Sirota and the need for a pragmatic ideology
David Sirota, who will be headlining a Seattle Town Hall forum this Friday, has written many excellent articles over the years. His latest, The Right Has Given Away Their Guidebook - Will We Listen?, is a brilliantly insightful article for anyone interested in building the progressive movement within the Democratic Party. I can't help but see the parallels between what Sirota describes as "Beltway" reactionaries and our recent discussions here at Washblog.
For example, recently we had a lengthy argument about Dennis Kucinich and his "electability". 122 comments and only one person really brought up anything of substance. That being Sugarfree who brought up how Kucinich had "parted ways" with the Democratic Party.
I'll get back to that argument later, but first, let's consider the bulk of the other 121 comments on that diary. They centered around one thing: winnability. Kucinich wasn't deemed "electable". Obama was held up as some sort of Dem Saviour. He has charisma. He's "electable". Not much substance behind their arguments, just testimonials about how he made them "feel good." What does Sirota say about the idea of "electability"? He tells us about Richard Viguerie, the conservative direct mail guru.
He (Viguerie) goes on to state that the movement found its strength in being able to "concentrate on advancing the conservative agenda rather than the Republican agenda [because] the agendas most definitely were not always the same." Now I like to think about what people mean when they say we should be "pragmatic" as opposed to "purists". I keep wondering what exactly is so pragmatic about their positions on things? What I think they mean is we have to forego being "idealists". We have to make certain compromises in the face of political realities in order to win.
I think they're wrong. I think the truly pragmatic way of looking at things is to accept what has been proven true time and again about human nature and politics. I think without an ideology, you CAN'T win. The current pragmatism of compromise is not pragmatic at all. Or as David Sirota tells us: Sadly, as I've noted in an article entitled Partisan War Syndrome, too many Democratic politicians and progressive activists continue to ignore our opponents' lessons at our peril, seeing the Democratic Party - rather than a movement and its goals - as the end unto itself. Many of the leading voices that are supposed to be part of the progressive ideological movement will disparage those who question other Democrats on substantive ideological grounds. These attacks come not out of any policy objection, but simply because one Democrat is questioning another Democrat, which we are led to believe will result in the destruction of the growing movement, rather than the fueling of it, as Viguerie shows. Which in a way, brings me full circle back to the one comment out of 122 that I felt actually had any kind of substantive merit as to why we should not get behind Dennis Kucinich. From Sugarfree:
Kucinich can't win the nomination for the same reason Guiliani can't win the Republican nomination -- he's out of step with his party on choice. Naturally, I asked Sugarfree to explain exactly how Kucinich is "out of step" with the Democratic Party. I felt this was an excellent line of discussion because I believed that by defining the parties boundaries we could define what is and isn't considered being a good progressive. Sugarfrees response wasn't what you'd expect a progressive to be concerned about, but it WAS what you'd expect a Democrat first, progressive second to worry about.
Kucinich was pro-life and had a record to match right up to the moment he decided to run for President. Okay, so let's define "out of step" here according to sugarfree. Kucinich does not support a constitutional ban on abortion. He does not support abstinence only sex education policies. He does support contraceptives and education. He wants to create a society where abortion is less necessary. As for Lewinsky, he voted against impeachment. Now consider this: Abortion is NOT a core progressive issue. It's a platform issue of the Democratic Party but it has NO BASIS in progressive ideology. In fact, if you want to be pragmatic and not ideological, then abortion is the Stalingrad of the Democratic Party. By that I mean it is the noose around the parties neck that just keeps giving to the Republican Party. If we abandoned the abortion issue the Republican Party would cease to exist. When you push a right winger into the corner and you disprove every lie and myth the conservatives have sold to him and he doesn't have anywhere left to turn he reaches down and pulls out the "baby killer" card. It's the last card he has to play and it's the one you can never win an argument with him on. And it has NOTHING to do with progressivism. So is Dennis Kucinich "out of step" with progressivism or the Democratic Party? The BIG question is really: Is the Democratic Party out of step with progressivism? Well, let's look at Maria Cantwell. Is SHE out of step with the Democratic Party? I think not. But she's definately out of step with the progressives. And for pointing this out to Democrats, progressives are proclaimed "purists" who need to be more "pragmatic". So Cantwell can sign onto CAFTA, the war in Iraq, and other things totally out of step with progressive ideology and she's not out of step with the Democratic Party, but Kucinich can be pro-life and he's the one who's out of step? Sirota warns us of this rift as well:
As Viguerie says, conservative direct mail fundraising in the 1970s and 1980s "helped conservative candidates remain independent of GOP institutional inertia." Clearly, similar "institutional inertia" exists inside the Democratic Party in Washington. Whether it is leaders of the incoming majority saying they will consider cutting Social Security, pushing more free trade deals, or refusing to make a serious effort to end the war in Iraq - this "inertia" runs counter to everything that the progressive movement is supposed to be about. What we have to do is obvious: start putting progressive politicians first and Democrats second. In the end, it's the only pragmatic thing TO do.
