Friends:
Apologies for the second email today, but I wanted to pass on this important New York Times story about this week’s Democratic convention.
I’ve spent a lot of my life reporting on corruption, and we at TMI are able to do this kind of work because of our supporting subscribers (please click here to become one!).
But I’ve also worked on progressive campaigns, and so I spoke with the newspaper about the current political moment and Democratic officials giving right-wing Republican Gov. John Kasich a platform at the party’s convention this week. Here’s the key excerpt of the story:
Not all Democrats think (Kasich) will fit in, or should. To some on the left, the party is abandoning its principles by showcasing a Republican whose positions on abortion, Social Security, labor and other issues have been at odds with Democratic orthodoxy. Among Democrats surveyed by CBS News, only 38 percent want to hear Mr. Kasich speak at the convention, compared with 72 percent for Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and 63 percent for Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, two liberal champions who will also get airtime.
“The party should be focused on energizing Democratic voters rather than using their convention to reassure billionaires, corporate donors and Republican lobbyists that they won’t actually try to challenge the status quo,” said David Sirota, a former speechwriter for Senator Bernie Sanders.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: in this election, Democrats must energize their own voters with a positive vision, not seek to reassure Wall Street and the political establishment that they will be a slightly nicer version of the Republican Party.
Trump must be defeated - but if that happens and Democrats do not get serious about fundamentally changing things for the better, then things are going to change for the worse.
Onward.
Sirota
