She got inside the system. And two years later she took down the ultimate "corporate Dem" (and Chair of the Democratic House Caucus), Joe Crowley.
Today, she and other progressives within the Democratic Party have become major forces in our nation. We need more like her.
When Bernie first started doing his "Brunch With Bernie" hour every Friday on my program back in 2003, he'd recently started the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
I remember doing a fundraising event back then for them; it was a small affair with a half-dozen politicians (including its then-chair, Rep. Ra????l Grijalva) and fewer than 100 activists. The CPC only had a few dozen congressional members; it was new.
Today, because more and more Democrats are waking up to and rejecting widespread corporate-funded grifts with names like "Corporate Problem Solvers" and "No Labels," the Progressive Caucus has grown into one of the largest and most vibrant caucuses in DC.
And the most powerful.
Look at what progressives have helped to get through already in less than two years. The list is exhaustive.
While much of it is attributed to Biden, the political reality is that he could not have done much or even most of it if the Progressive Caucus wasn't with him. That is true political power.
Progressives are gaining political power by the day, and America needs us to continue pushing back against the corporate bribery and graft that's infected both parties. While the Republican Party has turned to outright white supremacy and neofascism, the Democratic Party has rapidly moved in a more progressive direction. But there are still stragglers.
We can help. Reach out to your local Democrats and show up at the Party meetings. Make friends, pitch in, help out. It's satisfying, meaningful, and important work. God's work, some would say (those who take Jesus' words about feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and healing the sick literally).
As in so many meaningful efforts in life and even in work, when you go into political battle you often don't necessarily like or even fully agree with the people who stand by your side.
Nonetheless, it's important to remember who's the real opponent, versus who shares some or hopefully most (but not necessarily all) of your values.
Whether you're volunteering to canvas or campaign, running for precinct committee-person, or just helping out, if you really want to see progressive change in America the single most effective way to do it is to infiltrate join the Democratic Party and transform it from the inside.
Just yelling about the evils of "corporate Dems" may be satisfying, particularly for those of us in the media, but it's often just the political equivalent of masturbation. Instead of just complaining, get inside the Party and evict those corporate Dems, replacing them with good progressives, so we can create genuine and lasting progressive change!
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