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Reading List
The Future of Ideas by Lawrence Lessig
The Emerging Democratic Majority by John B. Judis
To Kill a Mockingbird (DVD)
John Stuart Mill: On Liberty
Federalist Papers/The Debate on the Constitution
What Liberal Media? by Eric Alterman
Dave (DVD)
Globalization and its Discontents by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Living History by Hillary Clinton
A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Autobiography of Malcolm X
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
G?del, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter
Thomas Paine: Common Sense
The Clinton Wars by Sidney Blumenthal
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (DVD)
John Locke: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
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Thursday, the DNC is hosting it's "Democrats United" conference, which will honor Presidents Carter and Clinton as well as all the candidates for President this year. Dean will be atending, and it's no coincidence that he chose the same day for his official endorsement of Kerry.
Unity is going to be a major theme of the DNC from here out, and the single biggest reason is the desire on the part of the establishment to tap into the grassroots the way Dean did. We Dean supporters remain a valuable commodity. Both the party and the media will be taking a close look at the netroots to see how we react.
What are your thoughts on being united against Bush? How do you feel about supporting Kerry?
posted by Aziz Poonawalla
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
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I don't want to give any of you a heart attack, but I plan to formally endorse John Kerry on Thursday, along with all 34 Congress people who endorsed me during the campaign.
One of the goals of the campaign was to send George Bush back to Texas, and the only person with a chance of doing that is John Kerry. I have spoken with him on numerous occasions. He is committed to universal health care, he has an excellent environmental record, and for that and many other reasons, he is a far better choice for president than the current resident of the White House who apparently (as revealed on Sixty Minutes over the weekend) ignored warnings of the potential of a terrorist attack before 9/11 in addition to costing us 2.3 million jobs!
In any case, I encourage you to support Sen. Kerry, but if you are not ready to do so, I hope you'll put lots of energy into the other two goals: reforming the Democratic Party to nurture its recent backbone transplant, and making the grassroots stronger to get progressive voices on every school board, county commission, City Council, etc. in the country. Many thanks for all you do!!
There's some good-natured teasing in there for us :) Of course, the primary focus for the Gov will be his new organization. The focus does remain on reforming the Democratic party from within, which though I am an independent voter still strikes me as a better solution than trying to reform the GOP or creating a viable 3rd party at a national level. However, the principles outlined by Dean on what kind of representation we need at the local and state level are independent of party ideology.
Here's the main question. Suppose that a principled, honest, moderate Republican is running for office against a progressive, but compromised, Democratic incumbent, Should DFA support the Democrat or the Republican, and why?
posted by Aziz Poonawalla
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
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Draft McCain for DFA
No, John McCain is not a Democrat. But he is the kind of politician that Howard Dean's new organization is looking for - committed to principle and duty. It's notable that McCain defended Kerry last week from charges of being soft on defense. The addition of McCain to DFA v2.0 would be a powerful asset, and would unite the Dean grassroots with the McCain grassroots of 2000. In the end, we all want the same thing, and I think that it's a mistake to narrow the focus to a sepcific set of policy beliefs.
posted by Aziz Poonawalla
Monday, March 22, 2004
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The o-blog has updated with a clear list of the specific goals of DFA v2, reformulated in a much more direct manner than previously:
1. First, Democracy for America will be committed to strong, sustained grassroots involvement in the democratic process. Today, half of Americans don’t even bother to vote. People see what the problems are, but they are cynical about the system and prospects for change. Only through acting will people recognize the power they have to change this country.
2. Second, Democracy for America will be committed to promoting an America where candidates and office holders tell the truth about policy choices and stand up for what they believe. The era when politicians equivocate about matters as fundamental as war and peace must end.
3. Third, Democracy for America will be committed to fighting against the influence and agenda of the two pillars of George W. Bush’s Washington: the far right wing and their radical, divisive policies, and the selfish special interests who for too long have dominated politics.
4. Fourth, Democracy for America will be committed to fighting for progressive policies, like health care for all; investment in children; equal rights under law; fiscal responsibility; and a national security policy that makes America stronger by advancing progressive values.
I think that the ranking overall is correct, though I don't see #2 as something that is more of a consequence rather than a goal. There's no way to force politicians to run for office, but those who choose to run are filtered by our votes. So if we can give people the facts they need, the resources they require for their own fact-checking, then problem #2 will correct itself.
That brings me to my main point, which is that DFA is not going to the internet-centric vehicle that most pundits predicted, The internet is just another medium, and will be used to great effect. But for a centralized and open resource that people can use to fact-check their elected pols, right now the best we have is Google and the blogsphere, which is woefully inefficient.
What we really need is an open-source version of Lexis-Nexis!
posted by Aziz Poonawalla
Monday, March 22, 2004
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posted by Brian Ulrich
Monday, March 22, 2004
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Parties and Change
In American history, change has come about through lots of different means.
Third parties have forced the major parties to compete for votes by addressing certain issues. The Populists and Progressives followed this path.
Highly organized grassroots movements have gained influence over one of the major parties, especially when they had minority status and were looking for a way to return to power. The religious right is the most recent example here.
Major parties have tried to reach out to new voters "from the top," usually getting them from the pool of swing voters. This is the DLC path.
Admittedly, the above analysis is really general and may not hold up in the eyes of real historians. Democracy for America has set itself on the second path. Was this the right decision? I think it was, because the Democratic base already agrees with our core principles (as do many Republicans), and they're just afraid to fight for them. What do you think?
posted by Brian Ulrich
Sunday, March 21, 2004
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Saturday Open Thread
Welcome to the weekend!
posted by Brian Ulrich
Friday, March 19, 2004
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the niche that DFA must fill
After Cheney attacked Kerry on national television, a chickenhawk daring to question a veteran's fitness to lead our troops, the response from prominent Democrats was... utter silence. Only one person defended Kerry and refuted the notion thta he'd be soft on defense. That person was John McCain!
This led me to wonder just where the heck the Democrats are. A new article in TAPPED says that they are all united, which is fine, but are they doing anything? The Prospect article even credits Dean with the backbone:
It is a revitalized party, taught to walk upright again by Howard Dean and then inherited by John Kerry. But there is still a kind of "Hail Mary" feel to the election. The excitement of the moment can be easily dashed for Democrats, and they know it. The ball is in the air, but it'll take a long eight months to find out the result: touchdown, interception, or dropped pass.
And so the important question is: How long will the unity last?
Given that the unity is largely irrelevant right now, unless they get their act together, my guess is not long at all. What needs to be done is for DFA to assert itself as the glue that binds - not just Democrats, but independents and even conservatives into a broader coalition of principle. That is the route to real change for America.
Admin note: I'll be away for a few days attending my sister's wedding :) Have a good weekend, Dean Nationites ...
posted by Aziz Poonawalla
Friday, March 19, 2004
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