Fast forward some years, and I think the evidence bears this out.
First he admitted the whole “liberal thing” was a misunderstanding of who he was. Then he dismantled his grassroots apparatus and installed a pretty dismal administration full of connected insiders. Then he went about putting his political muscle into some truly loathsome garbage, and basically toed a line between seemingly progressive nods and fiercefully protecting the status quo of Massachusetts politics.
And then I witnessed the whole damn thing all over again in Barack Obama’s inspired, grassroots catapulting into the White House. People flooded the streets of DC like they flooded the streets of Roxbury and Dorchester and downtown Boston for Patrick. “Hope and Change 2.0” crashed and fizzled in starkly similar ways to version 1.0. Well-meaning progressives seem to give up their voice again and again and again so that it’s not even a part of the political discourse… dominated instead by the better-organized right wing and the countless mythologies about our political system, our economic system, and a complete whitewash of the ecological realities that we really face. Drill Baby Drill was not just a Sarah Palin line, but a god-damned Obama administration policy. And the list grows longer and longer each day. We are our own worst enemies.
Are you 100% happy with everything Deval Patrick had done as governor? Is he a magical progressive genie delivering one great success after another? Has he promised to do in the next 4 years all that you’d want him to promise?
If not, then why the heck do you automatically get behind him and rally support, in May? This brings back memories of MoveOn.org, an ostensibly anti-war organization, rallying behind John Kerry even when they could have put Dean over the top. They didn’t want to rankle feathers and upset Party unity. Look how that worked out for a) the next 4 years and b) the disastrous and disgusting Iraq War.
So why not at least be open, even marginally, to the idea of endorsing the only good government candidate in the contest for Governor? Why not use it as a veiled threat to get concessions from Patrick, to mold him into the kind of governor/candidate you actually want him to be? Why not have any faith that you could once again play a part in a grassroots voter revolt that would put someone worthwhile into the Corner Office?
As I blogged at Green Mass Group and commented at Red Mass Group, the Suffolk Poll is a sign of a bigger shift underway than most people seem to realize… all bets are off in 2010… and a VERY progressive voter revolt just might be brewing. How could you shut yourselves off to that possibility, in May, no less? Don’t you at least want to see a 4-way debate between the 3 suits and the breath of fresh air that Jill truly is?
What principled justification can you possibly offer for the early endorsement of Governor Patrick?
Are you 100% happy with everything Deval Patrick had done as governor? Is he a magical progressive genie delivering one great success after another? Has he promised to do in the next 4 years all that you’d want him to promise?
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p>If not, then why the heck do you automatically get behind him and rally support, in May?
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p>The fact is that you’ve personally endorsed Stein. Also, you write that to endorse anyone at this point, s/he must be “a magical progressive genie”.
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p>How did you come to this conclusion about Stein?
Deval Patrick has a record as a, well, hard to say. I’m not speaking in generalities, I’m speaking to a crowd of progressives who I think have undercut their own voice by taking allegedly pragmatic lesser-evil choices to their ultimate conclusion… who have undercut MY VOICE in the process.
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p>I’ve given money to MoveOn.org, Howard Dean, and Dennis Kucinich. And all that money has really ever done is to boost the destructive business-as-usual Democratic Party. I helped to build what I thought was a vibrant anti-war movement… only to find that my so-called friends weren’t so much concerned about building an anti-war movement as they had pretended to be.
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p>Jill Stein 99.99% supports everything I hold dear. Deval Patrick doesn’t even come close. And I presume that many progressive Dems actually prefer Stein to Patrick, and will appreciate what she’s got to say over the course of the next 5 months more than what Patrick’s got to say, but will be frightened by fake spoiler arguments that the Democratic Party supermajority could dismantle overnight if they wanted to open up our political system to more voices and ideas… ideas that are critical for for our security, for our happiness, and for our survival.
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p>But the Democratic Party doesn’t give a damn, as it has demonstrated over and over and over again, about such piddly little things.
So the fact that Jill Stein “has a record as a public advocate” (your words) makes her a “magical progressive genie” (again, your words).
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p>Sounds like you insist on setting the bar far lower for the candidate you’ve already chosen than you want other people to set when choosing a candidate.
here is this approach doesn’t really go over well. As a member of Jill Stein’s campaign why don’t you write a post on why she is the best candidate. Maybe some specifics on accomplishments that you want to highlight and what she would do in office. Sounds crazy, huh?
Would you recommend I politely ask for a reconsideration and then back it up with reasons why I think she’s the best candidate? I’m truly disappointed, and I’m voicing my disappointment.
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p>Frankly, yes. I rather you do that than whine about it. Just write a post that tells us why you think she’s the better candidate, and add link of your own to Stein’s contribution page.
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p>The BMG leaders put that Act Blue widget there, for their reasons. It’s their damn web site. I don’t feel compelled to donate because they did this; doubt if many others here do either. I only do what my wife tells me. And even then…
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p>You disagree with the widget. Others might as well. Offer an alternative.
while I was staff on her campaign in 2006, and am certainly active on her behalf in 2010… I am not formally part of her campaign this year.
Fair and Progressive taxes. Ending Corporate Welfare and Taxpayer Financed Low Road Economic Development. Reinvesting and Strengthening Public Education. Single Payer Healthcare. Clean Elections and Electoral Reform.
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p>You know all things progressives are suppose to fight for…
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p>Deval Patrick cannot hold a stick to that. His “reforms” and policy “successes” have been a combination of surface changes and compromises in a corporatist direction. He squandered the opportunities to be a grassroots reformer and there’s no going back now. Even die-hard Patrick supporters should be glad Stein’s in the race. He’s finally getting grassroots pressure and you may see him start to throw a few crumbs.
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p>But why pray for crumbs when you can fight for the whole loaf with Stein?
Since Grace Ross won’t make the ballot, we need someone willing to question the governor from the left. Hopefully, Ms. Stein will be that voice for the progressive left in a constructive debate. Hopefully.
Why should anyone vote for Stein? She’s really nice and believes all the right things? She was endorsed by a few newspapers in 2006? She’s kind to animals?
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p>It would be great to have a three, or even a two, party system in Massachusetts. But the Green/Rainbow Party isn’t a party; it’s a social club. A real–not to mention a progressive–party would recruit candidates at the local level. Those candidates would work earn their stripes in the real world. A real party would realize that, at the end of the day, politics is work. Being twice-elected the Lexington town meeting doesn’t count.
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p>Patrick might not have been much different than Stein when he ran, but he has/had a party behind him. So he could and did get elected. After one term, Patrick’s has been beat up. He’s had to work. I haven’t been happy with a lot of that work, but I give him credit for doing it.
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p>How can supporting a quixotic candidate with no party to back (and no chance) her improve things in Massachusetts?