Yes, this is the way it should be done. Choose 3-5 issues (Anti-war, national health, the minimum wage, etc), and hold their feet to the fire. They get the endorsement only if they sign the pledge. Like the Working Families in NY, such a strategy has the dual virtue of empowering the base and changing the political dynamics on these issues.
Joel Blau Original Message: ----------------- From: Doug Henwood [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2005 10:40:26 -0500 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Progressive Democrats of America Julio Huato wrote: >But, and this is where the agreement with Louis probably ends, I don't >think that this will work if it is presented as an inflexible >decision, i.e., regardless of what may happen *in* the DP. We have to >get out of our minds that political independence is the same as >mechanical, logistical, or organizational separation. It is not. >Here and now, the way to conquer political independence, in the >*class* sense, is by engaging with the DP. That's why I believe that >the independent campaign has to be carefully prepared since yesterday, >but not announced formally, until after the DP primaries. > >IMHO, the way to attract the Democratic rank-and-filers (and that >decisive bunch of people who claim to be independent) is by making a >public commitment to *seriously consider endorsing* the DP candidate >*if and only if* such candidate *clearly* commits to troop withdrawal >and the progressive reform of foreign policy. What you're describing sounds not unlike what the Working Families Party is doing in New York. They organize around specific issues - raising the state minimum wage, reducing drug sentences - and selectively endorse candidates. The issue campaign helps build the organization, and the results can materially improve people's lives. And the endorsements, or the withholding of endorsements, do matter in campaigns. It looks to me like a strategy worth trying more broadly. Beats chimerical presidential campaigns out of nowhere, with no organizational base, no organizational or political development, and no life in years not divisible by 4. Doug -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .
