cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/22077561
“I’m not interested in anyone who is moving further away from the center,” said Cindy Bass, a Pennsylvania committee member from Philadelphia. “The center is where we have to be.”
They’re not going to change a thing unless people make them.
Find your local state delegate and personally tell them how you feel a centrist is only going to guarantee another Republican victory. They are listed here: https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_National_Committee
Bernie Sanders is working behind the scenes to get a progressive in there but he can’t do it alone.
Obama proved himself a centrist, but he ran as a progressive. That’s the crucial difference.
He ran as someone who would bring together Blue America and Red America in the spirit of bipartisanship.
From the beginning, he intentionally reached out to Republicans.
His 2008 acceptance speech at the DNC mentions “Republicans” five times, and never in a disparaging manner. It does not mention labor unions even once.
I really liked Obama in 2008, but his Presidency was unbelievably disappointing and hope crushing. He didn’t end the wars or give us universal healthcare, he didn’t tax the rich or give us the right to unionize without fearing for our jobs… also, Republicans hated Obama so much that the party elected Trump in 2016! So Obama’s “lie about being a progressive then pivot to centrist bipartisan bullshit” was absolutely a colossal failure.
You should reread his speeches. He didn’t lie about being a progressive. He was openly a centrist.
He never promised single-payer health care or M4A. He promised to stop insurance companies from excluding people with preexisting conditions, which he did.
He never promised to end all the wars. He promised to withdraw troops from Iraq and send more troops to Afghanistan, which he did.
And he didn’t say anything at all about taxing the rich or helping unions.