| There are many things missing from the political scene in America that would make democracy function better. E.g., having lots of George Galloways, who (I presume) would boldly speak the truth about politics and politicians - even if they were in his own party.
I read a diary over the weekend ("So You Want To Form A New Party? Hmmm, Come With Me") that, together with the comments, illustrated the dilemma facing progressives who have had it with the Democratic Party. There are, of course, good reasons for progressives to take the 'leave it' option, as well as good reasons to take the 'fix it' option. Reading the diary made me think about another element missing from the Progressive political eco-system that can deal more constructively with this dilemma.
The Progressive Democrats of America are clearly taking the 'fix it' option. But some people are too disaffected for going that route, and I am wondering, aloud, if maybe there should be a group called, e.g., 'Tentative Democrats of America', (TDA),which will seek to form a voting bloc that can be courted by Democratic candidates, if they're sufficiently aligned with the local TDA's priorities. However, they will also let it be known that they will go for a Green Party candidate (or some other 3rd Party candidate) if they can't get sufficient satisfaction from the Democrats, locally.
Different strategies can be developed by members from different states and districts, tailor made to the political realities they face. A key concern is to figure out if they have enough collective muscle to allow a much superior Democrat to emerge victorious in a primary. If so, they typically have to establish membership in the Democratic Party by a certain date. Otherwise, they have to consider their options - e.g., does joining the Green Party make sense, or is that totally unnecessary as there is only one Green in the field, and they can just show up to vote for them in the general election?
They will not be loyal Democrats or loyal Greens or loyal-any-party. What they will be loyal to is their own collective will and convictions about what direction the country should be taking.
When Nancy Bordiers' invention gets implemented and adopted, or some other vote bloc formation technology gets widely adopted, forming a Tentative Democrats of
America will become easy. Right now, while it will be a messier and slower process, it seems a shame to waste the opportunity that a decaying Democratic Party represents, in terms of losing voters who can help fix it from the inside, or help pressure it from the outside. |
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