SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

July 26, 2023

Sullivan’s Salvos 8/1/23

In this edition:

*Happy 25th Anniversary!

*RIP Ernie Lehman

*Netroots Nation

*Did You Know?

*Happy 25th Anniversary!

Happy 25^th Anniversary on August 1 to my wonderful wife, Dr. Melissa Fath. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know I got a great deal here! Melissa is the best wife and mother a person could ever hope for!

Happy Anniversary, Honey! It has been a great ride! I hope we celebrate many more!

*RIP Ernie Lehman

Former Iowa City Mayor Ernie Lehman passed away recently. Ernie and I undoubtably disagreed more than agreed when it came to politics. He was a master of explaining why progressive politics were “not the City’s job,” while explaining why conservative politics were important to “maintain our way of life.” But it was easy to see why so many people liked Ernie – he was friendly, funny, and smart. He also ran a great business that I really miss! My condolences to all the many people who care about him. RIP, Ernie.

*Netroots Nation

I attended the annual Netroots Nation conference July 13-15 in Chicago. This was my second Netroots, having attended in Philadelphia in 2019.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Netroots is an offspring of the Daily Kos website. Daily Kos was founded in 2002 by Markos Moulitsas as a way for progressive Democrats to push back not only against Republicans, but also against the “Blue Dog” wing of the Democratic Party.

The makeup of Netroots Nation breaks down something like this: people from nonprofits (think ACLU, Sierra Club, League of Women Voters, etc.), groups like Act Blue and Move On, labor, political consultants, tech specialists, journalists, and elected officials. Over the last few years, they have made a strong effort to include more local activists, and this conference had a VERY strong Chicago feel.

I mentioned the “techie” aspect of Netroots Nation. In reality, they could just as easily be running two separate conferences. Each breakout session has about 10 trainings from which you can choose. But three are very specific to people with tech knowledge; seven are more general interest. I tended to focus on labor/economics/poverty in the sessions I attended. Much of the discussion was a perfect fit for the issues that I work on every day as a County Supervisor. A few highlights: affordable housing; what we can learn from recent populist economic victories; gun violence prevention; and local responses to recent Supreme Court decisions.

The number of “celebrities” at the conference was significantly lower than in 2019. Interestingly, my Facebook memory on Saturday was from this conference 4 years ago, and showed me chatting with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. I did have an opportunity to chat briefly with Randi Weingarten, President of my union (AFT), which was cool. But it was only because I recognized her.

In 2019 there seemed to be more Iowa folks present. This time, I only found one fellow Iowan – my friend Kate Revaux, who was there with some fellow NARAL employees. It was great to see Kate, but we didn’t get to hang out much during the conference.

The conference itself was younger and more diverse than in 2019, which is saying something. Only about 10% of presenters at the conference were white men. (They were not missed, FWIW!) The labor presence was lower than in 2019, and I think that helped to add to the disunity I will describe later.

Markos Moulitas spoke during one of the General Sessions, and noted how much progress has been made since the 2000 election. He noted that today there are over 100 members of the House Progressive Caucus; only 6 Blue Dogs remain. Rather than Joe Liebermann as a VP candidate, we had Kamala Harris. The Democratic Party has flipped the script when it comes to the issues of choice, LGBTQ+, labor, healthcare, drugs, and so much more. The late 90s and early 2000s were NOT good times for progressives! And yes, we have done much better since. (Here is where I insert the obligatory “But we have much more work to do.”)

Now for the tough part. There were some bad moments at this conference. Both highlight, to me, the challenges of maintaining the Democratic Party “Big Tent” coalition we currently enjoy. Here are two of the biggest issues that arose:

First instance - I was in a session on Universal Basic Income (UBI) that had three panelists – a African American (AA) man from Chicago, a AA woman from Chicago, and a Latina from New Mexico. There were a lot of questions in the audience – How is it funded? How much per month? Who is eligible? How does it work (or not) with other benefits programs? What have been the results so far? How are results measured?

Instead, the AA woman really wanted to focus on the narrative. She said something to the effect of: “They keep asking you questions. It doesn’t matter what the question is. You have to tell the story. You explain that before UBI, this was Keisha’s situation. After UBI, here is how life improved for Keisha and her kids.”

I totally get this. Controlling the narrative is critical. I understand why this was her focus. You need to do this with the media, where you often only get 30 seconds. But then the two Chicagoans stuck to that. So none of the questions above got answered.

Then at one point, the issue of race was brought up. The AA woman replied, “You have to do this without white people! No white people out there are going to save you! Black women did this work! Quit worshipping white billionaires and get behind some black women!”

The comment drew some applause, some groans, and mostly silence. I understand where she is coming from. When we talk about UBI there is a tendency to focus on Libertarian Silicon Valley tech bros rather than the black women who are doing a lot of the grunt work implementing these programs. She’s totally correct there.

But then, a young AA organizer from Portland spoke up. She said, “Look, I live in Portland. I have to have white allies.” The AA woman from Chicago stuck to her guns – “You need to do this without white people!”

