The Democrats Socialists’ takeover of the Nevada Democratic Party is a major story but it remains to be seen if it will be a major development with far-reaching consequences. One thing I do know is that, on the merits, the state’s Democratic Party might have been the least in need of a revolution of any in the country.
In recent years, the Reid Machine (named after former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid) has transformed a once Republican state into a Democratic juggernaut. As Nevada journalist Jon Ralston explained to CNN‘s Chris Cillizza, “this so-called revolution was against an establishment that has won four straight presidential races, elected two Democratic senators, three of our House members, all but one of the state’s six constitutional officers and both houses of the Legislature.”
Nonetheless, on March 6, a slate of candidates led by Judith Whitmer and backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, swept all but one of the party’s leadership positions, leading to the resignation of the entire existing staff and their consultants.
The schism is disappointing considering that Harry Reid and Bernie Sanders are not enemies and Sander’s senior team is peopled by many former Reid staffers. On the ground, things have been more acrimonious.
Ironically, it all began with Reid’s decision to hold an early caucus in Nevada back in 2008. The idea was to increase the state’s influence and, in particular, to lock in the Democratic presidential candidates as opponents of dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain. The gambit worked, as the Obama administration killed off that plan, but the caucus system eventually worked in Sanders’ favor.
After a strong and contested showing in Nevada’s 2016 caucuses against Hillary Clinton, the Sanders organizers went to work and helped Bernie pull off a thumping victory in 2020 against Joe Biden. The sweep of the caucuses allowed supporters of Sanders to fill up positions on the party’s Central Committee. This is why there were able to take over the party on March 6.
Ironically, the Reid Machine’s losing candidate, Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, was the chairman of Sanders’ Nevada campaigns, so this wasn’t really about the ideological makeup of the party chair. It was more about control, and also some concern about Whitmer’s personal style and willingness to listen.
Ralston, who is as astute an observer of the state’s politics as you can find, is worried that the DSA takeover may lead to a nasty intraparty fight that will provide the Republicans an opportunity to make a comeback. This could take the form of primary battles against Democratic incumbents, or it could just be that the new leadership is too focused on revolution to take care of the nuts and bolts of politics. No one disputes the Reid Machine’s ability to turn out the vote.
In truth, though, the establishment suspected they were going to lose the leadership elections and they moved $450,000 out of the state party’s coffers into the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee’s accounts where it can be used to help Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto who is up for reelection in 2022. Meanwhile, the self-exiled staff of the party will reorganize outside the party, as Ralston explains:
Then, all of the staff resigned right afterward, and the Reid folks have vowed to set up a separate entity because they have no faith in the party to do what they have done successfully for more than a decade: Launder (legally) money through the party to pay for voter programs.
Of course, things look better if you’re on the ramparts fighting for a more progressive Democratic Party that supports Medicare-for-All and a $15/hour minimum wage. If an establishment organization as formidable as Reid’s can be toppled, no state organization is safe from socialist replacement. In fact, sending that message may be the biggest immediate accomplishment of the Nevada revolution. Perhaps other state party officials will now take preemptive action and get more in line with progressive goals, making it less urgent that they lose their jobs.
Whether this a good or bad thing depends not just on what the party represents going forward, but on whether it can win elections. These two considerations always have to be balanced, as power shouldn’t be squandered but progressive goals cannot be achieved in the minority.
If a new more left-leaning Democratic Party continues to win in Nevada, that can be counted as a progressive victory that can be emulated in other states. But, remember, without the votes of Nevada’s two Democratic senators, Mitch McConnell would still be running the U.S. Senate. Which is more vital to the accessibility of health care?
If there are some reasons for optimism after the Nevada revolution, the concern is that what was a model of electoral success has been upended, and no one knows what will come next.
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Ralston, who is as astute an observer of the state’s politics as you can find, is worried that the DSA takeover may lead to a nasty intra-party fight that will provide the Republicans an opportunity to make a comeback.
He’s also a liar, so there is that. Why would he be worried? Because all the top state party officials quit and awarded themselves severance? Sounds like very sore losers to me. Also, transferring that money out is another example of the outgoing crew being extremely poor losers. Imagine if the DSA crew were the outgoings and did that. We would never hear the end of it.
i’d frame the question as “Is the election of new leadership such a bad thing that it justifies the old leadership emptying the bank account on their way out and essentially declaring themselves a rival organization?”
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This is very interesting to me, ironically, as a rather traditional Southern Liberal Democrat. I am not any flavor of socialist — a wee bit of a Jacobite, maybe.
Five State Convention cycles ago, I was Executive Vice-Chair of the Texas Progressive Populist Caucus while on the State Democratic Party Executive Committee — what you call a Central Committee. “Progressive Populist”, it turns out was an oxymoronic label with a little authentic provenance in Texas but no traction anywhere else.
Since then, during 7 cycles BBE (Before Beto Era), I was Democratic Judge-Alternate of the Central Counting Station and Presiding Judge of the Ballot Board in Harris County. Indeed, this county is more diverse than any state, more populous than Nevada, but under-represented in Greater BoWash and Londinium. We have only about 12.5% of Cruz/Cornyn compared to, say, Delaware an almost ex-Confederate state but, really, just a suburb or Philadelphia, with two Senators and one President.
At the heart of things in Nevada today of course we find incumbents’ hyper-anxiety over “control” and any but a flunkey’s “willingness to listen”. Doubtless. That has nothing to do with “socialism”, “progressivism”, or any of the other bovine manure masking how intraparty business is conducted obscurely today.
That would be (i) running the national party as the claque a sitting Democratic President or, failing that, of the DSCC/DCCC; (ii) turning national, state, and county conventions into infomercials or fund-raising events, (iii) replacing those conventions’ rule-making, platform-building, and governance responsibilities with patronage governed by favoritism or quotas; (iv) a “conduit” model of legalizing money “laundering” as “leverage”, (iv) deploying a multi-level marketing scheme shrouded in NDA’s for “activists”, “advocates”, and mercenary “consultants” (VAN/NGP) rather than developing secure voter identification, registration, communication, and mobilization infrastructure; as well as, generally, (v) elaborating a modus operandi of “collusive bargaining” modeled on profound Congressional dysfunction rather than deliberation.
Are there any vital components of republican democracy that my and the boomer generation of Democrats have not trashed?
It will be interesting for me to see what our Jacobin geezers and youth today do with the actual challenge my party faces: That would be strategically (iteratively, not gradually) realizing a coherent program within our post-war system of economic privilege, legal immunity, and criminal impunity.
A civil war between would-be elites in what is not really a federal or republican democracy today would be bad.
In any event, thanks for covering intraparty developments.
THE WORLD WONDERS
There comes a time when the Democratic Party governs from the left as a large portion of the base wants, and a large portion of centrists who vote for the Democratic Party, expects. And then the Democratic Party runs on re-election for what they’ve actually done, and not sweet whispers of what they could have done, paired with half-assed policy made because they’re afraid of the Republicans saying they did a no-no.
If the ideas are implemented with a crash and burn, then so be it. The ideas were shit.
But it isn’t the case. Nuke the filibuster, pass the COVID bill without watering it down (even by only $15B or whatever), add a public option to the ACA, increase the Federal Minimum wage, decriminalize marijuana, forgive student loan debt and give anyone who paid down student loan debt tax credits to match, etc., etc.
The incrementalism was fine in 2000. It might have been sufficient in 2009.
But here it is, 2021. Why are the Democrats, who are painted by their opponents as socialists, afraid to govern as Democratic Socialists, both showing the population that the Democratic Party isn’t socialist and about to seize the means of production, while also giving the base that elects it the policies they know will make things better.
The “Demographic Destiny” isn’t going to save the country. Democrats voting like Democrats and implementing policy to save the country will. And it will lead to new voters, Republican-to-Democrat voters, etc, once the economy peps back, and dogshit law and policy is wiped off the books.
Manchin and Sinema may be moderates, or even center-right, compared to Democratic Socialists. But they’re on the (D) team. Be a strong REPRESENTATIVE, vote for what you know is going to help the most people/help the most constituents, and then go back home and tell the constituents that while they may be suspect of the vote, you voted because IT WAS FOR THE BEST.
