On Staying Power

There are one or two more installments left in the "new new right" series. Meanwhile I want to highlight a comment by Undercover Blue (of the excellent eponymous blog) on the last post, on some of the implications of the study of movement-building, and its relationship to party campaigns, for progressives:

What old-guard Democrats count on is that progressives will live down to their reputation, i.e., cranky, inexperienced upstarts who show up just long enough to try to ram their agenda down everyone else's throats, but who don't show when there's real grunt work to be done; who will take their balls and go home the first time they don't get what they want or get their issue the attention they KNOW it deserves. Establishment Democrats count on that. And when progressives leave, the old guard gets back control of its comfy social club and nothing changes.

Why aren't progressives taken seriously? Because the old guard expects them to be a passing fad with no staying power. Until they prove they have it, they'll never be taken seriously.

The secret to building a progressive critical mass capable of reforming and reinvigorating the Democratic party is showing up day after day and outlasting the traditionalists.

I don't think I could say it any better than that.

Labels: movement building, progressives, Undercover Blue

  ¶ Posted by Paul Curtis 6:35 AM