Left-Center-Right: There is no single political reality
that applies to the entire country. For example, I live in St. Paul, MN. Like Minneapolis, the other Twin City, we elect real progressives to office at all levels. That's the Twin Cities reality. Elsewhere in my adopted state, it's not so simple. We have congressional districts that are represented by Republicans, including some real right-wingers. There's no single strategy that can work in Minnesota.
Even in Minneapolis and St. Paul, though, candidates far to the left have real difficulties getting through the primaries. Minnesota, as a state, has elected Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar to the Senate. My congressional district has Betty McCollum as its representative. All are progressives but they are also pragmatists. We've had candidates run for those seats who were farther to the left, but they never got out of the starting blocks in the primaries.
I used to live in California, for over 50 years, in fact. I lived in a Congressional district that was held by Republicans for a long time. With hard work, we elected a Democrat and continued to do so, however. Not an enormously progressive Democrat, but a Democrat, nevertheless. It was a long, tough pull to do that, and it's conceivable that the district could revert to Republican status. A candidate with views far to the left would not stand a chance in that district. Not even a slight chance.
And so the story goes in every state of this nation. There's not a single state where people who might be considered to be leftists could be elected except in a few congressional districts or state legislative districts. Some have tried, but none have made it out of the primaries to the General Election. Just look at who is sitting in Congress and in state legislators, wherever you are. Those people won in their states and districts. They won. Others ran in primaries, but did not win.
For a segment to the left of the political spectrum to insist that only they can field candidates who properly represent "the people" is foolishness. That might be true in a stray district or two, here and there, but is patently untrue everywhere else. People have tried to run from the left. They have lost every time, except for a few scattered races.
Here's what's real: What happens when the Democratic Party gets into conflicts over purity and fine distinctions is that Republicans win. Right now, we have Republicans in control of Congress and the White house and more state legislatures than ever seemed possible. When Democrats bicker, Republicans win. There's plenty of evidence of that.
There is zero evidence, however, that candidates from the left edge of the party are more likely to win over a Republican. It's simply not true. It has never been true, and there's no sign that it will be true in the future. Democrats win when all Democrats vote. If any group of Democrats does not vote, Republicans win. Period.
We have 2018 coming up. I suggest we elect Democrats in the primaries that year who will win against Republicans. Who those Democrats will be depends on where people are voting for them. Nothing else matters. We must run Democrats who can win in their districts and states, regardless of which part of the Democratic Party political spectrum they occupy. The place dictates the winner.
Local Candidates for Local Races! All legislative races are local races, including races for Senate.