The whole point of Representative Democracy is that the Representative should “know better” than the unwashed mass of constituents who elected them, and occasionally vote in unpopular ways for the better of the country, and state.
The fucking around with Republicans thing has to stop, or like usual, voters will stop voting for the Republican Lite candidate and vote for the real thing…you know, because Republicans must have a point otherwise the god damn Democrat would vote like a Democrat.
The classic snatching defeat from the jaws of victory cliche continues. If Manchin Democrats-up and votes to kill the cloture filibuster, relegating the filibuster to individuals having to physically waste their own time to prevent literally popular legislation from passing, then I’ll stop giving him a hard time. Otherwise, he’s one of the reasons why by 2022, new voters will stay home after seeing nothing of substance done, and I’m sorry, but the COVID bill was basically a PROMISE made by Democrats, so passing that isn’t some huge win, it’s the bare minimum the party can do.
Seems the rest of the nation is beginning to catch up with California, where the two main parties are the two factions within the Democratic party these days. Moderate Democrats against socialist Democrats. Here and there, this dynamic has opened the door to Republicans.
One always trades one set of problems for another. This is one trade I’d be glad to make. Would love to see Republicans relegated to the sidelines coast to coast, with intra-party tensions on the Democratic side sometimes coming back to bite us. In politics, unity is not really possible. People are always going to divide into alliances. Where the lines are drawn changes but by its very nature one must wind up with competing camps with different points of view and interests.
The goal is a bare majority party of centrists – Democrats and a few sane Republicans, passing policy the current Democratic Party is attempting to pass.
With a Progressive Left party that has a baseline of 42-45% of the vote, that can drag reticent Democrats over as it becomes clear that centrism isn’t just not the answer, but is actually a large problem with how this country “functions”.
Of course, none of that happens until the Republican Party is dead. Which is why I’m so frustrated with Manchin and Sinema doing everything they can to keep the Republican Party relevant. My personal view is that if Manchin and Sinema went full Democrat, voted to end the filibuster, and Democrats started passing all of the policy that 60% of the country supports tomorrow, the Republican Party would actually start disbanding by 2026.
Do you really think a progressive left party would draw 45% of the vote nationally? It has never happened in Canada. In the US they have never won 45% of the Democratic vote. I don’t think Sanders would have drawn anywhere near 81 million votes against Trump.
I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing in Nevada. Let’s see if they can win some elections. If they do, let’s see if they can govern. I do not think the reaction of the establishment was appropriate or helpful. I also think it is a harbinger of the political realignment to come.
Once the Republican party is toast as a political force, Democrats will split. The Democrats are likely to retain the country club Republicans and Obama Democrats, The left will go after the Trump rural working class voters with a Bernie Sanders “Republican lite” attitude on race, women and immigration. Bring it on, I say. Later.
Now? We have to stick together and destroy the Republicans. I just worry that this is too early.
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Too early?
We’re just about too late.
When you are too early you get Nixon, Reagan, Bush II and Trump. When the Left is strong in Canada we do not get a progressive government. The Conservatives win. When the left in the US think they are “too late”, we get Republicans.
It is an easy calculation. It is too early if Republicans are still relevant. If the left primaries a bunch of Democrats in 2022 or primaries Biden in 2024 or decides to support a third party again because it is too late, welcome to fascist America.
You have to believe once the Republicans are dead, the neoliberal centrists will be easy pickings, right? If the Republicans are no more, the socialists are sure to win and Utopia will surely follow. AOC in 2028! There will be a legitimate route to power for the left and there is not one now. Surely that is obvious, and for the left, a desirable thing.
Will the left vote for democracy over the next two elections or will they spend the next five years attacking Democrats and saving the Republicans? I’m an optimist so I think it is better than 50-50 that the left does the right thing.
The left won’t be attacking the Democratic Party. No one is going to seriously primary Biden.
But the entire framing of Democrats as Communists means that there’s no real danger to the Democratic Party passing popular legislation that 60%+ of the population supports.
Either the young and the poor come out and vote for the Democrats, or the Republicans win.
