Sanders' Unity Tour With DNC Chair Exposes Rifts But Also Suggests Common Goals
9 replies, posted
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[t]http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2017/04/21/gettyimages-670413688-27b71f4208c02c5cba0b9d8c92759b93fa6f61fe-s800-c85.jpg[/t]
Things were going well for the Democrats in Miami.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., hadn't exactly sold out the downtown theater they were campaigning in, but the audience was solid and energetic.
The anti-DNC catcalls that had plagued early stops on the uneasy allies' weeklong unity tour hadn't surfaced. And both Perez and Sanders had delivered fiery speeches that had pumped up the crowd in a key city of a critical swing state.
Sanders was shaking hands with supporters as David Bowie's "Starman" blared.
A Sanders fan rushed the stage, grabbed the microphone, and shouted, "Bernie would have won!" The audience joined in the cheer, loudly repeating an alternate reality rallying cry that didn't exactly scream, "Democratic Unity Tour."
The DJ quickly drowned out the chant with a new song — Johnny Cash's "I've Been Everywhere."
It was fitting. Because while Perez and Sanders weren't visiting Reno, Chicago, Fargo and Minnesota, their itinerary was kind of close: Maine, Kentucky, Florida, Texas, Nebraska, Utah, Arizona and Nevada.
[...]
Melissa Bernardo is the exact type of young progressive voter that should be in the Democratic Party's camp. Waiting for Perez and Sanders in Miami along with a friend, she explained that the two of them are graduate students. "Karina does research on immigration and detention centers. And I do research on climate change and the impacts on agriculture."
Those are two key issues for Democrats. And yet, while Bernardo loves Bernie Sanders, she's ambivalent — if not hostile — toward the Democratic Party. "You took someone who had corporate backing, and that's what you got," she said, addressing party leaders. "America was primed for something different. And Bernie and Trump were both something different."
The goal of the tour is to convince people like Bernardo that the DNC is on their side.
That's why, despite the fact he isn't a Democrat and doesn't plan on ever becoming one, Perez brought Sanders on the tour.[/QUOTE]
[URL="http://www.npr.org/2017/04/22/525089501/sanders-unity-tour-with-dnc-chair-exposes-rifts-but-also-suggests-common-goals"]Source[/URL]
I highly recommend reading the rest of the article.
Went to the first rally in Portland ME. I've never seen a crowd turn so quickly as when the intro speaker mentioned Bernie and Perez in the same sentence. Word for word, it went like this: "Regardless of why you're here, you're here for a reason. Maybe you're here to see a certain senator from Vermont..." [I](massive applause and cheering)[/I] "...or maybe because you're curious about the new DNC chair..." [I](immediate booing from almost everybody)[/I]
The Democrats have a crisis on their hands whether they know it or not. All this "unity" bravado is nothing but empty talk - the divisions between establishment Democrats and progressives aren't going away. Bernie's trying to hold the party together, but he can only do so much. The DNC needs to start listening. And likewise progressives need to stop throwing stones at Perez and focus on the bigger threats. He's no Keith Ellison, but he is one of the more progressive members of the party and seems to have a genuine desire to move the party to the left.
A pretty big amount of progressives are fucking insane and ridiculously cynical and paranoid, so this is kind of to be expected.
And I say that as a progressive. A large portion of "progressives" were so obsessed with hating the Democrats that they voted for Trump or just didn't vote at all.
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;52142930]A pretty big amount of progressives are fucking insane and ridiculously cynical and paranoid, so this is kind of to be expected.
And I say that as a progressive. A large portion of "progressives" were so obsessed with hating the Democrats that they voted for Trump or just didn't vote at all.[/QUOTE]
I interned for the Ellison campaign, and even then, the amount of hate Perez seems to get is fucking ridiculous. The dude wasn't my preferred chair, no, he's not quite as persuasive and effective a speaker as Ellison. But, people make him out to be some centrist devil just because Bernie endorsed Ellison over him, ignoring the fact he's a former civil rights lawyer and labor advocate. Just because the Republicans are killing themselves over a civil war doesn't mean we should follow them off that cliff, and give Trump and friends a huge advantage in elections.
