Today has been interesting in terms of policy discussions on Twitter. A group of people have been tweeting back and forth about their frustration with the GOP regarding.... well, take your pick. I told them I would post my blog here because I regularly do that- given a general inability to say anything in 140 characters or less. Please read on-------------
Some Thoughts On The Way Forward
My unhappiness is basically rooted in the landmark decision by the Supreme Court regarding Citizens United v Board of Elections. The very notion that unlimited contributions can be masked in secret by groups funded by wealthy oligarchs with an agenda is repugnant. There are countless efforts to petition the SCOTUS to repeal this ruling but that seems unlikely. Those interested in politics are well aware of the ramifications and what has transpired because of this decision, so further ado is repetitive.
In 1968, I was not a flower child. I was a freshman at Indiana State University and leaning toward a major in Political Science. In the 50's my parents hosted "teas" for Adlai Stevenson, we lived blocks from the campus of the University of Chicago and the people I met while growing up were absolutely fascinating. This was Chicago, where you voted early and you voted often and it is still one of the few cities that has rarely had a Republican Mayor in its modern history. Certainly not in my lifetime.
But this was 1968, Lyndon Johnson had announced that he was not going to run for reelection and the man that literally forced his hand was a Senator from Minnesota, Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy had a legion of students, hippies, progressives all who were pretty well shaven and dressed and that brigade was called "Clean For Gene." Even McCarthy himself, basked in the notion that he would trounce Hubert Humphrey at the 1968 Democratic Convention and ride into the White House on this anti war platform. There was nobody else in the field that had the mojo.
Until another guy showed up. My guy, New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy who finally thought, I can win. McCarthy is a one trick pony and if as rumored, my opponent in November was retread, Richard Nixon, I can be the 37th President of the United States.
Even though the draft was still a possibility for me, I jumped at the chance to work on a Kennedy campaign. The Indiana primary was considered crucial and the campaign chose among others, firebrand liberal politico from New York, Allard Lowenstein to kickstart the Indiana operation. The Kennedy people took me under their wing because I told them I was willing to drop out of school to work nonstop for Bobby in Indiana. Even though it was near the end of the semester, that's what I did. They taught me everything about precinct organization, setting up phone banks, dissemination of voter lists, how to query voters as to their preferences, everything from cradle to grave in terms of identifying likely voters, making sure they were registered, and registering them if they weren't and even picking them up on election day with their neighbors to drive them to the polls. As you may guess, I was an apt pupil, and the results kept RFK in the hunt, setting him up for the tumultuous western primaries in Oregon and California. You might also remember the rest. there are a lot of great stories of my weeks in intensive political activities and that sort of forwards me to............
.....What the Republicans learned from campaigns like Kennedy's. It caught the eyes of conservatives and were the grounding principles of the birth of the post Goldwater Conservative movement. Imagine the advantage of knowing the ropes AND having nearly unlimited money to elect people who were true believers.
So, (pant, pant) to my four friends, who today asked me how that knowledge translated in the present context, here it is.
What I learned in 1968 was invaluable to the political aspirations of the late President's brother who agonized as to whether to get in the 1968 race at all. The work done contained no shortcuts and the truly remarkable thing about it was that there were very few paid staffers in those days. Oh, there were the Boston and New York people and they were always going to get paid. But us, we became the true believers and the foot soldiers as we demonstrated that by dropping out of school (which was very risky at that time) and volunteering because we believed in someone enough to work for free. Today, we have a significant unemployment problem in this country and people are looking for work. We have a President whose early effort in "community organizing" have brought him nothing but scorn from his opponents. Citizens United is the template for using a terrible decision to play the same hardball that is being played against us. Millions of dollars will be raised by the DNC for upcoming campaigns, congressional, Senate and in 2016, the next Presidential campaign. The money needs to be allocated to recruit people with the same zeal and the same anger to work their asses off to defeat the evils of the other side- in all policy areas that interest or concern us; women's rights, equal pay, voting equality, you name it. But the bottom line is one where the Democrats have taken some of their eyes off the ball and now have to play some serious catch up. What I'm telling my pals today, is decide what issues are important and petition the DNC to hire the people to do the same work we did in 1968. It is understandable that no one can be out of work and would be expected to work for free. That was then. Is it important to elect people in opposition to the dark money and their stooges?
That's what I couldn't say in 140 characters. I DO talk a lot don't I? This is how it gets done though, this is the path to getting rid of these people. The whole money thing makes me sick too. But do you want to bring a squirt gun to gun fight? If you agree, pass this on, tweet it, FB it. Take a picture of yourself reading it and post it on Instagram.
And consider boycotting Georgia Pacific consumer products: Brawny, Vanity Fair, Dixie. Because you know who owns that company. Every time you buy one of Charles and David Koch's products, you're helping them legally (dubious) continue to do what they've been doing. Ad just so I don't seem to making the KB's out to be the whole bogeyman thing, look for billionaires in swing states whose money is making the difference in thwarting any hope of a progressive agenda.
If you do what you always did, you'll get what you always got. True That!
The lessons of 1968 are alive and well. Use them to make a difference.
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