You DO Have the Power!
Over at MyDD.com Michael in Chicago sounded a little disheartened after being confronted with strong opposition from the Democratic establishment in Chicago. Michael writes:
I owe my political awareness to Howard Dean. Because of him I started blogging, volunteering and donating to Democrats. Dean’s rallying cry in the 2004 campaign was “You have the power.” The more I learned about the Republicans in control of our government, the more I wanted to use this power to help elect Democrats.
This is why I started supporting a local candidate running for Congress in my own district. Henry Hyde’s district. With Christine Cegelis’ campaign as a rallying point, I saw more Democrats active in my district than I’ve seen in my lifetime.
But now, as the Democratic primary approaches, I read of the DCCC again passing over a candidate who newly energized Democrats in my district overwhelmingly support. I read of the DCCC’s backing of a candidate with no political experience and few ties to my district. I read of the advantages of military credentials and “wounds” - not issues that matter to the district. I read of the finest political consultants money can buy working for a candidate who hasn’t even done any fundraising in the district yet.
As I watch this unfold, I wonder what power I really have.
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The real power for Democratic fundraising in Illinois is Emanuel, not small donors like me.
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It is Emanuel, not me, who has the power to shut down a campaign by choking off it’s sources of high dollar donors. Donors in Chicago. Donors in his district. It is Emanuel, not me, that has the power to provide a network of top dollar consultants…
[...]
Gov. Dean told us “You have the power.” In 2004 I believed him. As I watch what’s happening to the Cegelis campaign, I’m not so sure anymore.
After reading his post I was compelled to respond:
You do have the power. Dean, however, should’ve completed that thought more frequently, I’m afraid to say. Because, while you, I, and every one of us have the power to challenge the status quo and bring about change, it ain’t gonna be easy.
I saw Dean at UCLA when he was out in LA during the 2004 primaries and he, of course, ended the small rally with that infectious yell, You have the power, You have the power, You have the power! As the crowd dwindled and my girlfriend and I walked away from the small outdoor stage, I remembered what Dean had said as he opened his remarks that evening, It’s not going to be easy… but YOU have the power.
It’s never easy. Every activist has known that… and needs to be reminded of it now and then; because we’re going against entrenched interests for whom the status quo works just fine, so why fuck with it. Therefore, entrenched interest count on that fact alone, that it’s never easy to dislodge them, to remain securely in power; that’s why incumbents and entrenched interests gerrymander, hoard political contributors and, thereby, make it nearly impossible for third parties and challengers to arise.
Accordingly, the only thing that’s left for us, the grassroots, to do is to organize and mobilize — and, again, it’s not easy and I don’t know that an easy formula exists. However, out here in CA, the nurses, teachers and firefighters have shown us that, indeed, it can be done. Man, the nurses, teachers and firefighters brought down Arnold — I mean, remember, not that long ago Sen. Hatch was talking about amending the Constitution so that Arnold could one day run for president; and, well, now that this mighty Goliath has been brought down, I don’t think there’ll be any talk of an Arnold amendment to the Constitution.
Perhaps the entrenched Democratic establishment in Chicago, especially Rep. Emanuel, need to start hearing from Cegelis’s supporters every where they go — and don’t forget their friends, too.
