Taking the dog to the vet this morning (poor old puppy!) and then off to work. I hope you don't mind the lack of links in this one. I think it is fairly common knowledge among those with any historical understanding, however...
A little history for the feint of heart Democratic Party constituents who think we should not primary recalcitrant corporate Democrats.
In 1933 and into 1934, FDR saw who was against the New Deal programs in the Democratic Party, and he actively recruited people to run in primaries against them. One of the people beaten was Thomas P. Gore, Gore Vidal's granddad, in Oklahoma. The replacement supported New Deal policies which became much more pro-worker and pro-farmer. The period of 1935-1938 proved to be the most productive in American history for working folks overall.
In 1978, Republicans began primarying those who would not get with the program on abortion and tax cuts. Some liberal Republicans like Clifford Case in NJ got beat, and the right winger Jeffrey Bell ended up losing in the general to Bill Bradley. But elsewhere, Republicans shored up what their base wanted on abortion and tax cuts. And in 1980, behind the right wingers' candidate, Ronald Wilson Reagan, or as I like to call him, Mr. 666 (count the letters in his names), they won.
What we do not want a repeat of is what happened in the first year of the Obama administration when, with Democratic Party majorities, our best policies were stymied because we let corporate Democrats like Claire McCaskill and Joe Manchin get away with their shilling for their corporate donors. They actively worked with Republicans to kill the public option, for example. And the Democratic Party missed a major opportunity to reinvigorate labor unions with card check legislation. What a party must do in power is strengthen their constituencies who vote for them, not ignore them.
It is not only possible but necessary to chew gum and walk down the street at the same time. We oppose Ryan and McConnell and Co. in Congress, and Trump's administration, particularly DeVos and Pruitt for starters. And we strengthen the Democratic Party for the next year mid-terms with candidates who excite our natural constituencies and, like Bernie, grab some cross over voters in what I keep calling the populist moment.
Again, we do not want a repeat of just thinking that electing any Democrat is a good thing. It is not...if we elect the type of Democrats who sabotage our best and most popular policies. Threats of primary'ing got Cory Booker's attention. He still has some work to do with folks like me. Kamala Harris is just starting out, but she will have to also show a commitment to progressive economic values that have often eluded her. The planet and we cannot afford to wait much longer or repeat the errors of the Democratic Party in the first years of the Obama administration and Democratic Party Congress of 2009-2010.
