Identity Politics

The issue of race — specially as it relates to African-Americans and White-Americans — is such a curious subject, particularly for progressives; since, I belive, we’re not afraid to actually explore it. Now, race is clearly an important issue, and it will remain so for a long time — though it admittedly gets more and more complex as other so-called minority groups join the political discourse. Now… I don’t know how to go about this… I’m much more of a socioeconomic progressive, that is, I subscribe to the notion that environmental (societal and economic) factors “largely” trump even issues of race — that is, beyond race we can agree on the impact of socioeconomic factors on our communities. Here’s what I mean: whether one is a poor Latino, poor African-American, poor White or, simply, poor while living in America, lack of access to health care, lack of access to education, lack of access to capital, lack of access to any one of these things will limit how high one can rise and what one can aspire to. Now, I don’t mean to suggest that racism is no longer a factor — clearly it is; however, I am trying to explore the notion that — as I belive — “identity” politics may be limiting and — perhaps — may tie us to a retrogressive model of political/community organizing. Like a lot progressives, I too have taken part in “identity” politics — Chicanismo, Brown Pride — but found that part of my political involvement a bit constraining, because I belive that bigger gaps can be bridged by collaboratively engaging our common enemy — an enemy that often uses societal and economic forces to divide us.

As you can see, this is pretty much stream of consciousness, so my point may not be very clear and, am sure, could be expressed more fully and tactfully — but I hope that the jist of my point is somewhat apparent.

UPDATE: I’d like to add one more point:

“Identity” politics is not going away, and it shouldn’t — it plays an important role, specially early on for a lot of progressives, as we learn of the contributions that our individual communities have made to America. Accordingly, as many commentators have pointed out, we — progressives — need to adopt the organizational model that conservatives have used: whether one is a corporate conservative, a social conservative, an NRA conservative, etc., they’ve all agreed to form a wide coalition and understand that while today one’s pet cause may not get the nod from the “coalition,” perhaps tomorrow it’ll be one’s turn. So, in the meantime, while the corporate conservatives get their estate tax, tomorrow the social conservatives will get their judges — you get the point.

We need to be as pragmatic and our coalition would naturally include progressives of all stripes: environmentalists, feminists, identity politics progressives, socioeconomic progressives, etc.

We Hate Feeling Like ATM Machines, But…

I know we all hate feeling like mere ATM machines; however, it requires resources to bring the fight to the opposition. Of course, resources are just one of the prerequisite components needed to mount a successful and sustainable fight; the other elements are:

• Ideas: a message that resonates.
• Organization: the various party and grassroots entities that will mobilize us come general elections (or at other necessary time).
• And, again, Resources: bodies and money — yes, money!

Around here this list is plainly obvious, and bears little repeating; however, every now and then — and I think now is that time, at least for me — one needs to be reminded of the following:

• If you’re not attending a MeetUp (Democratic Party, DFA, Kossaks, Progressive Majority or any other grassroots group that’s actively working to elect Democrats) on a regular basis, then start now!
• If you’re attending a MeetUp on regular basis, make sure you’re working to grow your group — letters to the editor, providing more organization and creating an infrastructure, etc.
• If you’re already doing both of the above, then considering taking on a greater leadership role within your local group or, better yet, within your local Democratic party.
• And, finally, here’s something we should all be doing on a periodic basis, monthly, quarterly, whatever you can afford: provide resources to the DNC — that’s right, let’s give our party the resources to bring the fight to the opposition.

You can start by visiting the DNC contribution page at https://www.democrats.org/support/.

Let me share with you what inspired this post, from The Hill [April 12, 2005]:

The 10 most vulnerable House Republicans have raised twice as much as their Democratic counterparts this year, testifying to an enduring GOP fundraising advantage in member-to-member giving and the majority party’s clout among donors on K Street.

The article goes on to fill in the details on how it is that the opposition has managed to out raise us — I’ll spare you the details, which you can read on your own. My sole point here is to reiterate what we all know around here: it is up to us to reclaim our country, and we need to start by doing — at a minimum — the four things listed in the preceding bullet points.

Finally, about a week ago I attended a Camp Wellstone workshop on “citizen activism,” which rejuvenated my profound sense of the rightness of progressive principles and, too, underscored the importance of building the infrastructure that’ll nurture a sustainable progressive movement. If you’ve not attended a Camp Wellstone workshop before look’em up here, you’ll have a great time and learn a lot in the process. Again, as I see it, building a sustainable progressive movement requires resources — money and bodies; accordingly, if you can, make a commitment to yourself to help build our Democratic party by providing the necessary resources to defeat our opponents, give what you: https://www.democrats.org/support/.