Why would we try to make it less likely that young people and the poor vote? They’re the only growing demographic…and the “LatinX” vote doesn’t exist. Look at how the “LatinX” vote has changed over the past 8 years.
So, any “demographic destiny” isn’t going to be non-white people, it’s going to be young and poor people voting for a party that actually does shit for them.
Trying to argue with a Republican that a Democrat isn’t a Communist is a losing argument for the Democrat, because Republican voters don’t give one fuck. But, if Democrats start fighting for the popular legislation while flicking off the Republicans, they’ll gain young and poor voters, that will otherwise watch centrism by centrist Democrats, and stay home.
Again, while I’m extremely left-wing compared to almost anyone else, I realize the Republican Party has to die before we can split the Democratic Party up. But there is almost no upside to playing centrist – Republican voters are going to vote for a fascist, Democrats are going to vote for Democrats. What the Democrats need to in order to start really ending the Republican Party are young people and the poor. We should unashamedly and unabashedly be passing legislation that gets the young and poor out.
Decriminalize marijuana NOW. Enact a Public Option NOW. Abolish the filibuster. Add DC and Puerto Rico as states. FIGHT.
It’s not too early to do any of that, and I’d argue that waiting for 2024 or 2028 would make it to late.
Any votes lost by some “Democrat” afraid of marijuana, the Public Option, or for abolishing the filibuster, will be made up by young and poor people voting because they have something to vote FOR, instead of AGAINST. Because they can vote for Democrats who will FINALLY fight for them…instead of just being the default receptacle for votes because “ThereIsNoAlternative”.
Trump most likely isn’t on the 2024 ballot. And he definitely isn’t on the 2022 ballot.
Democrats need to pick up actual populism so Republicans can’t lie about being populists and eventually use that lie to destroy the country.
I understand your point, but my point isn’t to self-label the Democratic Party as communist. It’s to pass all the extremely popular legislation that Democrats, the young, and the poor support, while making BUSINESS have to vote for the Democrats because ThereIsNoAlternative.
Instead of giving business what it wants and telling everyone else, “you’re stuck with us”, let’s turn that equation around.
The performative left always spend more time attacking Democrats than Republicans. And we remember when Bernie tried to get someone to primary Obama. Biden will be 82 in 2024 and vulnerable for that alone. (See also the criticism of the ARP,)
I cannot really blame the socialists for this approach to politics. They have grown up in a system where their only route to power is by taking over the Democratic party. But they have never come close to doing so, and I don’t think the Democrats are the political party in trouble. The Republicans have nothing to offer to anyone and clearly this offers a new opportunity to the left. Will they see it? I doubt it but we will see.
I oppose populism in all of its forms. It always depends on an blatantly emotional appeal that scapegoats others for any or all problems. Trump clearly is a populist. Who can think populism is healthy in a democracy?
The idea that getting out the vote in 2022 turns on marijuana reform, the public option, the filibuster, or any other policy is preposterous to me.
The Democrats barely turned out enough to win in 2020, with Trump on the ticket to vote against. 2018 was also a vote against Trump.
What issues do you think are going to excite young people and poor people who typically ignore midterm elections, now that Trump isn’t on the ticket?
You believe decriminalizing marijuana, giving EVERYONE health insurance, and abolishing the filibuster so that the above are possible, is going to…not increase turnout?
The Democrats turned out a record 81 million votes and the 2020 election was not particularly close.
The Democrats are going to contact every single person who voted for Biden in 2020. They are going to ask them to vote for the Democrat in every single race because the opponent is a fucking Republican who is against everything (including democracy) and everyone who isn’t white. A vote for Republicans is a vote for Trump and Trumpism. Vote for the party that isn’t disconnected from reality and actually wants to help Americans.
The participation rate of young voters and the poor has always been lousy but it has never had anything to do with policy. Most young people care not about politics. If they want to smoke weed, they smoke weed. They are on their parent’s healthcare plan or they don’t worry if they have no insurance. They couldn’t tell you what the filibuster is. They are not paying attention. If you can tell me when policy has ever created turnout among these groups, I will reconsider.
