"Democratizing the Democratic Party is not a revolutionary act, but ..."

[Rebkeh]

After His New York Loss, Bernie Sanders Should Focus on Democratizing the Democratic Party

A convention fight this summer in Philadelphia offers Sanders the opportunity to make significant reforms to the Democratic Party.

Jesse Myerson
April 20, 2016

(In These Times) Today, after his 16-point loss in New York, it is extremely difficult for Bernie Sanders to secure the Democratic nomination for President. Then again, it was extremely difficult before yesterday and has been every day since he announced his intention to run nearly a year ago.

Sanders’ campaign has always been a long shot: he started out with virtually no national profile, insubstantial support among Democratic officeholders and power-players, and a hostile news media intent on ignoring him as long as possible and ridiculing him thereafter. (emphasis mine) In the face of such long odds, the campaign has accomplished remarkable things: breaking fundraising records, producing some of the greatest campaign ads ever and coalescing political will around frames and ideas that will be essential for the ascendant left in coming years.

snip

His path to the convention is clear. Sanders should continue fighting to mobilize every last voter and delegate behind his agenda of guaranteed universal rights to healthcare, education, and dignified conditions—and continue impressing the necessity for ongoing mass agitation (what he calls the “political revolution”) to accomplish the same. That way, when he gets to Philadelphia in July, even if he hasn't managed to catch up to Clinton, he will possess maximal leverage to affect the convention.

More:
http://inthesetimes.com/article/19071/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-new-york-primary

[uponit7771]

1. So far Senator "We'll See" is going to democratize much, his statements last night placing the onus

... on Clinton to win over anything vs speaking as a team player and acting as if he'll make it his priority.

[Agnosticsherbet]

2. There will be no convention fight. Clinton will win the first vote at the Convention.

[mmonk]

3. It's up to us.

Bernie was our first shot.

[Maedhros]

4. The OP is under the mistaken impression that the Democratic Party

can be 'democratized.' This primary season has made it clear that the Party is going quite the other direction, toward top-down decision-making with the expectation that the rank-and-file has a duty to support the Party over policy. It has written its rules such that any challenges to existing authority can be nullified. It doesn't help that a significant portion of the rank-and-file are mewling authoritarians.

[Rebkeh]

5. Am I hearing this right?

Top down?

No, sir. Change comes from the bottom up.

[Maedhros]

6. I agree.

My point is that the DNC and the Party Leadership are working very hard to insulate the decision-making from the grass roots. The machine may be far too broken to fix.

[2banon]

7. I think it's a lauded goal, wish I could be optimistic

I think nothing short of pitchforks will move the political party elite, to anything remotely resembling a democratic process.

And even that won't be enough.

Looking back at history, spells only an outcome that favors the 1%.

Also, I think we need to spell out the process as we see it, and the changes that must be made.

I have a few thoughts but I'm not laying it out here, except to say we need to abolish Citizens United, the Electoral College, Super Delegates, same day primaries nation wide.

I know there's wide agreement on CU, betcha a broad support for abolishing the EC, and possibly the SD's. but what about Same Day Primaries nation wide. (no caucuses) .

Electioneering needs to be completely reformed, voting rules & regs and processes needs to be federalized, imo.

This doesn't nearly begin to cover everything, but it's a few suggestions, and things I'd like to see happen.

[felix_numinous]

8. Democratizing the party is an act of REFORM

Wishing to REFORM CORRUPTION and restore human and civil rights is an act of BALANCE. We are not extremists, radicals, silly, stupid, or anarchists, or even far leftist. We are just like the revolutionaries who rebelled against the British aristocracy, and restored human rights via the New Deal. And we are like 1950s Republicans in that we want to regulate the government.

The rich still have their yachts, the big families will still have mansions. We can take ENOUGH out of the military budget to bail every American out, skip going to war, and work on our infrastructure. That is not a craaaaaazy outlandish idea, we are all normal everyday Americans who want a decent world for our grandchildren.

The ship of state is listing so far starboard it's taking in water, and we're headed for a storm, we need to balance it or it will not function.