[QUOTE=Maegord;52143018]I interned for the Ellison campaign, and even then, the amount of hate Perez seems to get is fucking ridiculous. The dude wasn't my preferred chair, no, he's not quite as persuasive and effective a speaker as Ellison. But, people make him out to be some centrist devil just because Bernie endorsed Ellison over him, ignoring the fact he's a former civil rights lawyer and labor advocate. Just because the Republicans are killing themselves over a civil war doesn't mean we should follow them off that cliff, and give Trump and friends a huge advantage in elections.[/QUOTE]
Yeah I mean the fact that Perez literally created a whole position for Ellison should be enough of a sign that he wants to unify the Democratic Party. Hating Perez that much isn't just ridiculous, it's counterproductive and just making things worse.
[QUOTE=Maegord;52143018]I interned for the Ellison campaign, and even then, the amount of hate Perez seems to get is fucking ridiculous. The dude wasn't my preferred chair, no, he's not quite as persuasive and effective a speaker as Ellison. But, people make him out to be some centrist devil just because Bernie endorsed Ellison over him, ignoring the fact he's a former civil rights lawyer and labor advocate. Just because the Republicans are killing themselves over a civil war doesn't mean we should follow them off that cliff, and give Trump and friends a huge advantage in elections.[/QUOTE]
Some people want to keep fighting the 2016 democratic primaries clearly
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;52143171]Yeah I mean the fact that Perez literally created a whole position for Ellison should be enough of a sign that he wants to unify the Democratic Party. Hating Perez that much isn't just ridiculous, it's counterproductive and just making things worse.[/QUOTE]
Basically, this. Perez is one of the "establishment" figures who really clearly does understand the importance of unifying the party behind one banner. He knows that the Berniecrats and the young progressive left-wing is likely the future of the party, so he's embracing Ellison and trying to minimize the damage that he knows his victory would cause.
Bernie is the populist voice for the American left, and Perez knows that. The olive branch to Ellison was a good step - and it was more than just a symbolic one. Perez's [I]literal first action[/I] as DNC chairman was to invent a new position and make Ellison the second most powerful person in the administrative part of the DNC.
From my view, though, Perez and Ellison need to get the party to immediately drop contentious issues that serve no strategic purpose other than pushing away potential voters. For the last several years, the DNC has been trying to shape their voter base. They need to do the opposite, and let their voter base shape their policy. The GOP has lost so many battles. Most Americans are okay with gay marriage now, when the opposite was true like a decade ago. Most Americans are okay with marijuana legalization, especially medical, when the opposite used to be true. The GOP can't even get rid of Obamacare after spending eight years shredding it on nightly partisan news. The DNC needs to pop the self-masturbatory bubble they've been hiding in, reach out to rural voters by adjusting policy, and call it a day.
Like, seriously, if the DNC relaxed on gun control and other minor wedge issues, what will their voter base do? Vote for Trump instead? No, they'll still vote D, but so will other people who were separated by that wedge.
[QUOTE=Lambeth;52143175]Some people want to keep fighting the 2016 democratic primaries clearly[/QUOTE]
Because they are vocal majority that still very pissed off wing who can't let it go of how DWS (very clearly sad example of everything wrong with modern day Democratic Party) or Hillary herself screwed election up for everyone.
the hell are you talking about? what world are you living in where Hillary lost because of DWS and not literally every other thing that actually cost her the election?
[QUOTE=LTJGPliskin;52143171]Yeah I mean the fact that Perez literally created a whole position for Ellison should be enough of a sign that he wants to unify the Democratic Party. Hating Perez that much isn't just ridiculous, it's counterproductive and just making things worse.[/QUOTE]
Of course he wants to unify the party, the Democrats have been decimated and need every vote they can get. I want the Democrats to adopt left-wing stances and push back against corporate influence in politics. At the moment, neither of us is getting what we want. How much power does Ellison actually have as deputy chair? I have yet to see any evidence that this position Perez pulled out of thin air is anything more than empty appeasement.
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