Booman: "We just cannot compete in the media."

Booman:

Basically, I think there is a structural disadvantage for the left in American politics. We can occasionally get large majorities and make historic progressive change, but we can't do it without incurring a massive backlash that quickly dissipates our majorities.

We just cannot compete in the media.

A side effect of this is that we have a permanent segment of the Democratic Party which is more concerned about keeping our majorities than it is in making progressive change. It's a self-preservation kind of thing, and it has the advantage of attracting lots of corporate cash.

I don't know how much we should hate this segment.

I think it's short-sighted to have a complete indifference to maintaining our majorities. And that's why I find myself equally disgusted by the DLC types and the holier-than-thou progressives. Neither of them places enough importance on something that is critically important. Power is almost useless if it doesn't bring positive change. But it's stupid to turn up your nose at positive change that is the best the system can produce at a given period of time.

What we need is a balance, but almost no one advocates for balance. MORE...

Howie P.S.:

One of the interesting comments on this post (there are more):

...the failure to keep Howard Dean at the DNC expanding the 50-state strategy of rebuilding state parties turned out to be a killer. In a number of states, parties that had recently made gains lost ground substantially. North Carolina has its first Republican-controlled legislature (both Houses) since Reconstruction. Koch Brother financed candidates took over the Wake County NC school board (with the organization of Americans for Prosperity's Art Pope) and are reversing the most successful desegregation plan in the nation, are considering dropping regional accreditation so they can redefine their curriculum, and have hired an unqualified superintendent named Tata. Yes, it's TTFN good education in Wake County. The wash of money into local races should have been anticipated and made an issue after Citizens United. Democrats again caught flat-footed.