Again there was some applause, some groans, and some silence. There was also pretty obvious discomfort from the Latina panelist. I felt pretty discouraged, being from a place just as white as Portland.

The session soon ended, and while a couple of people appeared to be very energized, most sulked away. I am guessing that they, like me, felt as though an opportunity was missed.

I think it is important to note that the presenter had some really good and really important points. But it felt as though the focus remained on those points too long. Granted, that is the opinion of an old, white, straight, middle class man. I could be wrong. But it just didn’t work for me, and apparently didn’t work for several others.

Second instance – Moulitos was doing an interview with 3 members of Congress: Pamila Jayrapal of Seattle, Chair of the Progressive Caucus; Chuy Garcia, Congressman from Chicago; and Jan Schakowsky, Congresswoman from the Chicago area. They were going to speak about the more progressive direction the Democratic Party has taken over the past 20-25 years, how it happened, why it has been good, and what the future holds. Again, I was REALLY looking forward to this session.

Then, suddenly, the session was interrupted. A large group of mostly young, mostly Muslim conference participants began protesting Schakowsy’s record on Israel and Palestine. No one could see, and no one could hear. The conference was at a standstill.

Moulitas tried to intervene, and I thought he did so very poorly. Schakowsky addressed the group, and said, “I promise to talk to you after the session.” She got booed so loudly that no one could hear, anyway. She said to Jayrapal, “I’ll just leave,” but Jayrapal asked her to stay.

Jayrapal then started speaking, and explained the Progressive Caucus stance on the topic. During this, she called Israel “a racist state.” The next day, she walked that back, saying that she meant Netanyahu and his party were racist, rather than all the people of Israel.

This has always been a third rail in American politics. I don’t actually think it is all that difficult: Israel has a right to exist. There should be a two-state solution. And the Netanyahu government is absolutely racist. But just like I didn’t want to be defined by Donald Trump when he was our President, many Israelis do not feel represented by Netanyahu.

And the politics are changing. Americans (including American Jews) used to have a much different attitude on the plight of Palestinians. It reminds me a bit of when I was in college in the early 80s. There was a lot of protesting the government of South Africa. Soon attitudes shifted. Before long, Apartheid was over.

Meanwhile, the crowd began breaking down along lines of “identity.” There were some Jewish attendees who came to Schakowksy’s defense. A number of Latinx attendees got agitated because they felt Garcia (who said nothing) had been disrespected. This led to loud and angry shouting between some Muslim folks and Latinx folks that actually had to be broken up.

A large AA gentleman named Reggie who is on the Netroots Board came out and attempted to calm everyone. He told the protesters, “You have been heard.” He encouraged everyone to follow the lead of MLK, and “Give the respect you seek.” It fell on deaf ears.

The session ended – it never actually occurred, but time was up. A large group continued to chant after the session; a few people expressed their displeasure as they walked out.

The amount of irony here was almost too much to comprehend. Earlier that same day, crowds cheered as Tennessee State Rep Justin Jones talked about how he failed to follow the rules of protest in the Tennessee House. Many people noted, rightfully so, that protesters are always policed as to where and when they can protest.

And perhaps my biggest concern is that the deepest divide in the room was probably age. People under 30 tended to join with the protesters. Young people do not feel that our system works, and for good reason. It is easy for them to just disengage, and say, “A pox on all your houses.” Democrats cannot afford to lose young people, and they must deliver something for them.

The three members of Congress on stage that day are all minorities. They are also three of the most progressive members of Congress. I looked at Schakowsky’s record on Israel and Palestine – I found it to be remarkably progressive for an older Jew whose district is home to tens of thousands of Jews. Her stance is in agreement with Jayrapal about 80%. And Schakowsky herself has been a target of hateful rhetoric by the Oath Keepers and other hate groups. It can be scary to be a Jew in the US in 2023!

Do the young folks have a right to demand more from her? Of course! Do they owe her a certain amount of respect? Definitely. More than she received that day? I think so. Is protest of this sort OK? Yes. How much is too much, and who gets to decide that? I obviously have no answer.

Unfortunately, this incident reminded me of several local incidents. It is indicative of the challenges we face as part of a big, diverse coalition. I do not have the answers here. I simply know we cannot allow ourselves to be torn asunder.

A friend of mine noted that Republicans understand that you need to first have power; then you can debate the policy you want. Democrats divide over policy differences, but rarely seize power. It is definitely easier to hypothetically say what you would do rather than getting elected and doing it.

Later that day, a meme began making the rounds at the conference. It goes like this: “If you put black ants and red ants together in a terrarium, they leave each other alone. If you shake the terrarium, the ants begin to kill each other. But the other ants aren’t the enemy. It is someone else who is shaking the terrarium. As humans, we do the same thing. We turn on each other, when we need to be thinking about who is shaking the terrarium.” Amen to that!

*DID YOU KNOW? Netroots 2024 is in Baltimore, Maryland in mid-July.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

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---Rod

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SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

July 26, 2023

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