We need the infrastructure. The parties are too entrenched in law and election structures…
So the only choice is to tea party them, build a left wing of the party and take over. And I think that’s what AOC and Bernie are running around doing, but it’s going to take time
Bernie has been independent for essentially his entire career.
Precisely because he’s been in politics since the 80s and is a brand name in Vermont.
And he still caucuses with the Dems. He didn’t run for president as an independent. He knows the perils of appearing as a spoiler candidate as well as any Stein or Nader.
And how much control does Bernie and the other independents have? Not much… He generally votes with the Democrats and occasionally speaks out
We don’t need another 5 independents. We need a couple dozen in a cohesive voting block. We need enough that Democrats will be forced to negotiate with them (because maga won’t)
It’s very hard to win as an independent, but it can be done. We need more then that though - we need a party, we need the network of organizers, the infrastructure for donations, and to integrate with 50 slightly different systems for elections
And most importantly, you need name recognition
All these things would take years of maintained effort to establish, but they exist - better to become a key faction of the democratic party than to compete with them directly
We need the infrastructure. The parties are too entrenched in law and election structures…
So the only choice is to tea party them, build a left wing of the party and take over. And I think that’s what AOC and Bernie are running around doing, but it’s going to take time
In the meantime, we need to resist
This. I’ve been saying for a bit now that we need our own tea party movement to push the DNC left
Bernie has been independent for essentially his entire career. Why is it possible for him, but not others?
Precisely because he’s been in politics since the 80s and is a brand name in Vermont.
And he still caucuses with the Dems. He didn’t run for president as an independent. He knows the perils of appearing as a spoiler candidate as well as any Stein or Nader.
And how much control does Bernie and the other independents have? Not much… He generally votes with the Democrats and occasionally speaks out
We don’t need another 5 independents. We need a couple dozen in a cohesive voting block. We need enough that Democrats will be forced to negotiate with them (because maga won’t)
It’s very hard to win as an independent, but it can be done. We need more then that though - we need a party, we need the network of organizers, the infrastructure for donations, and to integrate with 50 slightly different systems for elections
And most importantly, you need name recognition
All these things would take years of maintained effort to establish, but they exist - better to become a key faction of the democratic party than to compete with them directly