Turn Up the Heat!--Hillary Campaign needs to Champion Populist Change

[KoKo]

Last edited Tue Apr 14, 2015, 05:01 PM - Edit history (4)

April 13, 2015

As Frederick Douglass taught us, “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.”

Populist Movements Offer an Answer, Not a Threat.

Republican politicians, it is said, fear their activist base, while Democrats have disdain for theirs. The adage is particularly true for the Clinton crowd, which now is hailing Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for teaching Hillary Clinton how to “tame the left” (raise lots of big bucks and drown any challenger in attack ads while playing mock humble). It’s not accidental that Hillary’s opening video presented everyday Americans on their own, not as part of a movement in struggle.

Movements are messy, polarizing, impudent. Hillary’s instinct – and that of the advisors around her – is to stay above the fray. The peril is she could easily end up looking like (and becoming) a status quo candidate. Being the first woman president is not sufficient to generate the excitement that’s needed.

The populist movements aren’t driving Hillary to the left; they are inviting her to join the emerging majority of Americans and champion the change we need.


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The Populist Temper Inside and Outside the Democratic Party Continues to Build.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announces he’ll enlist progressive leaders to put out an Inequality Contract with America, to force the debate. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Elijah Cummings launch a Middle Class Prosperity Project, promising hearings across the country. This week, three major national grassroots groups and the Campaign for America’s Future will announce an alliance to drive a populist platform across the country. The AFL-CIO promises convocations on raising wages in all of the early primary states. The Center for Community Change will enlist others in a campaign for jobs.

Hillary’s campaign will test this activism. The juggernaut will inhale liberal money. Unions, civil rights groups, women’s groups, environmentalists will be pushed to sign up and chip in. Pressure will build on progressive leaders to get on board. Already there’s talk that a contested primary would be disruptive. No one wants Republicans to gain control of the White House. The temptation will be to paint Hillary as “likable enough,” in Obama’s demeaning phrase, as progressive enough, as a reformer worthy of support.

This won’t do. The wealthiest 1 percent% is capturing 95 percent of the income growth coming out of the Great Recession. This doesn’t happen by accident. It happens only because the rules have been rigged to benefit the few. It can only be altered with fundamental changes in policy and direction. Despite the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression and the worst military debacle since Vietnam, the elites and institutions that dominate our economic and national security policy remain largely in place.

As Frederick Douglass taught us, “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.” The lesson of the Obama administration is clear. Those movements that continued to mobilize, drive the debate and challenge the administration made progress. Those that folded into the White House operations got lost.

After a quarter century at the apex of American government, Hillary Clinton is an unlikely champion of the fundamental changes we need. But she is brilliant and resilient. It’s clear that the argument posed by Elizabeth Warren has already concentrated her mind. She’ll lead the charge only if populist movements and upheavals make her do it. This isn’t a time to stand down in the name of party unity. This is a time to turn up the heat.

Whole Article is a Good Read:

http://ourfuture.org/20150413/hillarys-in-challenges-for-the-new-populism

[MannyGoldstein]

1. But as Obama made clear, promises by candidates

are totally nonbinding.

And can someone explain what magnificentmagnificent victories Hillary's ever won for the other 99% of Americans?

[KoKo]

2. I know too well, Manny...but as the article quotes Fredrick Douglas, I thought it worth a post...

Last edited Tue Apr 14, 2015, 07:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Because we have to build the Populist Movement and challenging Candidates is still important. We should be challenging Dem Candidates as well as the Repubs and making our voice known in the media with strength in numbers. We have to do this with the avenues available to us at this point in time. Remember the "Dean Movement" along with Kucinich activists gave us 2006 where we took back the U.S. House and made Pelosi "Madam Speaker." It's going to be a long struggle and we've been set back by the "endless wars" .....but, NOW is the time Once Again, imho.

As Frederick Douglass taught us;

“power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.”