Binging and Purging
I saw George McGovern earlier tonight -- at the Book Passage in Marin County -- and there was this collective sense that his life and work have never been more topical. Sign of the times, I guess. Here, Robert Borosage wonders if the left will purge itself as it did after McGovern got thrashed in 1972:
After a year in which progressives drove the debate, roused and registered the voters, raised the dough and knocked on the doors, the corporate wing of the Democratic Party is trying to reassert control. Its assault on MoveOn.org and the Dean campaign--the center of new energy in the party--is reminiscent of 1973, when corporate lobbyist Bob Strauss became head of the party and tossed out the McGovern mailing list, insuring that the party would remain dependent on big-donor funding.
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According to Borosage, there's a "never again" attitude among the left. Thus the triumph of the Boxer rebellion:
When Senator Barbara Boxer stood up, the public learned more about the shabby state of our democracy and the need for drastic electoral reform. The lesson is clear: When progressives move, Democrats will follow. "Don't expect this place to lead," says Representative George Miller. "Organize and force us to catch up."
"The public learned more about the shabby state of our democracy and the need for drastic electoral reform." I'm not so sure. It's not just that the effort to squelch the President's 'social security reform' (an effort distinct in that it includes both liberals AND the left) is probably going a lot better, but also this: is Borosage aware that other people (Al From, for instance) might see the Boxer Rebellion a little differently -- not as a reason to wake up to the cries on the left but as yet another reason to purge them?
After a year in which progressives drove the debate, roused and registered the voters, raised the dough and knocked on the doors, the corporate wing of the Democratic Party is trying to reassert control. Its assault on MoveOn.org and the Dean campaign--the center of new energy in the party--is reminiscent of 1973, when corporate lobbyist Bob Strauss became head of the party and tossed out the McGovern mailing list, insuring that the party would remain dependent on big-donor funding.
_____
According to Borosage, there's a "never again" attitude among the left. Thus the triumph of the Boxer rebellion:
When Senator Barbara Boxer stood up, the public learned more about the shabby state of our democracy and the need for drastic electoral reform. The lesson is clear: When progressives move, Democrats will follow. "Don't expect this place to lead," says Representative George Miller. "Organize and force us to catch up."
"The public learned more about the shabby state of our democracy and the need for drastic electoral reform." I'm not so sure. It's not just that the effort to squelch the President's 'social security reform' (an effort distinct in that it includes both liberals AND the left) is probably going a lot better, but also this: is Borosage aware that other people (Al From, for instance) might see the Boxer Rebellion a little differently -- not as a reason to wake up to the cries on the left but as yet another reason to purge them?
posted by hellisotherpeople at 1:58 AM
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