How Independent Progressive's Can Successfully Use the Democratic Party

[Kevin Spidel]

How Independent Progressive's Can Successfully Use the Democratic Party by the PDA Staff and Advisory Board - September 06, 2004

Progressive Democrats of America (www.pdamerica.org) emerged from the Kucinich for President Campaign. While in the main PDA supports the Kerry candidacy, it does not support Kerry on issues such as Iraq, gay rights, and military spending. PDA's support of the Kerry candidacy is a matter of expedient pragmatic regime change that does not reflect PDA's belief that profound political change is necessary to save the planet from totalitarianism, fundamentalism, ecological disaster, and other forms of terrorism. Indeed, like thousands of other peace, justice, and environmental organizations PDA wants to effectuate foundational progressive change inside the USA. The question of what will be most efficacious, however, is a tactical one. What might work, at this point in history, within a United States of America dominated by a two party system, to produce the kind of practical changes we seek? The Greens and Nader's candidacies have created a political environment which has woken up a large number of progressives to their responsibility of working within the Democratic Party. They have done this by hitting the slumbering Green Donkey on the head with a large political two-by-four. The same blow has also awoken a number of more mainstream liberal Democrats to the danger posed by not having an actual progressive wing of the Party. It has yet to be seen whether enough of us are now awake to initiate a credible process to transform the Party from within.

PDA starts with the assumption that the changes we seek can only emerge from a progressive alliance that combines independent third party organizing with a coherent strategy regarding how to wrest control of the Democratic Party from the DLC centrists who now control it and to turn the Party into a force in active opposition to corporate dominated militarism, exploitation, and oppression. We believe that we can do so by building grassroots based and controlled Democratic chapter organizations which will work in concert with a massive united movement for social transformation. PDA's piece of this strategy is to organize 435 Progressive Democrat of America chapters, one in each of the 435 congressional districts. Within its local geographic area or political district, each PDA chapter will identify and reach out in the spirit of movement building to all organizational and individual supporters of civil and labor rights, environmental protection, women's rights, the rights of the poor, consumer rights, and the right to live in peace, free from racism, discrimination and institutional domination. Every PDA grassroots chapter will receive support from a central PDA organization that will provide local databases, publicity, educational materials, regional organizers, trainings, funding, and a comprehensive and united legislative agenda from which to build specific working alliances.

This strategy will strengthen the overall progressive movement, including the work of Greens, IPPN, and others. It will provide opportunities for collaboration among progressives. And it will increase the progressive movement's ability to educate, coordinate, and work together. PDA is an alternative to the corporate controlled Democratic Party. It is committed to a fusion approach that works to build support for progressive candidates wherever they may appear. Progressive third party organizations and their members should find PDA's stance on critical social and political issues to be compatible with their own, just as PDA will find independent progressive political organizations positions on the issues compatible with PDA's. Campaign finance reform, for example, serves both PDA and all progressive third party organizations and benefits third party and progressive Democrats in their effort to defeat centrist and right wing Democrats. So too instant run off voting, which may also help defeat centrist candidates. And, while the Democratic Party is in truth terribly flawed, we can use it as the skeletal framework around which to organize a coherent political force, to raise money, and to provide volunteers for local candidates. But until we rid the Democratic Party of the DLC we cannot succeed. As a united progressive grassroots campaign, however, we can take over the Democratic Party in much the same way as the far right took over the Republican Party.

PDA will create the leadership structure that can lead the Democratic Party to embrace and articulate a more progressive vision for America. The process has already begun. Progressive caucuses and chapters have formed in many states and actively forming and organizing in others. These chapters and caucuses have begun to advance the progressive vision from the grassroots. Former Dean, Kucinich, Sharpton, and even Nader voters are uniting and creating a home and a movement within the Democratic Party for the advancement of the progressive agenda and the election of progressive candidates. We all need active allies. Electoral politics is just one tactical branch of building the progressive movement. By choosing issues that are relevant on a local level we create opportunities to discuss these issues in terms of social justice and the larger public good. By uniting with one another, progressives have the power to restore this nation to a true democracy. We have no choice but to enter into this struggle in concert with one another.

We look forward to making history together. Please visit the PDA web site at http://www.pdamerica.org to register and receive our newsletter.

[eridani]

1. Kick n/t