In the last few weeks I have had some interesting and borderline maniacal conversations with people regarding the future of the Democratic Party in terms of messaging and policy. An almost universal consensus has developed among insiders, particularly those who are involved on the consulting end that the path forward involves moderating the Democratic message and softening the perceived hard edges of the party’s policy positions.
The great irony is of course that President Obama has taken a different approach one that indicates he viewed the election debacle of 2014 differently than many of the political consultants who call themselves Democrats do in Florida.
President Obama’s strong stands in recent weeks on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Health Care, Earned Sick Time and Foreign Policy stand in contrast to much of that Florida’s Democratic operatives want perceived as the party’s message. The President and his advisors no doubt realize two things that should be obvious to any objective political observer:
- The election of 2014 where Obama enabled Senate Democrats to run to the middle in order to placate voters in some key races was a colossal failure. This is not the 1990’s where Democratic operatives made a living off touting the importance of “swing voters.” This is the 2010’s where every election is a TURNOUT WAR BETWEEN COMPETIING IDEOLOGIES. The willingness of the Democrats to park the party’s ideology for a cycle to placate a handful of US Senators running for reelection led to disaster.
- President Obama, freed from the chains imposed by selfish US Senators and Democratic operatives is now governing from the left, following his conscience in an attempt to bring about long-needed economic and social change to this country.
Some Democrats in Florida no doubt have an agenda when pushing moderation. Many live in a bubble where they speak regularly only to other politicos, or lobbyists in the capital city who have a clear agenda. Some even lobby on behalf of corporate interests. Even if one is a progressive at heart spending time around so many insiders and lobbyists with an agenda often clouds one’s judgement.
The Florida Democratic Party can itself be an instrument for change, but many of these operatives reject the usefulness of the party and seek to build their own “shadow” structures and networks of other politically self-interested folks.
Those of us who spend much of our time talking to people outside politics realize if someone is interested in issues they are either conservative or liberal on these issues. For the last three national election cycles the candidate perceived as far more ideological was elected President, while here in Florida that candidate in each case carried the state. People want to vote for something, empowerment of some kind, not a weaker form of what the other side offers.
Florida’s Republican leadership have long put the interest of corporations, special interests, the insurance companies and companies based out of state with large landholdings in Florida above that of the people of the state. Democrats in our state have a chance to lead by following our President’s example. It is time to reject the selfish desires of the consultant class and to do what’s best for progressives, Democrats and Florida’s people.
The Florida Squeeze 
This is well said..”.time to reject the selfish desires of the consultant class and to do what’s best for progressives, Democrats and Florida’s people.”
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The exclusive focus of national and Florida’s quirky Democratic Party should be as follows: stick to our platform, stop apologizing or concealing our Democratic ideals and recruit candidates, train them and bankroll them (which means get raising money for the 2016 election) and realize that Florida is CRITICAL for our prez nominee to WIN in the general election! You will have every sleazy Republican operative inside and outside FL doing their dirty tricks, with “should be recalled or impeached” P. Rick Scott doing the slimy bidding of those operatives to reduce the Democratic voters by every illicit means! Let’s get started now, and fire up the troops in all 67 counties!
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Nailed it buddy!
This is like a manifesto for real progressives!
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The Denocratic Party will be crushed again with this weak philosophy of appeasement. Stupid party insiders who are willing to continue chucking our core values should step down now before the inequality gets worse on the streets. We are on the verge of revolution. Capitalize on that Dems. Do not inch us closer to the precipice.
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This is so true!!!Consultants are like vultures and only care about making more money off our Party.Time for the grassroots to stand up and take over our destiny and the very Democracy we care so much about. They need to also take a look at Warren and Sanders and the support they are getting for their populist ideas.Barbara
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FIRE THE BUMS FROM TOP DOWN
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Tonight I spoke to the Trinity Democratic Club in Pasco County about the future of the party. Based on our discussion, they would heartily agree.
This post at Talking Points Memo include a great quote from Representative Keith Ellison:
“I can tell you, if Democrats try to adopt a Third Way, Democratic Leadership Council-type philosophy where we abandon average working Americans, we’re not going to be successful [in 2016] or in general,” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told TPM. “This is a time where people talking about raising wages, fair trade bills that do not offshore our jobs, strengthening the right to organized labor unions. This is that moment to grab those issues in order to be successful. And if we abandon those issues and we sort of become Republican-lite, we’re not going to be successful.”
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Brilliant post. A call to action.
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Ok, who is going to lead this coup! Until we get the FDP out of Tallahassee we will continue to get a consultant platform. We have a good platform, with a few tweaks we should follow it. As I see it our leadership learned nothing from this last election. Look at the appointments for committees. Same old same old.
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What a load of hogwash.
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You hit it on the head here. Right on the money.
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This article is a train wreck and exactly why this blog has become dangerous and needs to be eliminated before we fail again in 2016. Krishnaiyer constantly trumps this attack of needing to move to the left and represent Democratic “values.” But as a student of history he knows Democrats won in this country because they were moderates in the past. Bill Clinton defined how a generation thought. Democrats under Clinton were liberal on social issues but compassionate and responsible on fiscal issues.
His attacks on consultants and operatives are sickening. Back in the day before many of today’s activists were around, he was a decent consultant himself. Believe it or not he was quite transactional willing to even cross the line and back Republicans in the very same “non-partisan” races he now rails against. But he went rogue falling in with the Deaniacs and the elements that derailed the party and have cost us any semblance of sanity.
It is also worth noting the consultants and operatives, professional jobs Krishnaiyer tries to turn into dirty words are the ones keeping Democrats relevant in this state. The Florida Democratic Party has wisely seen Gwen Graham’s playbook as cause to abandon the crazy-left Obama strategy and embrace the center while maintaining progressive views on social issues. We are pro-choice, pro-marriage equality and pro-immigration. But we are also pro-business and want to work with Florida’s employers to ensure we have jobs in this state and businesses do not relocate.
It is the consultants, dirty words in Krishnaiyer’s utopian leftist world that have REAL skin in the game. The crazy activists have other lives, like Krishnaiyer has in soccer. These people should let the professionals do the job they are hired to do and trust the instincts of people paid to do real professional work.
We want Democrats to win. Sometimes I wonder if this website which unfortunately has become wildly popular reading for many in our party wants the same.
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1990’s thought being applied to the 2010’s yet again. As for my history, yes I once helped a Republican in a non-partisan election. I had my reasons and was at the time in many ways as polluted in thought as others because every single person I talked to or hung out with in those days was involved in politics. But for a decade or more now I’ve seen reality and have been more a liberal (Progressive) than a Democrat though I am a loyal Democrat.
I appreciate your enthusiasm for the party and assume we can find common ground somewhere and work together to elect candidates that represent our values and pass laws that protect Florida’s citizens and environment from the heavy hand of State Government and their corporate allies.
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When things are not going right-Go Left.
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[…] that the party needs to shift to the right in order to achieve electoral success, President Obama has taken a completely different tact. The result has been the highest Presidential approval ratings since early 2013 and ratings on par […]
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[…] about how the President’s unwillingness to embrace progressive policies in the last two years led directly to the Democrats election debacle in 2014 and the defeat of Charlie Crist here in Florida. Not so coincidentally, the President enjoys his […]
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