Why I Love Amy Sullivan
Getting Tough with Progressive Constituencies
There's a great series of current articles up on The Gadflyer (quickly emerging as a leading light community blog, IMO). In this particular case, Amy Sullivan takes aim at the need for Democrats to show the occassional bout of tough love with constituencies that sometimes end up doing more harm then good, not just for the party's sake, but often for their own, as well. Note ...
As in any dysfunctional relationship, political constituencies test the strength of candidates' devotion, making them earn love through public displays of affection, expensive candlelit dinners, and professed love for ethanol subsidies. It's a relationship built on distrust, however, because with such a closely divided electorate, issue groups know that once the primaries are over, their chosen ones will need to move to the middle to attract swing voters. So they demand signs of commitment early, putting candidates in the difficult position of either remaining wedded to an extreme stance or becoming vulnerable to the charge of "flip-flopping."It's time for this to stop. It has never been a particularly mature way of conducting political business, but with the stakes so high and the margin for error so slim, candidates need to learn how to stand up for themselves and progressive constituencies need to keep the larger picture in mind as well as their specific individual interests.
[snip]
Labor Unions ...
Our economic system is transforming with lightning speed. Even the Clinton-era predictions about the development of a new information economy are now dated, as jobs for which former manufacturing employees once attended ITT schools to obtain are now being outsourced to countries like India. We don't yet know what the solutions will be. But we know that focusing on the economy of the past won't help anyone.[snip]
Teachers Unions
My heart is normally with the teachers unions, but their unwavering opposition to vouchers has had the unfortunate effect of denying them the ability to make sure that voucher programs ? which continue to spread, despite their objections ? serve the best interests of America's students. For all the talk of "accountability" that accompanied passage of the No Child Left Behind law, private schools are largely exempt from accountability standards, even when students attend them with the aid of public dollars in the form of vouchers. Accountability for schools that participate in voucher programs should be an issue that the teachers unions can get behind, but they can't legitimately enter into that debate until they set aside their flat-out, no-way no-how, over-our-dead-turtle-tanks resistance to voucher programs.[snip]
The Black Community
The black community is going through a political identity crisis right now. After the dramatic and tangible successes of the civil rights era and the visible battles over busing policies, black politics over the past few decades has focused on issues of much more subtle distinction. Are they race issues? Or are they really class issues? It's difficult to pinpoint whether a particular politician has voted the "correct" way. So in too many cases, politicians have had to seek endorsements by instead courting black leaders, loudly proclaiming themselves "a friend of the black community," and opening themselves up to public humiliation if they fail to do either one aggressively enough.[snip]
Choice Groups
Democrats are not going to ? nor should they ? adopt a pro-life platform. But they would do well to adopt rhetoric that is less stridently pro-abortion. And choice groups would do well to remember that while it is their job to stake out idealistic positions, they need to be patient and tolerant with politicians who recognize the gray areas of this difficult issue, sometimes voting for sensible measures such as parental notification laws.
I cannot find enough words of high praise for this woman as of yet. I'll let you know when the English language catches up. She's also got a great response on her Jesus Freakishness that an emailer takes to task.
The remainder of the "Getting Tough" series on the site is worth additional commentary. I'll try to get to that tonight.