Actions for the week of Aug 7-13  links to posts from last week and a brief review of the last week. Also a stunning preview for Tuesdays post on the 70 year decline of the Democratic Party from FDR to Today. Call to Action Today–Time to Oppose PNM.

PNM Rate Hike Hearing: TODAY, 9am at 1120 Paseo de Peralta, the PERA Building in Santa Fe. Raise your voice, testify. Click here for more information on how to testify, speaking points and See HERE for a Factsheet About the Ratecase. Stand with New Energy Economy as they oppose a rate increase that would force rate payers to pay $148M to fuel PNM’s greed and to allow PNM to continue to operate the dilapidated Four Corners Power Plant. Let’s Say No. 

Events & Actions for the Week:  Click here to find out about actions and events this week including tonight’s Roundhouse Activism Team meeting at 6pm at DeVargas Mall Community Room.

A Week in Review

As is our newly developed habit, on Mondays we provide links to the prior weeks posts with a brief description of the contents of each and a short commentary on any thread that may have created a storyline. This past week, the focus has been on the Democratic Party and how Party members can best provide constructive criticism to try to strengthen the Party. We also provided information on a possible model for local organizing in Colorado Springs, a remarkable ‘enough is enough’ story of how progressives in a largely GOP-Military Industrial-Tea Party town, completely took over the City Council elections.

Tuesday, August 1. Reform of the Democratic Party-Perhaps Our Only Option.  The post focused on how in the absence of a third party option, progressives have little partisan political options besides trying to reform the Party. The post included links to the Leap Manifesto and PDA’s new People’s Platform.   Click here for the full post.

Thursday, Aug 3. DCCC to Fund Anti-Abortion Candidates, Review of Obama’s Failure to Prosecute Wall St Crimes and the Colorado Springs Miracle.  The post covered Rep. Lujan’s ill-advised announcement that the Party would fund candidates who oppose women’s rights to reproductive healthcare, a Counterpunch article reviewing the Obama administration’s failure to prosecute crimes committed by the financial sector, and an inspiring story of how Colorado Springs progressives won control of the City Council in this highly conservative community—a model for Santa Fe and ABQ.   Click here for the full post.

Friday, Aug 4.  How Can We Dissent Without Being Divisive?  The post focused on how constructive criticism is viewed as divisive and unwelcome, begging the question: how can well-intentioned Democrats, critical of Party practices and policies, offer dissent? The post describes what I found out from conversations with more Centrist Democrats and some changes I am making in the tone of future posts.  Click here for the full post.

Saturday, Aug 5.  Mass Species Extinction Has Begun & a Call to Action Against PNM.  The post highlight an Academy of Sciences report that describes mass extinction has having begun and notes that climate change is much further advanced than previously thought. The post also provides something you can do TODAY, by coming to testify at the PERA Bldg at 9am (as described at the top of this post. Click here to review the full post.   https://retakeourdemocracy.org/2017/08/05/national-academy-of-sciences-mass-extinction-is-here-a-call-for-action/

Sunday, Aug. 6. Democrats: The Party That Eats Itself.  The post examines a Democratic Centrist view of how progressives’ insistence on progressive purity can only diminish the party. The post poses the question that if progressives are viewed as ‘leftier than thous,” how do we raise our voices. The post also examines how the Party historically has consumed itself with Machiavellian in-fighting. Click here for the full post.

Preview for Tuesday

The Democratic Party’s Historic Decline Congress and State Legislatures

In 1945, the Democrats controlled 80% of Senate seats and well over 70% of House seats. 1978, Democrats still held 58 Senate seats, 64% of House seats and controlled both chambers of 31 state legislatures, with the GOP only controlling 11. Over the past 40 years, the Democratic Party has embraced Wall St and other corporate sectors and abandoned the interests of the majority, of labor, and of under-served communities. Since 1978 the Democrats have lost control of the Senate, the House, and most state legislatures with the GOP now controlling both chambers in 32 states. What’s more, the Democrats have even lost the White House to the most unpopular U.S. politician in modern history.  The table below depicts Party Control of Congress from 1855 to 2016. While difficult to decipher the precise years, the trend line from the middle of the chart (FDR era) to 2016 at the far right, is unmistakable. The top chart reflects changes in US Senate seats and the bottom reflects House seats. It is this trend that has the progressive wing of the Democratic Party concerned, as Centrist-Corporate Democrats have simply retreated from the FDR era where Democrats were the party of the majority. Tuesday’s post will go into more depth on this trend examining more closely election losses in state legislatures and Congress, as well as declines in Democratic Party voter registration and turnout. It seems urgently important that Party leadership examine these trends and consider alternative approaches to campaign financing, messaging and policy priorities to reengage those millions who have lost faith in the Party. We do not post this information merely to be negative or divisive, but to beg leadership to examine these trends and past and future commentary from here and elsewhere. 2018 is a golden opportunity and unified behind a specific, inspiring message, we can retake the House.

Not Easy to See the Details But the Trend of Declining Blue from 1945 to 2016 is Unmistable

In solidarity,

Roxanne and Paul

See you in two hours at the PERA Bldg.

Categories: Actions, Democratic Party Reform

Tags: Featured, read more