Dissenting with Dissent
Why it still pays to be KERRY-ful with your cash...
(Or, don't open that wallet up yet...)
I can tell that it is time once again gracefully to descend the ivory tower to opine, first putting up a “No Solicitations” sign on the door.
In less than twenty-four hours, I have received three messages telling me to donate money to John Kerry. The first was from MoveOn.org, an organization with progressive principles. The second was from John Kerry himself, using the email address that the DN C thoughtfully gave him. And the third was from . . . DemocracyMeansYou.
And as I thoughtfully plumb the stab wounds in my back, I am torn between two statements: the more classically phrased, “Et tu, Brute?” and the more primal, a paraphrase from one of the other Democratic candidates: “Yeeeeaaargggh!”
Come in, my dears, and let me explain why I do not think that giving money to John Kerry with no strings attached is a good idea at this point in time. I am not talking about voting in November: I am assuming that anyone who seriously wishes to get rid of George Bush will vote for the Democratic candidate in the fall. And I will pass over the fact that essentially, the first 5 or 6 million you contribute will be used to reimburse Kerry for the vast mortgage he took out against one of his multi-million dollar homes.
1. John Kerry is still the presumptive nominee. Not the nominee, however likely that seems to be; the presumptive nominee. Sharpton and Kucinich are still running. Howard Dean and John Edwards have suspended their campaigns, not “dropped out,” and Dean is still collecting delegates to the convention in July. There is still a primary to finish. Do we really want to disenfranchise poor Florida again, which votes next week? Maybe that would be appropriate, since it was Kerry who said that Democrats ought to “quit sniveling into their teacups” about the events in Florida in 2000.
2. The Democratic National Committee appears to be entirely controlled by Terry McAuliffe and the Democratic Leadership Council, the Clintonesque corporate wing of the party. They have not paid any attention to the progressive wing of the party in a very long time. They do this because we are rightfully afraid of what the right wing Republicans will do. The platform that is being put together by Daschle and Pelosi almost totally ignores the issues on health care, civil rights, and peace that are so important to so many of us. Now that they need us, before the convention, is a good time to remind them that we have money and grassroots organization without which they cannot win, and that they must address our agenda.
3. Here I am going directly to respond to another DMY columnist, Roland X. Understand that I’m not singling him out but using his words as illustrative of a position:
Meanwhile, what are the Democrats' sins? What is the worst we can say about the two Johns, Kerry and Edwards? They got suckered on Iraq like so many others were? They're insufficiently left-wing on trade? They're not ready to slit their own political throats by unilaterally backing the right to marry? Their "special interest" histories are imperfect? News flash for the far left purists: no one is perfect.
Everyone knows that no one is perfect. And I personally am probably less
of a far-left purist than much of the DMY readership. But many people
were against the war in Iraq; several candidates, including Kucinich and
Dean, knew that the evidence smelled fishy and stated their opposition
early. The two Johns voted for the Patriot Act. They voted for No Child
Left Behind, a disaster for our educational system. And they didn’t
bother to vote on the Medicare bill.
Now John Kerry says he’s against all these things, and that is swell, but he needs to demonstrate convincingly that he made some mistakes and errors in judgment and that he has had a genuine change of heart. And the Democratic Party as a whole needs to be watched, much like a patient in intensive care, to see that that famous “spine transplant” has taken. This cannot be done if we simply allow them to take our wallets.
Let me outline an alternative plan of action, one that will still help ensure a much-needed regime change while building for a much, much, better future:
--Support progressive Democratic candidates in the House and Senate. Work on one of their campaigns. The Presidential race is important, but it isn’t the whole picture. Here in my congressional district in California, we would very much like to get rid of David Dreier, and we need to keep Barbara Boxer in the Senate. As you work for these campaigns and donate money, as you become active in the party, let it be known that you hold progressive principles and will hold them responsible.
---Letters, letters, letters. Write to Terry McAuliffe, to John Kerry, and let them know your positions and the positions you expect them to take. Donate if you must, but donate conditionally and in small chunks. Watch what they say and do. Keep them honest.
---Send progressive delegates to the convention. If you intended to vote for Dean, or Sharpton, or Kucinich, for heaven’s sake, vote for them! Those delegates give progressive Democrats a voice at the convention that they badly need.
---Help with anti-Bush advertising. This needn’t be pro-Kerry advertising
until after the conventions.
In short, I advise cautious, active, watchful participation as we prepare to oust George Bush in the fall. Yes, we could have a President who is sort of, kind of, a Democrat, and a Republican House and Senate. But we can do so much better than that.
