Listen to the people. Provide benefits to the people.
The Anatomy of a Progressive Campaign
How has Sanders managed to rack up such huge support in Vermont? Take a look at today's story in the Rutland Herald for some clues - it provides a glimpse into the anatomy of how progressives can run and win grassroots campaigns. Sanders has spent years traveling the state holding town meetings on serious issues, making citizens feel they really have a line of communication to their political leaders. And just like "they came in droves" last night, they have come in droves for years.
Another good example is Sanders' efforts in fighting cutbacks to worker pensions. A few years ago, he held a town meeting where 800 traditionally-conservative IBM workers came out to rally against the cuts, and help Sanders push through legislation banning the type of age-discriminatory pension the company had proposed.
How Conservative Montana is going Democratic
As I have said and written before, the premise is pretty simple: if Democrats are willing to stand up for the middle class and use a populist economic message, they can and will be successful in the "red" states and start turning them into a new shade of blue. Not the east/west coast version of a blue agenda, mind you. A different color altogether. Call it the Purple Populism Platform.
The proof is in the pudding: Within his first days in office, our fearless Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D) aggressively pushed a serious middle-class, populist agenda through the legislature. He has been rewarded with terrific support from Montanans. As a new poll shows, he is one of the most popular governors in the United States right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment