The state's Democrats must stand up
And they must stand tall, leveling with Minnesotans about priorities.
Mike Opat, StarTribune | MN
After what any reasonable Minnesotan could only describe as a debacle of a legislative session, there is a clear need for Democrats to have a "family intervention" of some kind -- quickly.
I write as a lifelong Democrat. I write as a legal guardian for my brother, who is developmentally disabled; as the father of kids in public schools, and as someone who grew up in a building-trades household that saw layoffs and more than a few economically challenging times.
I write as the chairman of the Hennepin County Board, where we await the final, sad reality of the 2009 legislative session for 1.1 million Minnesotans, after which we will pick up the pieces -- meaning fewer services despite increased demand.
Related:
Excerpt from a Letter to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, David Culver, Evergreene Digest
It’s this incestuous relationship with big money and failure to identify with the common people that has weakened the Democratic Party, forcing Democrats to run away from what could help them win.
What the Democrats need to do is not raise money but raise issues and hope and hell so the people can see someone’s on their side and willing to lead the fight for them. To quote Jim Hightower in his book, Thieves in High Places:
“You can read the polls . . . or you can lead the polls. If the Democratic Party would get in the debate, frame the people’s issues with boldness and clarity, and get the hell out of Washington, fanning out across America week after week to talk with the people, the poll numbers would change quickly and dramatically in favor of Democrats.”
The late Senator Paul Wellstone, the last member of the Democratic wing of the Democratic party, said this about money and winning in a speech to the Minnesota AFL-CIO Convention on August 19, 2002, in Duluth:
“Keep it up between now and November and they can have all the money and all the big economic interests and all the Corporate America they want coming in here. . . . We are going to organize, organize, organize, and we will win the race.
“I always want to be with you. If it is on the picket line, we're on the picket line. If it is in a struggle, we're in the struggle. If we're fighting on the issues, we're fighting on the issues. If we're working the halls of the Legislature or the Congress, then it is working in the halls. I love being a Labor Senator from the state of Minnesota.”
If it was good enough for Paul Wellstone, it's good enough for the DFL!