I am actually looking forward to the midterms. I see them as an opportunity to enlarge majorities. One thing I am sure that people will notice is the cash being handed out, the cheaper health care premiums and the extra child tax credits Biden and the Democrats are going to be dishing out over the next two years. Dems will, of course, promise to make the the tax credits and cheaper premiums permanent if they win in 2022.
It is the Republicans who are flailing to find a message – even a lie – that will turn the base hatred onto Biden and gin up their turnout.
43,000 votes split between AZ, GA and WI are why Biden is President. It doesn’t matter if 250,000,000 Californians vote for the Democrat.
In 2022, Trump won’t be on any ballots, unlike 2018 and 2020.
And yes, policy does matter to people who don’t regularly vote. If voters don’t believe that the Democrat is actually going to help them, they stay home, as has been shown repeatedly.
Just in case you’ve forgotten, Republicans PICKED UP 6 seats in the House in 2020.
The Republicans only lost the Senate because of 110,000 votes out of 9 million cast in Georgia. Minus Stacey Abrams, GA probably would have went Red, and Mitch McConnell would likely still be Senate Leader.
You realize that this Senate “majority” is the smallest possible majority that can exist, right? And this was after 81,000,000 Democratic voters came out to vote, with Trump on the ballot.
You think 2020 wasn’t close?
You think the 73,000,000 Republican voters aren’t going to be mobilized and ready to vote in 2022, because Republican politicians are “flailing”? When haven’t Republican politicians lied and flailed?
The only thing that will prevent the Republicans from winning the midterms is a Democratic Party actually passing legislation that is immensely popular, or the Republican Party fracturing. You seem to be rooting for the fracturing while believing the Democratic Party can just coast on 2020.
I think that the more popular legislation the Democratic Party passes, the more it will fracture the Republican Party. Increase Democratic Party voter turnout by actually providing a reason to turnout, pressuring the Republican Party to tear itself apart trying to figure out how to attack extremely popular Democratic legislation.
The electoral college is the quirk that makes elections appear closer than they actually are. A relative handful a votes in a handful of states allowed Obama to beat Romney. It is unusual when you can’t say something like that in a Presidential election.
To take advantage of that quirk you have to be able to identify the states that will be particularly close before the fact and then tailor your pitch to the swing voters in that state. That is what Trump did, although the pitch was not about policy. What good will policies that are very popular in California and New York and other blue states do if they are not particularly popular with the swing voter in swing states?
The only thing that can save the Democrats is to actually pass legislation that is immensely popular? They already did actually pass legislation that is immensely popular! Actual money is being deposited in bank accounts as we speak!
A president’s party usually loses ground in the midterms because the new president has lost support. My theory is that Biden is going to be seen as a big success this time next year and Democrats will make hay in 2022. If Americans are happy with Joe, we can and will win larger majorities. I don’t want to be bold. I want to win.
Can you think of a single election that was won because the winner juiced turnout with bold policy? I have followed politics closely in two countries for more than 50 years and I cannot think of a single election won with the strategy you champion. Enlighten me.
First off, your statement of “The electoral college is the quirk that makes elections appear closer than they actually are” isn’t correct.
The Electoral College is the quirk that makes election results not mirror the popular vote. so talking about the popular vote is irrelevant and a waste of time.
Second, this legislation is the BARE MINIMUM legislation that Biden could pass. He ran on it, and passing it isn’t some huge victory, it was something that was promised. You want to coast on that for the next year and a half?
Third, leaving out 1966 since Johnson knew the CRA was going to cost the South, can you name a midterm election where the majority party passed “bold” legislation and lost turnout? You seem to be making the argument that the Democrats should do the least amount possible, and by doing so, will win big in the midterms. That kind of view is always going to feel wrong to me, because there’s no guarantee that the Democrats hold the House and Senate in 2022. Whatever they don’t pass now because they’re afraid of losing in 2022, they definitely won’t pass if they lose either the House or Senate in 2022. This constant hedging by the Democratic Party is why we’re stuck in this current state of Republicans dragging the country right with the Democrats, at best, holding the line when they’re in power.
