General debate: Do YOU think activist groups can ally with a party yet stay true to themselves?

[patrice]

12. So the tradeoffs between business activist groups and the Democratic party more recently included

Last edited Wed May 2, 2012, 11:13 PM - Edit history (2)

(a BUNCH of stuff, but what I'm interested in here is) the taming and training of Labor to identify with corporate models, because that's the most common criticism of Labor that I hear at the grassroots' level.

Perhaps you can see where I'm headed with this:

- Given the profound corruption of campaign finance that existed BEFORE Citizens' United (non of which will be changed by any kind of reversal of that decision) and the general state of confusion about that decision itself, including the fact that few Democrats probably appreciate that the something like 7% of American Labor that is organized IS also empowered to go after funding to unionize because of Citizens United;
- Don't we have good reason to be skeptical about a Movement to Amend that fractures different grassroots' movements outreach, over the differences between corporatized Labor and the potentialities of REFORMED Labor. Shouldn't we be concerned about this effect ESPECIALLY now when our butts are being redistricted into oblivion?

Shouldn't we be concerned about how those grassroots fractures will develop and progress over a Citizens' United/corporate-personhood-remedy, constitutional amendment, ratification period (5-10? years) that can even ultimately result in the defeat of MtA (on legal grounds according to corporate corruption fighter Eliot Spitzer) (and MtA defeated with Labor's authentic base fractured, mind you) - or - to result in MtA success, with Labor fractured, in a fully redistricted environment in which NONE of the original issues surrounding at least transparency, or any of the other campaign finance, or VOTING REFORM issues have been effectively addressed.

In short, I am concerned about the Democratic Party's and the Occupy's authentic value for Labor either being co-opted, or further invalidated and disempowered, by all of the huzzah! coming from the activist group known as Movement to Amend and I think it is a huge mistake to assume that NONE of the impetus in MtA comes from corporate interests. IOW, is MtA a bait-and-switch? And how would we find out under high political pressure for the Democratic Party to identify with this activist group?