PROPOSAL: Call on Democrats to Take a Principled Stand

As we’re well aware of, in the past few days and in the months and years to come, the Democratic Party will receive countless bits of solicited and unsolicited advice from: professional political consultants, media pundits, think thanks, pollsters, national advocacy organizations and, believe it or not, from Republicans. As individuals nominally aligned with the Democratic Party, we must make sure that our interests and voices are not drowned out in the fury of advice that’s sure to come the Democratic Party’s way…

With that in mind, I’d like to put forward what I hope is a simple and tangible objective that can be achieved before inauguration: Let’s make sure that OUR elected Democratic representatives know that we are out here, in the cities and towns across America, and that we expect them to STAND FOR SOMETHING — to stand for values of Hope over Fear, for values of Tolerance and Inclusion, and to stand for the promise of the America that has yet to be, but which we know it can become; let’s let them know that capitulation for the apparent sake of conciliation is too high a price to pay if it means compromising the hard-fought for gains in the civil rights arena, consumer protections, rudimentary security for our elderly, the conservation of our natural resources, worker’s rights and a couple’s right to determine their reproductive destiny.

Before laying out the proposal which I hope we can enact together, allow me a few lines to provide a bare bones description of where WE are. First, who are the WE that I speak of? I’ll answer by providing a description of who I see my self as, and by presuming that You share shades of a similar worldview. I, We, embrace inclusion and tolerance, reason and modernity; I, We, know that America works best when our burdens and bounty are shared, and; I, We, understand that at various junctions in our American family’s history, people with our worldview — Liberals, Progressives, Idealists — have had to step forward to assert and affirm our meritorious values, and in the process have made the American family ever more inclusive. As I see it, it is this very thing — our values and ideals — that’s at stake in the wake of the 2004 elections.

The following may seem alarmist and premature, but — when considered against the backdrop of our national politics — I soberly suggest that it is neither. At present, the Democratic Party is flirting with irrelevance and obsolescence as a national institution; because, the Democratic Party has been practically muscled out of all three branches of government and, too, since Republicans already have — and will continue to — amass greater influence amongst the lobbying, regulatory and bureaucratic apparatuses of Washington, DC. Of course, the future of the Democratic Party could be drastically different if two or four years from now the situation in Iraq and our economy are much worst; accordingly, if such were to be the case, as a backlash, the Democratic Party could be swept into power across the nation. However, such catastrophic outcomes in Iraq and for our economy would come at a terrible cost, and may be too high a price for all of us to pay just to see the Republican Party ejected from power. Besides, such dire scenarios are relatively unlikely, and may not necessarily result in a backlash against the Republican Party — why, just look at the evidence of the past four years.

If the preceding is even remotely true, We — the grassroots of the Democratic Party — have some hard decisions to make: 1. We may choose to do nothing and hope for the best, 2. We may choose to abandon the Democratic Party, after deeming it a weak steward of our progressive values, and then decide to join or even create an alternative party, or 3. We can choose to raise our voices now, and demand that our elected Democratic Party representatives fight for our progressive principles and, too, defend the gains we’ve made over the past century. Clearly doing nothing and hoping for the best is unacceptable and unprincipled; then, there’s the second option, which is certainly more principled than the first, though — at present — would represent a tremendous gamble, unless one is willing to let things deteriorate further still; finally, as I hope will happen, We can opt to do something to encourage the national Democratic Party to take a stand on our behalf.

PROPOSAL

The proposal is simple and attainable on or before the Presidential inauguration. Of course, this document only contains a rough outline of the proposal — as the campaign’s details can be worked out in the days ahead for optimal visibility and impact. As you may be aware of, many of our fellow citizens are planning to voice their concerns on the streets of the capital on inauguration day; of course, as was the case after the elections of 2000, their efforts may go largely unmentioned by our media — unless, of course, large scale disorder breaks out. Accordingly, either scenario — the media’s silence or disorder on the streets — jeopardizes the legitimacy of our concerns over and opposition to the policies of the Bush administration and of the Republican Party; consequently, either scenario may further calcify the national Democratic Party’s inefficacy to mount a unified and principled stand. Therefore, we should open up an immediate front that’ll force the media to air the concerns of the Democratic Party’s grassroots, and that’ll call on the national Democratic Party to take a principled stand.

THE GOAL: The goal is to galvanize the grassroots of the Democratic Party, and to call on the national party to take a principled stand for our Progressive Values.

MEANS: The immediate objective is to publish full-page newspapers ads all across America addressing the national Democratic Party — we should plan on starting with the New York Times, before or on inauguration day. Aside from calling on the Democratic Party to take a principled stand, the ads will also urge fellow Democrats to participate in the campaign by publishing similar ads in local and national newspapers and, too, to contact elected Democratic representatives to let them know that the grassroots expects the national party to STAND FOR SOMETHING, and not to capitulate for the apparent sake of national conciliation.

TOOLS: No modern campaign can operate without a Web presence, so the first actionable item ought to be to build a website to accept contributions to publish the first ad in the New York Times, and so that we can communicate with other members of the Democratic Party’s grassroots. Simultaneously, the group will need to craft the message that’s to be published in the ads, compile the talking points of the organization and form a cadre of PR representatives.

POSITIONING: Given our aims and the nature of this endeavor, this "organization" should remain, at every turn, a grassroots body to underscore the legitimacy and authenticity of our efforts.

