To whom it may concern,
I am writing to protest Mr. Parry's poorly reasoned and grossly uninformed attack on third party supporters which I encountered at commondreams.org.
While it is altogether reasonable to debate the effectiveness of third party strategies, substantive analyses require, at minimum, a responsible and balanced presentation of the positions which they are critiquing without resorting to straw man arguments and caricature.
That Mr. Parry's piece is almost entirely based on the latter is apparent from his continual references to third party supporters as motivated by a childish desire for revenge namely, to "teach the Dems a lesson." Nowhere does he refer by name to any individuals who hold that opinion, or include a quotation containing these words.
Likely this is because few serious third party advocates would endorse anything of the kind. Rather what third party supporters endorse is not the negative goal of punishment but the positive objective of developing institutions, partisan and otherwise, which are independent of the Democratic Party. This is an urgent necessity based on the now decades long history of the Democratic Party functioning as "a graveyard for progressive energies."
The history should be more than a little familiar to Parry. Since it appears that it is not, it is necessary to remind him that left movements are routinely recruited into supporting Democratic candidates with the promise that they will receive favorable attention to some aspect of their agenda. (e.g. EFCA, withdrawal from Iraq, ban on offshore drilling, ending DADT, the death penalty, prosecution of war crimes, investigation of fraudulent lending practices etc). What invariably happens is that the support is not repaid by action. The football is snatched away at the last minute for the simple reason that, in the words of Lawrence O'Donnell
"
If you want to pull the party--the major party that is closest to the way you're thinking--to what you're thinking, YOU MUST, YOU MUST show them that you're capable of not voting for them. If you don't show them you're capable of not voting for them, they don't...have...to listen to you. I promise you that. I worked within the Democratic Party. I didn't listen, or have to listen, to anything on the left while I was working in the Democratic Party, because the left had nowhere to go."
Rather than issue a point by point rebuttal to Mr. Parry, I would urge him to give serious consideration to Mr. O'Donnell's remarks and to recognize rather than offering useful strategic advice, the attitude he is promoting is almost certain to insure that the continued right wing drift of both parties will continue unabated.
Finally, I will mention that I am very close to demanding the return the contribution which I made to Consortium News. At minimum, if a satisfactory response is not forthcoming (and I my sense is from the arrogance of the tone displayed in Mr. Parry's piece it won't be) no more contributions will be forthcoming from me, and I will urge a boycott of Consortium News in those circles to which I have access.
In short, this is a hostile attack on the left and should be treated as such.
Best Regards,
John Halle
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Very, very well put, John
I would only add that if I decide to engage with a third party I will do so for the purpose of developing an alternative institution to the Democratic Party, BUT, I am also mindful that if I vote for that party and other former Democrats do too, that may well result in their learning from error.
That is, the Dems have a theory that progressives have no place to go, and if people like ourselves vote for others, then that theory, the one Lawrence lived by, and the one Rahm and Obama live by now, will be proven wrong. So, the Democrats will learn a lesson if this happens, namely that they were wrong and that the right theory is that we do have a place to go.
I also think there is nothing wrong with teaching the Democrats that lesson, because the possibility of a third Party is a true lesson of what is possible in a Democracy.
So, as far as I'm concerned, Parry can stick it where the sun don't shine. As a voter, I'll vote for people I think have done a good job, and I'll vote against those who sell me out, and it's up to the Dems to adjust to that if they want my vote.
I've tweeted this for you.
A wonderful letter.
And a great comment by letsgetitdone, too.
The quote you cite sounds as if O'Donnell finally has seen the light....when did that happen (note: I stay away from cable/MSM news, so haven't heard a word about any of those "pundits" in several years....ahh, it's been pure bliss, too!)?
As A Long-Time DP Escapee...
...I was weary of self-important scolds like Parry ten years ago.
It's kind of like an old joke where the punchline is, "If you're going to sell out, at least get a good price." The Democrats have long made a practice of offering little or nothing to their base as a reward. And with each election cycle they offer less and less carrot, and more and more stick.
People like Parry, of course, have a lot to gain/maintain from the status quo. Which explains much regarding why articles like this exist. :/