Saturday, February 3, 2018

Sleepers Awakening

This is somewhat of a continuation of the discussion from an earlier post, Steering Clear of the Dead End, which was centered around a great article in The Intercept. Well, here we are again, with another great, revealing article in The Intercept, this one called What It's Like To Be Rolodexed: One Candidate's Journey Into The Reality Of Political Fundraising. (You can find the full article here: https://theintercept.com/2018/01/31/democratic-party-political-fundraising-dccc/.)

This essay is by Paul Perry, who was recently a Democratic congressional candidate in Pennsylvania. As he explains near the beginning of the piece, "On paper, I was an ideal candidate for the Democrats. Born and raised in the district, a successful career in education and nonprofit work, Ivy League graduate, young, Black, with gay parents and therefore a compelling family story."

So, in terms of being competitive, what indeed could have gotten in the way of such a seemingly perfect Democratic candidate? Well, that would be the Democratic Party. Or rather, the Democratic Party's almost total focus on finding and supporting candidates who were willing to essentially devote their time and campaign to raising money to support the Democratic Party.

Oh, for the good old days, when political parties might actually support their candidates for office, rather than using those candidates to fundraise for the party itself, eh? But, as young Mr. Perry soon realized, he was less than nothing in the eyes of the Democratic Party unless he was willing to devote himself full-time to seeking ever-deeper pockets to plunder. Then, and only then, would he be a "legitimate" candidate worthy of being told by the Democratic Party which of their chosen advertisers, PR firms and other vendors he could then use to, you know, mount a campaign for office.

Local connections? Ideas? Ideals? Energy? Creativity? UNIMPORTANT. When it came to the Democratic Party supporting a Democratic candidate, it just came down to the corniest, hoariest and most tired of clichés: "Show me the money!"


Now, let me bring it on home. As I am going about the business of following my plan for the 2018 election, and talking to people, and giving shape to my campaign to come, I've already attracted the attention of many individuals, and numerous (non-profit, union, political) groups. Mind you, I'm going to be running for Benton County Commissioner, not a state or federal level position. And Benton County is, let's be honest, not that big of a county. I mean, really, it's conceivable that a candidate could knock on pretty much every front door in Benton County in a year. Which is to say, to win a county-wide election here doesn't require spending huge amounts of money, if done creatively and correctly.

And yet...Here's the feedback I got, via my campaign manager, from a local rep from a local branch of a group representing workers: Max will do well to raise his profile; the kinds of money and support from Benton County folks and opinion leaders - that will make this a full conversation down the road.

Translation: We're used to working with Democrats who will raise money to spend on vendors we have a relationship with. Without spending money you are not legitimate. Without the support of our designated-but-unidentified "opinion leaders" we don't care about your ability to connect with actual citizens and voters. We don't care if you've got good ideas. And, finally, I would translate having a "full conversation" as my being worthy of them, again, telling me where I could spend all that money I raised, with vendors that this "workers group" has existing relationships with.

In other words, business as usual. The same old, same old. Uninspiring, and fairly blatantly undemocratic. Buy our product or go home. Who cares what the people want, or who will actually serve their interests the best? Don't raise awareness, raise funds. And, to remind you, this is the sort of mindset being demonstrated and embraced by the supposedly progressive political party and groups.

Is it any wonder people are cynical, and sick and tired of politics? Partisan politics are dysfunctional enough. Once you layer on the intraparty dysfunction...Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

So, in my case, I'm going to buck these sick trends and put everything I've got on hope. I think most people are hungry for hope, certainly more so than another generous helping of empty promises delivered by bland functionaries. Even the formerly most partisan of sleepers on this issue are starting to awaken to how corrupted and unresponsive the system is, how much money distorts good policies and intentions. In my case, I will absolutely chase votes, but I refuse to spend much time chasing money.

Oh, and even in the money chase, it seems like the go along to get along, business as usual crowd find themselves facing some challenges. The title of yet another recent article in The Intercept tells the tale:
Remember: Progress will only come from real progressives. Not from "opinion leaders," not from empty promises and boilerplate pronouncements. Progress comes from real progressives, supported by real people, at the ballot box. But if you still feel the urgent need to spend your money on something political, might I suggest sending a few dollars to the awesome folks at The Intercept?

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