CONCLUSION

As described in the preceding, now more than ever, We must assert ourselves, raise our voices, and demand that the national Democratic Party represent our interests; or, as many suspect, the Democratic Party risks irrelevance and eventual obsolescence as a national institution. Accordingly, I put forward the following campaign proposal forward with the hopes that more than a few of Us will enact it together:

The campaign laid out above will, hopefully, kick off with a full-page ad in the New York Times to be published on or before inauguration day:

Allow me to thank you for taking the time to contemplate this proposal and, too, I very much look forward to receiving whatever feedback or comments you’d like to provide. More importantly, it’s my sincerest hope that each and everyone of you will collaborate in and contribute to this effort.

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ADDEMDUM:

Henry Kissinger on revolutionary powers:

“Lulled by a period of stability which had seemed permanent, they find it nearly impossible to take at face value the assertion of the revolutionary power that it means to smash the existing framework. The defenders of the status quo therefore tend to begin by treating the revolutionary power as if its protestations were merely tactical; as if it really accepted the existing legitimacy but overstated its case for bargaining purposes; as if it were motivated by specific grievances to be assuaged by limited concessions. Those who warn against the danger in time are considered alarmists; those who counsel adaptation are considered balanced and sane… But it is the essence of a revolutionary power that it possesses the courage of its convictions, that it is willing, indeed eager, to push its principles to their ultimate conclusion.”
– Henry Kissinger, as quoted by Paul Krugman in his book, The Great Unraveling

If you’d like to download this doc as a PDF click here and here. If you’d like to email me your thoughts and or plans to put this into action, contact me at: voxmiablog [at] voxmia.com.

More Like Us, Less Like Them

How disappointing… some in the Democratic party are suggesting that we have to make our message “more mainstream.” This sort post-eleciton analysis is precisely what many are afraid of in the progressive/Democratic wing of the Democratic party.

Here’s what we do know from this past election: all of the following self-identified ideological groups, liberals, moderates, independents and progressives, voted for Kerry in greater numbers then they voted for Bush. The only ideological group that voted for Bush in much greater numbers were ideological conservatives. Now, here’s one more thing that we know, in 2000 conservatives/Evangelical Christians composed about 20-25% of voters, in 2004 conservatives/Evangelical Christians represented about 30-35% of voters. Conclusion, Bush carried only one ideological group, conservatives/Evangelical Christians, and more of them came out to vote in 2004. Now, how one can jump to the conclusion that They (Republicans) somehow represent the “mainstream,” I frankly don’t know. Clearly Bush received nearly 4 million votes more than Kerry; however, in a nation with 217,767,000 citizens of voting age, and where 114,324,228 (52.5%) turned out to vote, I think it’s defeatist for Democratic supporters to conclude: Oh, we got to be more like Republicans if we want to win. No, that’s the wrong conclusion, and the sort of thinking that does not earn respect from anybody. We, Democrats, liberals, progressives, moderates, independents (whatever you want to call yourself), have got to be more like Us and less like Them, and make sure that We present clear distinctions between Us and Them.

Here’s something I presented elsewhere, which I’ll post again, because it’s something that We have to keep in mind as We build up to for the next fight:

“In 1964, Lyndon Johnson (Democrat) beat Barry Goldwater (Republican) by 23% points. Goldwater managed to carry just 6 states and Johnson won the electoral college 486-52. But the conservatives didn’t give up. They didn’t spend a lot of time wringing their hands. They regrouped and fought back. By 1968, Nixon (Republican) crushed Humphrey (Democrat) in the electoral college 301-191 and won the popular vote by a million votes. If you oppose Bush, now isn’t the time to feel sorry for yourself. Now is the time to get to work.”

It took the Right wing 30+ years to get to where they are — We’ve taken the first step, and We must now follow up with action. Please, if you support Democratic/Progressive values, find local groups that will point in the right direction.

I’d recommend to start here:

http://www.democracyforamerica.com/

And don’t compromise your core convictions and moral values of Hope over Fear, and of Tolerance as a Family Value.

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“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”
- William Shakespeare, Henry V

Dear Friends, Once More!

I did not write the following, but I think that it expresses precisely what Democrats, Progressives, and all Americans that believe in Hope over Fear and, too, that Tolerance is a Family Value, need to keep in mind as We take the fight to the next stage:

“In 1964, Lyndon Johnson (Democrat) beat Barry Goldwater (Republican) by 23% points. Goldwater managed to carry just 6 states and Johnson won the electoral college 486-52. But the conservatives didn’t give up. They didn’t spend a lot of time wringing their hands. They regrouped and fought back. By 1968, Nixon (Republican) crushed Humphrey (Democrat) in the electoral college 301-191 and won the popular vote by a million votes. If you oppose Bush, now isn’t the time to feel sorry for yourself. Now is the time to get to work.”

Now, our democracy is bigger than one election or one candidate; there’s a lot that’s still at stake, and there’ll be plenty of opportunities to get involved. So, while the final results of the 2004 presidential election may be disappointing, don’t be dishearten; because, We did do a lot of good, and this is not the time to give the Right any quarter nor any satisfaction.

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“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!”
- William Shakespeare, Henry V