As noted in my previous post, I am getting cantankerous on this subject, so forgive me if I sound too direct or even plain grumpy.
So that I don’t have to keep typing versions of the same thing, allow me to note the following.
- Reform won’t happen by itself, that is clear. Democrats still have to win elections.
- Long-term, reform is needed. Democrats need to be convinced that reform is in their interest. That is one main goal for me here in this specific conversation.
- Once convinced of the need for reform, they need to be prepared to initiate it. They had a chance in 2021, but weren’t prepared.
- Focusing solely on messaging and organizing (please note the word “solely” as I am not saying to eschew messaging and organizing) will not solve long-term problems, especially if the VRA is further eroded.
- Normal politics are not returning, and so there needs to be thought given to how to shape what comes next.
- If Democrats (and I focus on them because Republicans currently are abetting authoritarianism) don’t start thinking outside of normal politics, then democracy in America will continue to erode, if not collapse.
Yes, reform is hard. That doesn’t mean it isn’t needed.
And please allow me to repeat: Organize! Work in every state and district! Refine messages! Recruit better candidates!
BUT,
- Be realistic about what all of that normally creates.
- Understand what US parties actually can do, and what they can’t.
- Understand that “leadership” in the abstract only goes so far and that power is still required.
- Don’t pretend like examples from 40, 30, 20, or even 10 years ago are as useful as you want them to be.
- Be realistic about the ability of messaging and organizing to win elections in contests that are simply not competitive and aren’t going to be, due to lines on the map, and not actual voter preference.
Let me reiterate, I am not saying fifty-state strategies are bad. I am not saying “do not organize.” I am not rejecting messaging refinements.
I am trying to note what the real problem is, and am trying to note that if the Democratic Party, and people with megaphones like Ezra Klein, don’t start looking at that real problem, we are in even bigger trouble than we are now.
Simply saying that reform isn’t possible is not a response to what I am saying, especially since it was only 4 years ago that reform was at least theoretically possible, but the ground had not been prepared. The seeds need to be sown and the ideas need to be shared.
Even this post isn’t quite conveying what I want to convey, but I probably need to go do something else for a while.
