After Bitter Tuesday, Progressives Ask Democratic Party What It Stands For

[eridani]

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/04/27/after-bitter-tuesday-progressives-ask-democratic-party-what-it-stands

A disappointing election night for progressives ended Tuesday with two establishment Democrats, Katie McGinty and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, winning their respective U.S. Senate primary races in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Van Hollen won against Rep. Donna Edwards, both of whom were running to replace Sen. Barbara Mikulski, in a contest that highlighted racial, gender, and class divides in the Maryland Democratic Party.

A win for Edwards—who had grassroots support but few powerful political allies—would have made her Maryland's first black senator and the second black female U.S. senator in history. Despite a record turnout from black voters, her campaign came up against an establishment firewall that had long backed Van Hollen, a white man and career politician, whose policies are markedly more centrist.

At a union hall in Prince George's County Tuesday night, Edwards gave a passionate concession speech that criticized the Democratic Party's faux-progressive mantle.

"To my Democratic Party, you cannot show up in churches before election day, you cannot sing the first and last verse of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing,' you cannot join hands and walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and call that post-racial and inclusion," she said to cheers and applause.

"To my Democratic Party, let me say that today Maryland is on the verge of having an all-male delegation in a so-called progressive state. So what I want to know from my Democratic Party, is when will the voices of people of color, when will the voices of women, when will the voices of labor, when will the voices of black women, when will our voices be effective, legitimate, equal leaders in a big-tent party?" she said.

[zalinda]

1. This is Clinton's Democratic Party, and no one should forget it. eom

[silvershadow]

3. I am not sure I could. As a Union labor, FDR democrat. I know EXACTLY who wrecked it all.nt

[dreamnightwind]

2. Van Hollen was the more corporate candidate, correct?

I think the party has lots of room for women and POC, so long as they represent corporate interests. Labor, not so much, thoug many leaders of large unions seem to be pretty well compromised themselves.

I guess she has a point though, if Maryland is only electing male candidates (not sure exactly what she means here, but will take her word for it). Still, my guess is there's some bias against women and POC but the major bias is against populist interests no matter who is running.

[1939]

4. Last time I looked, Sen Barbara Mikulski was a woman

and she held the seat for many, many years. Unless there is some implication that the seat is reserved as a "woman's seat" anyone is eligible to run. The winner is an experienced representative and fully eligible to run for the seat. The fact they he got more votes is that the electorate wanted him more, not some horrible cnspiracy against minorities or women..

[CobaltBlue]

5. Democratic Party Control

The Democratic Party establishment wants control over who exactly wins primaries. They want the more true liberals to lose out.

This is the case in such states as Florida, Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

[Hortensis]

6. Members of the Democratic Party are voting

for the nominee they want. That is democracy in action by people who care enough to go vote their principles.

The people of Maryland paid Van Hollen the compliment of liking and respecting him for what he has done for them so far. He's a good man who will be a good Democratic Senator. Their choice is not a failure of principle.

Note that complete contempt for the rights and opinions of those who disagree with one's own choice is a manifestation of lack of principle, and gratuitous insults and lies about the ideology of other progressives are manifestations of failure of principle.

People behaving like this have been giving their particular illiberal, anti-Democrat brand of progressivism a bad name for a very long time now, and their behavior certainly is a factor in Sanders' defeat -- the only question is how much.