Sirota and the need for a pragmatic ideology | 104 comments (104 topical)
Sirota and the need for a pragmatic ideology | 104 comments (104 topical)
|
PNW TOPIC HOTLIST |
Recommended Diaries
Recent Diaries
It's so easy to have fun with Larry Craig
By gibney (2 comments)
Douglas County is the only county in Washington State that does not have a weed board.
By Dixie (3 comments)
History Warns Us
By bltfsk (3 comments)
Progressive Convention in Tacoma
By IvyTodd (0 comments)
New DNC member; Karen's position
By gibney (3 comments)
Commissioner Keane Found?
By Dixie (0 comments)
Letter to Dave Reichert
By BryceM (0 comments)
Rep. Inslee: THANK YOU! Murray: so long babe.
By dlaw (8 comments)
Attack on Iran
By bltfsk (0 comments)
Where is Commissioner Dane Keane??
By Dixie (1 comments)
Not One More Dime - Not One More Life
By The Left Shue (4 comments) Related Links+ headlining a Seattle Town Hall forum+ The Right Has Given Away Their Guidebook - Will We Listen? + Dennis Kucinich + "winnabili ty." + cutting Social Security, + more free trade deals, + Pen's Diary Washblog RSS FeedsPolitical ContactsLocal MediaCoastal/Grays HarborAberdeen Daily World Chinook Observer Montesano Vidette Pacific County Press Willapa Harbor Herald KXRO 1320 AM Olympic Peninsula Peninsula Daily News Bremerton Sun Bremerton Chronicle Gig Harbor Gateway Port Orchard Independent Port Townsend Leader North Kitsap Herald Squim Gazette Central Kitsap Reporter Business Examiner KONP 1450 AM Sound and Islands Anacortes American Bainbridge Review Voice Of Bainbridge San Juan Journal The Islands' Sounder Whidbey NewsTimes South Whidbey Record Stanwood/Camano News Vashon Beachcomber Voice Of Vashon KLKI 1340 AM North Puget Sound Bellingham Herald The Northern Light Everett Herald Skagit Valley Herald Lynden Tribune The Enterprise Snohomish County Tribune Snohomish County Business Journal The Monroe Monitor The Edmonds Beacon KGMI 790 AM KELA 1470 AM KRKO 1380 AM Central Puget Sound King County Journal Issaquah Press Mukilteo Beacon Voice of the Valley Federal Way Mirror Bothell/Kenmore Reporter Kirkland courier Mercer Island Reporter Woodinville Weekly Greater Seattle Seattle PI Seattle Times KOMO TV 4 KIRO TV 7 KING 5 TV KTBW TV 22 KCTS 9 UW Daily The Stranger Seattle Weekly Capitol Hill Times Madison Park Times Seattle Journal of Commerce NW Asian Weekly West Seattle Herald North Seattle Herald-Outlook South Seattle Star Magnolia News Beacon Hill News KIRO 710 AM KOMO AM 1000 KEXP 90.3 FM KUOW 94.9 FM KVI 570 AM South Puget Sound The Columbian Longview Daily News Nisqually Valley News Lewis County News The Reflector Eatonville Dispatch Tacoma News Tribune Tacoma Weekly Puyallup Herald Enumclaw Courier-Herald The Olympian KAOS 89.3 FM KCPQ 13 KOWA FM 106.5 UPN 11 Cascade/Okanogan Ellensburg Daily Record Levenworth Echo Cle Elum Tribune Snoqualmie Valley Record Methow Valley News Lake Chelan Mirror Omak chronicle The Newport Miner Spokane/Palouse The Spokesman-Review KREM 2 TV Spokane KXLY News 4 Spokane KHQ 6 Spokane KSPS Spokane Statesman-Examiner Othello Outlook Cheney Free Press Camas PostRecord The South County sun White Salmon Enterprise Palouse Boomerang Columbia Basin Herald Grand Coulee Star Walla Walla Union-Bulletin Yakima Herald-Republic KIMA 29 Yakima KAPP TV 35 Yakima KYVE Yakima Wenatchee World Tri-City Herald TVEW TV 42 Tri-cities KTNW Richland KEPR 19 Pasco Daily Sun News Prosser Record-Bulletin KTCR 1340 AM KWSU Pullman Moscow-Pullman Daily News
|