> On Tue, 23 Feb 2010, SA wrote:
>
>> I've long thought that when the time was right, the left/progressives
>> should start a party within the the Democratic Party.
>
> And what would make some other time righter than now?
Good question. I guess it would be a question of how much of a base there is for such an undertaking. No point doing it if it just ends up being a tiny fragment; the whole idea is to create a focal point for progressive politics. Obviously, in a state like, say, Alabama, there wouldn't be much point. In New York, there's already the Working Families Party, which apparently is pretty successful, despite current troubles. (And they're interested in spreading to other states.) Ideally, it would be anchored by a strong progressive union, like the California nurses.
Here's an idea for a state-level campaign. Call for a federal public jobs program. Then call on the public to contribute ideas for needed projects that can put people to work where they live. E.g., have people take pictures of dilapidated high schools, have working parents sign petitions calling for day care facilities, etc. Then have local activists fight to get resolutions passed by their city and county govts calling for a federal jobs program to undertake the local projects. Then demand that Dem candidates for House and Senate endorse the jobs program ("so, you don't want to fix Carver High?") and if they don't, run a candidate against them in the primaries.
SA