Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, Democrats’ keystone kop point person for the midterm elections, told progressives who thought they voted for change in 2008 to “get over it.”
If we’ve got some issues with President Obama, save them for another day. If the left or moderate wing of our party wants to challenge somebody, I think it’s fair game. But that’s all over.
We need to all of us get over it, get out to vote, even if there’s not a wildly enthusiastic vote. There’s an old maxim on politics, a tepid vote counts exactly the same as a wildly enthusiastic vote.
There’s another old maxim: If you’re in a hole, stop digging. Or in “Fast Eddy’s” case, stop talking.
Telling us to STFU and sit down will not motivate us to go bust our asses for them one more time. Many of us may vote come November but that’s because we perceive it to be in our self-interest and the self-interest of those who have even less power than we do. Bullies don’t impress us whether they ride elephants or donkeys.
Message to Fast Eddie: Yes, the Republicans are scary but what is far, far worse than powerfully crazed adversaries are friends and allies who don’t keep their word and don’t watch our backs.
On the way to DC, I noticed there were a lot of buses on the road. I also noticed most of them were half empty. In any case, the numbers don’t count if progressives are not able to energize the Democratic base.
While today’s march is unprecedented in unifying Americans from all corners, it alone will not create the change that our country so desperately deserves. In today’s speeches and community building, we must remind each other time and time again that we must vote in November.
As the great Frederick Douglass reminds us, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, it never will. If we don’t vote, we don’t count. The choice is ours.
Rev. Al Sharpton also spoke at the rally. He underscored that progressives have work to do:
We’ve got to go home and we’ve got to hit the pavement. We’ve got to knock on doors. We’ve got to ring those church bells.
Sharpton was back at the mic Sunday morning for his “Hour of Power” radio show. He mentioned the One Nation rally in passing, noting that it was a mash-up of issues pushed by labor unions, civil rights organizations, peace groups and environmentalists, among others. Tellingly, he did not give a crowd estimate.
Sharpton asked the $50 million question:
What do we need to energize our base to vote in the midterm elections?
Why are they not voting? Why are they not energized? What will it take to energize our community and our base? And why are the conservatives able to energize their base and we are not able to energize ours?
Sharpton posited the possibility that “people are too disappointed.”
Callers offered a number of ideas. One caller echoed remarks House Majority Whip James Clyburn made last week about the folly of Democrats running away from President Barack Obama.
The big problem that African-Americans have got with the Democrats is that they don’t think we’re supporting this president sufficiently. That’s what’s showing up in the polls. And the extent to which the president is out there putting that lie to rest that will determine whether or not these people turn out. But if he’s hunkered down in the White House and people don’t think that we’re supporting him and, he ain’t saying anything, silence gives consent. I think the black voters are going to turn out.
One caller cut to the chase:
They need to get people on the campaign trail [with Obama] more than they are. We want to hear from him. We love him.
When it comes to voting for congressional Democrats, “what’s love got to do with it?”
On Saturday, October 2, 2010, hundreds of thousands of people from across America will gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate our re-commitment to change. The One Nation March will feature human and civil rights leaders, labor leaders, environmental and peace activists, faith leaders, celebrities and sports figures – all marching together to help Put America Back to Work and to Pull America Back Together. And to help reorder our national priorities so that investments in people come first.
I’m going to DC. But if you can’t get on a bus, the event will be streamed live here from noon to 4:00 pm ET.
Update:George Clinton made a surprise appearance at the One Nation rally “just for the funk of it.”
Progressives will be on the march in Washington on Saturday. By one estimate, over 400,000 people are expected for the One Nation march for “jobs, justice and education for all.”
The crowd estimate comes from a union organizer who informed me that I could not get on her bus because I did not reside in her district (New Jersey). When I mentioned few bus rides are listed on website, she said that was because organizers were concerned tea partiers would reserve all the seats.
The march’s endorsing organizations are a who’s who of the “progressive left,” including the AFL-CIO, NAACP, Service Employees International Union, National Council of La Raza and National Action Network.
During an appearance on TV One’s “Washington Watch,” NAACP President Ben Jealous said:
We and the Tea Party are responding to the same moment. They see this moment of increasing diversity, decreasing prosperity, and they say, “Let’s attack diversity. Let’s push down on diversity.” We say, “Let’s push up on prosperity.” They want to turn this into a battleground. We want to find common ground.
A new Gallup poll found that most Americans are “unsure” what a progressive is:
Gallup polling reveals widespread public uncertainty about the “progressive” political label -- a label recently embraced by no less than Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. While Kagan described her political views as “generally progressive” during her Senate confirmation hearings, fewer than half of Americans can say whether “progressive” does (12%) or does not (31%) describe their own views. The majority (54%) are unsure.
The American people will see progressives in action at the Oct. 2 march on Washington, where they will “demand the change we voted for.”
One Nation believes:
We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve the American Dream — a secure job, a safe home, and a quality education — but banksters and corporate lobbyists have made off with trillions of public dollars while small businesses can’t get loans and cities are laying off teachers, police, and firefighters.
In this time of economic crisis, it is easy for fear-mongerers to pit groups against each other and to find convenient scapegoats for the problems that plague us.
Those “fear-mongerers” include tea-partiers who are fired up and ready to go.
So leaders of One Nation, including NAACP President and CEO Ben Jealous, want to be more like tea-partiers.
Jealous’ strategy for pulling the country back together might at first blush surprise those at the convention. His idea: Follow the lead of the Tea Party movement, which emerged in full force after the election of President Barack Obama with rallies, town hall meetings and a “take back the country” mantra.
Similarly, the Washington Post reported progressives hope to rally on Oct. 2, like, well, tea-partiers:
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the “tea party” movement must be honored.
In an effort to replicate the tea party’s success, 170 liberal and civil rights groups are forming a coalition that they hope will match the movement’s political energy and influence. They promise to “counter the tea party narrative” and help the progressive movement find its voice again after 18 months of floundering.