If the Democratic Party is afraid that their policies won’t increase voter turnout after being shown to work, then their policies are shit, and Republicans are going to reclaim power. If you disagree, that’s fine, I’ve just watched politics for the past 30 years and watched this country continue sliding right because the Democrats are always worried about being told by Republicans that they’re doing a no-no. Guess what, the Republicans are ALWAYS going to tell the Democrats no. Forever.
Stop fucking kowtowing to Republicans. Play to AMERICANS, pass POPULAR LEGISLATION, Help EVERYONE, and then DIRECTLY TELL PEOPLE TO VOTE.
The “Demographic destiny” thing is a fallacy of reasoning. They keep making new old people every day.
I get that you hate the Democrats but I have to remind you that the Republicans are the fucking fascists. Obamacare was bold legislation and it cost Democrats the midterms in 2010. .
You forgot to tell me which election was ever won with your strategy. I’ll make it easier for you. Name an election that turned on policy. Ever.
You’re hilarious. What country do you live in again?
No, I don’t hate the Democrats. I live in Georgia. I just helped elect the 2 Senators that gave the Democrats the Senate. You think I hate the Democrats? Yikes. You’re getting a little too emotional here.
I don’t want the Democrats to do what they usually do – LOSE BECAUSE THEY’RE AFRAID TO WIN. Obamacare wasn’t “bold”. It was supposed to have a public option and it shit the bed on that, and here we are, needing something to either fill in or replace it if we ever want universal healthcare. 10 years so far. I wonder how many more decades, because the Democrats were afraid to be bold and upset the Republicans.
That’s the thing. The American electorate is almost 45% fucking morons who are going to vote for the Republicans NO MATTER WHAT. Actually passing massively popular legislation is a winner, because 45% of the American electorate is going to vote for the Republicans NO MATTER WHAT.
Did Stacey Abrams, in delivering the Senate to the Democrats, run on playing it safe? Nope. Jewish Senator, Black Senator…from GEORGIA.
You brought up the whole “bold legislation doesn’t matter” point, and you want me to make your argument for and against it for you? Nope.
Each and every election is absolutely different from the last.
Your brilliant strategy is… pass one bill and then coast on that for 2 years? Yeah, that’ll work great for the midterms. If Biden and the Democrats just hide under their desks, then, something something massive Democratic midterm turnout, something something the fascists are defeated forever!
Is that your play?
Because it’s a shit play. I don’t want the Democrats to cower in fear about passing massively popular legislation. This may be the only time they control the House and Senate over the next 6-8 years, it’s ALWAYS NOW OR NEVER.
I think Manchin’s move towards narrowing the scope and application of the filibuster is correct and productive. First, he did no significant damage to the Rescue Package under Reconciliation by making token concessions to the right, specifically, to the GOP Governor of West Virginia who has done an exemplary job of pandemic relief under challenging socio-economic conditions. He used National Guard and Reserves appropriately and effectively instead of hiding racial preferences and logistical chaos behind claims of “equity”. Lesson One: We have a federal government and a party’s program will be judged by voters on the basis of its effectiveness and coherence at three echelons of government.
Seems the rest of the nation is beginning to catch up with California, where the two main parties are the two factions within the Democratic party these days. Moderate Democrats against socialist Democrats. Here and there, this dynamic has opened the door to Republicans.
One always trades one set of problems for another. This is one trade I’d be glad to make. Would love to see Republicans relegated to the sidelines coast to coast, with intra-party tensions on the Democratic side sometimes coming back to bite us. In politics, unity is not really possible. People are always going to divide into alliances. Where the lines are drawn changes but by its very nature one must wind up with competing camps with different points of view and interests.
A similar thing almost took place in Florida (although of course the difference is that the FL Democratic part is deeply screwed up and can’t win state wide elections). There was a big push from progressives and they came pretty close to taking over the party just a few months ago. It was pretty awesome to watch, though disappointing that we couldn’t pull it off. Because if any party in the state needs to be taken over by the left its Florida. Actually, I’d settle for competent centrists…
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So the people in power lost then chose to schism the party along with hardcore theft and will blame everyone but themselves if it goes south?
Absolute contempt.
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