-RULE TENDENCIES, AND START OVER. BOTH THE DEMS AND THE REPUBLICANS ARE CORRUPTED. THEY SERVE ONLY WALL STREET AND THE KOCH BROTHERS, AND WITH THAT HUGE FINANCIAL BACKING, THEY FEEL SURE THAT THEY DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO THEIR CITIZENS ANY MORE. WHEN I SAW HOW SMUG HILLARY SEEMED – A HUMBLER KIND OF SELF-CONFIDENCE WOULD HAVE GONE OVER MUCH BETTER WITH ANY AND ALL AMERICANS – I WAS MYSELF ANGERED, AND NOT SURPRISED AT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DISASTER OF 2016. HORRIFIED AND INTENSELY SAD, YES. NOW WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH A WOULD-BE DICTATOR.

WELL, WE’LL SEE. MANY OF US AREN’T WITH YOU SUPERDELEGATES ANYMORE; AND NOT OUT OF A FIT OF PIQUE, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE NO DOG IN THAT FIGHT NOW. I DON’T BELIEVE THAT SIMPLY BEATING DONALD TRUMP IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHANGING OUR COUNTRY, AS THIS WRITER OBVIOUSLY DOES. WINNING ELECTIONS IS NOT THE ONLY THING WE NEED TO DO. OH, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT I WILL VOTE AGAINST ALL RIGHTISTS OF ANY NAME, BUT I DON’T NEED THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO DO THAT, AND AS FOR GIVING MONEY, I HAVE DONE THAT ALREADY AND WILL NOT AGAIN.

IF YOU WANT THE PARTY UNITED AGAIN, MOVE ON OVER TO THE LEFT WITHOUT GRIPING ABOUT IT. I KNOW. YOU DID, BUT NOT NEARLY FAR ENOUGH, AND THIS OPINION PIECE IS NOTHING BUT ONE BIG GRIPE. IF I WERE A REPUBLICAN I WOULD CALL IT “WHINING,” BUT I HATE THAT TERM. ALSO, PAINFUL FOR YOU AS IT MAY BE, DITCH THAT “SUPER” DELEGATE STUFF. BERNIE SANDERS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING REAL STRUCTURAL AND STRATEGIC CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY, AND I’M BEHIND HIM. HE IS LEADING, AND I AM FOLLOWING. I AM NO LONGER A “PARTY” WOMAN, AND I BELIEVE THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE LIKE ME IN THIS WAY NOW. COME ON. GIVE IT THAT OLD HEAVE HO AND CHANGE YOUR WAY OF THINKING AND ACTING. I’M NOT 20 YEARS OLD. I’M ONE OF THE 1970S FEMINISTS, AND I AM NOT GOING TO BE GIVING UP UNTIL THE DAY I DIE. LET US ALL BE STRONG AND REFORM THIS PARTY.


HTTP://THEHILL.COM/OPINION/CAMPAIGN/352632-BERNIE-SANDERS-IS-NOT-A-DEMOCRAT-SO-HE-SHOULD-STOP-TEARING-US-APART
BERNIE IS NOT EVEN A DEMOCRAT, SO WHY IS HE RIPPING OUR PARTY APART?
BY MICHAEL STARR HOPKINS, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 09/27/17 09:00 AM EDT
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
Photograph -- Bernie is not even a Democrat, so why is he ripping our party apart?
© Getty Images

At some point very soon, supporters of Bernie Sanders have a decision to make. Do they want four more years of Republican majorities, or do they want to be part of implementing policies aimed at helping the poor and working poor? In this political climate, it’s a binary choice. Either supporters of Sanders help to elect Democrats who can beat Donald Trump or they contribute to his re-election. Period.

All the talk about a living wage, single-payer health care, and social justice means nothing if Republicans are re-elected in 2018 and 2020. All the talk about building an economy that works for all Americans means nothing if “Bernie bros” attack every Democrat who isn’t Sanders. He isn’t even a registered Democrat. I would love to hear Sanders’s opinion on how the Democratic Party can rebound and rebuild, but it has to be preceded by him actually joining the party, not merely using it as a vessel for his run for president. Democrats are your allies, not your punching bag or your Uber.

