The fall of our political parties is not a spectator sport.

Greetings,

Though I’m obviously not a constituent, I got a call a month ago about the race for New York’s 16^th Congressional District. I almost blew it off, but instead I took time to listen and now I’m glad I did. Elliot Engel, the incumbent, was a good guy and a respected Democrat. He’s a teacher who served the NY State Assembly for 11 years before he was elected to Congress in 1988, and he’s done good work. But the call wasn’t from Engel, it was from the campaign of his challenger, Jamaal Bowman. More than that, it was Bowman himself on the line.

Engel was powerful and popular, but his campaign gaffes opened an opportunity for Bronx middle-school principal and first-time candidate Jamaal Bowman. Voters compared Engel (backed by Pelosi, Schumer, and Cuomo) to Bowman (backed by Bernie, Liz, and AOC) and created an unexpected fight where Engel was supposed to glide to the nomination. I’d heard Bowman interviewed on The Young Turks and made a small donation; he’d gotten my name through them and was calling for my support. I don’t remember now what we talked about, but he got the support he was looking for from me and from thousands more around the country. When Primary Day arrived, Bowman walked away with the nomination by nearly a 2-1 margin.

I’m encouraged this ‘political outsider’ story seems to be growing. AOC’s meteoric rise is the template, but Bowman in NY, Booker in KY, and many lesser-known Progressives around the country are following the same script.

Though they may be the lesser evil right now, the Democratic Party has far too much overlap with the Republican Party. Ideological differences sort the proletariat into Righty and Lefty, but in my opinion both party structures now only serve the goals of the money that bought them. Their shabby platitudes have become so transparent that now only the blindest ideologues can ignore them. On the Right, the Tea Partiers and Trumpets rebelled against their Party and we can see the result. Progressives are now breaking with their own Lefty establishment. The PARTIES are quite happy with the status quo, but PEOPLE on “both sides” know their leaders aren’t serving them. Unfortunately, both sides have very different visions of what proper service might be.

The fall of our two political parties can’t be a spectator sport. We all have interests in government beyond our own backyard, and that’s one reason I’m so excited about Jamaal Bowman’s win. Though his was a local race, it had national implications so it made sense for him to reach out to some guy in Portland for support. Shows like The Young Turks and tools like ActBlue made it possible for me to both be informed and contribute to the change I want to see. For a corporate candidate, Rep or Dem, this one-on-one campaigning doesn’t generate the money or interest. For a person motivated by the interests of people, it’s perfectly rational.

From racial divisions, to economic inequality, to public behavior in a health crisis, the problems we face won’t be solved by the minds (personal or corporate) that created them. ALL of these problems and so many more require new people thinking new thoughts that revolve around PEOPLE as their main concern. It’s encouraging that candidates like Jamaal Bowman have the tools, opportunity, and most importantly the motivation to reach out to the people they intend to serve.

Make a great day,

aaazTomSignature