The Failure of the "Inside/Outside" Strategy
I have no interest in Democratic Party websites like DemocraticUnderground.com, but I did manage to find out about a discussion thread in a forum there from last July that discussed some sort of presumed deal between some Greens and the PDA. You can read about it here. According to this alleged deal, Greens would agree to support "progressive" democrats when no Green is running, while PDA members will agree to support Greens who run against centrist Democrats.
This was interesting to me on several fronts. For one thing, it demonstrated the cozy relationship that the liberal faction (David Cobb, Medea Benjamin, and others) of the Greens have with the Democratic Party. But what I also found interesting was a point raised by some Democrats in that thread. It seems that it would violate the charter of at least one state Democratic Party, and probably others as well, for a member of the state committee to give "public support for or financial contribution to an opponent of a nominee of the Democratic Party", and they could be removed from the committee for doing so.
This underscores the absurdity, and the self-defeating nature, of third party activists supporting the Democratic Party. The relationship is totally one sided in such a scenario, one that exclusively benefits the Democratic Party but not the alternative party. The Democratic Party spends much of its energy trying to keep alternative parties of the left, such as the Greens, off the ballot, for God's sake. Their bylaws call for kicking their officials off of state committees for supporting opposing candidates. The fact is that Democrats will happily take the votes and support of Greens, but in no way will they tolerate the converse. The "inside/Outside" strategy of the David Cobb and others in the Green Party is a surefire recipe for disaster for their party.
The same thing holds true for supporters of other alternative parties, such as the Socialist Party USA. Instead of an "inside/outside" strategy, what is needed is an "outside only" strategy. Opponents of the duopoly need to know that to compromise with the Democrats is to lose. It is as simple as that. The Democrats are experts at absorbing and coopting radical and progressive social movements to the point where such movements are watered down and rendered useless. It is time to understand that the Democrats are an enemy party. The way to challenge the duopoly is to take it seriously, and that means treating it like the enemy that it is. Voting for or supporting Democrats will never help any alternative political party grow.
This was interesting to me on several fronts. For one thing, it demonstrated the cozy relationship that the liberal faction (David Cobb, Medea Benjamin, and others) of the Greens have with the Democratic Party. But what I also found interesting was a point raised by some Democrats in that thread. It seems that it would violate the charter of at least one state Democratic Party, and probably others as well, for a member of the state committee to give "public support for or financial contribution to an opponent of a nominee of the Democratic Party", and they could be removed from the committee for doing so.
This underscores the absurdity, and the self-defeating nature, of third party activists supporting the Democratic Party. The relationship is totally one sided in such a scenario, one that exclusively benefits the Democratic Party but not the alternative party. The Democratic Party spends much of its energy trying to keep alternative parties of the left, such as the Greens, off the ballot, for God's sake. Their bylaws call for kicking their officials off of state committees for supporting opposing candidates. The fact is that Democrats will happily take the votes and support of Greens, but in no way will they tolerate the converse. The "inside/Outside" strategy of the David Cobb and others in the Green Party is a surefire recipe for disaster for their party.
The same thing holds true for supporters of other alternative parties, such as the Socialist Party USA. Instead of an "inside/outside" strategy, what is needed is an "outside only" strategy. Opponents of the duopoly need to know that to compromise with the Democrats is to lose. It is as simple as that. The Democrats are experts at absorbing and coopting radical and progressive social movements to the point where such movements are watered down and rendered useless. It is time to understand that the Democrats are an enemy party. The way to challenge the duopoly is to take it seriously, and that means treating it like the enemy that it is. Voting for or supporting Democrats will never help any alternative political party grow.
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