It’s time for the fantasy to end. Sanders wouldn’t have beaten Trump. He couldn’t even beat Hillary Clinton. Pretending otherwise is completely illogical and only serves to reopen old wounds that ensure more Republican victories. If supporters of Sanders want an ally on health care, they certainly won’t find it in Republicans. It hurts the very people that both Democrats and Sanders supporters are attempting to help his supporters denigrate up and coming Democrats as “corporatists” who are “owned by Wall Street.”

I’d love if campaigns didn’t have to look for corporate donations, but it’s the political reality we live in, not the one we want. Maybe if we had more Democrats in office we could get rid of Citizens United and actually pass campaign finance reform. Then we could get money out of politics and get Congress back to work. You know who I can guarantee won’t help you get those things done? Republicans. We don’t live in a fantasy land where everyone gets everything that they want. Compromise is a necessity. I wish that with the snap of my fingers we had universal health care and free college, but that’s not how our system works. That’s not how the framers intended our system to work. The framers intentionally designed our government in a way that makes change incremental.

Attacks from Sanders and his supporters on Democrats aren’t helping to rebuild the party, nor are they helping to build a strong economic message. Attacks from Sanders and his supports are an unnecessary Kamikaze mission that will undoubtedly lead to more Republican victories. If Sanders and his supporters want criminal justice reform and financial reform to pass, then maybe they shouldn’t burn down the house of the only ally that they have. I’m sure Cory Booker or Kamala Harris would gladly sign onto legislation that repairs our failing penal system or repatriates American funds overseas. They’ve already joined Sanders’s health care bill. I’m not so sure that the same can be said for Ted Cruz or Luther Strange, but feel free to give it a try.

The sole focus of the Sanders wing and the Democratic Party should be to beat Trump in 2020. Trump is the natural evolution of a party that has lost its moral compass. He’s the natural evolution of a country quickly losing its grip on reality. He’s unfit for the office of the presidency. He’s the single most important reason for Sanders and his supporters to put aside their hostility and work hand and hand with the Democratic Party.

Now is not the time to relitigate the primary battle between Clinton and Sanders. Now is not the time to enact arbitrary litmus tests that will create even more chaos within the party. Now is the time to come together and link arms. Now is the time to take attendance and recognize who is with you and who is against you. Now is the time to rebuild our country and ensure it works for every single American. Taking an all or nothing approach to political issues isn’t just unhelpful, it poisons the process and prevents meaningful conversation. It mirrors the childish and destructive antics of the Tea Party, not the behavior of well-informed adults.

We have to figure out a way to work together moving forward. The country may literally depend on it. This can’t be a battle between the establishment and Sanders because that’s exactly what Trump wants. This has to be a battle between right and wrong, a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. Only one side is hell-bent on protecting our democracy and the other isn’t. So now Sanders and his supporters must choose a side. Straddling the line won’t suffice. Will they work with Democrats to help take back our country or will they stand on the outside and throw stones? I know what Trump hopes that they do.

We are in the midst of a battle for the soul of our nation. We owe to those Americans who sacrificed their blood, their sweat, and in many cases, their lives to perfect this union. We owe it to the next generation of Americans to ensure that this country reflects the ideals that our flag represents. At the end of the day, our flag is just fabric woven together. What that fabric stands for matters. The flag stands for freedom. The flag stands for liberty. The flag stands for justice. Not justice for some, but justice for all. Until honor and integrity are brought back to our nation, our work won’t be finished. Petty political squabbles must be set aside, and in the words of Trump, “We have to put America first.”

Michael Starr Hopkins is an attorney and former member of the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He regularly appears on Fox News and CNN to talk about national politics. You can follow him on Twitter @TheOnlyHonest.