Corruption in California: Why Berniecrats Lose Again

In early January of 2017, there was a literal fight for the soul of the progressive movement inside the Democratic Party.

Angry Bernie Sanders supporters were rallying and organizing around the country to heed Bernie's calls: Reform the party by winning local seats.  Run grassroots candidates.  Go out and fight for a seat yourself.

Change occurs starting from the bottom, Bernie proclaimed.

And so not surprisingly - California, ground zero for all things progressive - was being watched closely by both DemEnterers and DemExiters as they held their delegate elections in January. 

Through Facebook posts, tweets, blogs, and several progressive outlets, the message was clear:  If Berniecrats could win the majority of seats in California by beating out establishment Democrats, they could win anywhere.

And so, as elections were being held, energizing news was coming from every corner of California that Berniecrats were winning the majority of seats! 

The DemEnter crowd roared as they embarked upon there own State conventions.  However, no state would go on to claim an appreciable number of seats for the Berniecrats the way California reportedly had. 

But that's okay.  Because, California!  California showed us how we could overtake the establishment! 

The California progressive movement became the paradigm for those aspiring to reform the party, both formally and informally. 

But there's something very devious at play here.  Something that never appeared in any Facebook posts, tweets, blogs, or progressive outlets. 

Berniecrats did not win an appreciable number of seats; they were only able to claim 1/9th of them.

The reason: Berniecrats are unable to win an appreciable number of seats. 

So, it took another Berniecrat (actually a Hillary Clinton voter) running for California DNC Chair and losing to a corporate lobbyist for me to begin exploring this "reform model" that was inspiring all the "possibilities" inside the DemEnter movement. 

What I found was that the California Democratic Party set up a State Central delegate structure that would prevent a progressive majority. 

You heard me right. 

It's the structure.  And it's preventative.  It's like the Democratic version of a Progressive vaccine.  You introduce a little of the deadly organism so that when the time comes, your body can destroy it before you get too "progressively" sick.

 

Let's take a close look at what the Democratic Party designed in order to block a Progressive majority by setting up a complicated and insurmountable pathway:

 

Who is the California Democratic Party? 

-It's 2900 delegates to the Democratic State Central Committee.  And they are exactly who you think they are: the Establishment. 

 

-One third are elected party officials & their inner circle: All California Democratic members of Congress, State-wide officials, State legislatures & State nominees get to be delegates.

 

They even get to appoint 6 people each!

 

-The next third are local Democratic party officials. Each of California's 58 counties has a Democratic County Central Committee.  Each of those county committees makes their own rules to determine who gets to be the delegates that make up the second third.

 

But hold on, because the last third is where the actual democracy part comes in.

 

-California is broken into 80 different assembly districts.  Each of those districts also gets to democratically elect 14 people - 7 men and 7 women. These democratically elected delegates make up the other third.

 

You can see now how important it was for the Democratic establishment to insert their own lobbyist as California DNC Chair.  The whole scam was merely to "appoint", through a faux democratic election, a leader to oversee the minions in this monster system they created - minions designed to keep progressives out of the club. 

And, let me say for the record,  I now understand what our Progressive warriors from decades past meant when they said they tried, and it can't be done.

So what can Berniecrats realistically expect to achieve armed with this knowledge?  And what good will it ultimately do to transform our country, because a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into winning 1/9th.  

The bottom line: California realistically cannot and should not be the framework of the DemEnter movement. 

Rather, California should exemplify the harsh reality of the level of corruption the Democratic Party has at its disposal to maintain the status quo.

The California "success narrative" only serves to distract Berniecrats in other states from examining their own Democratic state structures and determining that similarly, there is no strategy or path to a progressive majority there either.

 

Because in reality, every state has a Democratic structure that is designed to mobilize and then burn out Progressives.  It's their way of keeping the "enemy" close, and, more importantly, controlled.  

 

Let's be clear:  it doesn't end there.  The same monstrous set up exists within the Democratic Party and their "private club" known as the DNC, where admittedly (in court no less) they "choose their own candidates in a back room while smoking cigars, like the good ole' days".

 

Fittingly for this situation, The Clash asked in their 80's hit song, "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"

 

And Bill Bianchi, the former head of the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in Chicago, a 20-year Progressive warrior from inside the party, and recent DemExiter, is loudly answering that question to anyone who will listen:

 

"As a matter of fact, we have a better chance of winning as a third party than we do of reforming the Democratic Party.  Any investment of time, money, and energy to reform or takeover the party is futile, and we don't have another 10 years for those in this generation of "reformers" to learn this painful lesson."

 

Too bad he doesn't sound as lyrical as The Clash.  It's definitely not as catchy of a message.

 

But, we do owe our fellow Progressives, who choose to fight from inside the party, our deepest gratitude.  Truly, they are the "Navy Seals" of our fight, and by getting close to the belly of the beast, we are collectively learning about the enemy from the incredible intel they are providing.

 

Just don't take too long "in there", because America needs you "out here".

Lenka Perron is a Regional Director of Michigan's Draft Bernie For a People's Party, a new party built around Bernie's revolutionary campaign, endorsed by Dr. Cornell West, Jimmy Dore, H.A.Goodman, Josh Fox, Lee Camp, Tim Black and others, and focused on uniting progressives everywhere to follow Bernie, Tulsi, Nina and other great leaders behind a new party.

Source: www.cadem.org