Former Obama Aid Leads Tea Party Counter-Punch
By Charles D. Ellison Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune
Seeking to match the intensity and scorched earth politics of the Tea Party movement, liberals are scrambling to muster their own form of grassroots punch to offset Republican momentum in 2012. Its a colorful patchwork of efforts seeking an opportunity to coalesce around one central theme, and it remains to be seen just how much Democrats and their leader, President Barack Obama, can gain from it.
Among plans to even the 2010 midterm score and take back lost ground is Rebuild the Dream, a new mix of progressive groups and organizations tightly wrapped as one of MoveOn.orgs more ambitious projects heading into next years cycle. But, its also a fresh new attempt by former Obama administration official Van Jones, the controversial White House environmental adviser fired from his gig in 2009, to recast himself as a leading voice in the Democratic universe. Observers say Jones is eagerly waiting for his political stars to align, teaming up with MoveOn.org not only as a way to bring muscle back into a deflated liberal movement, but to also use the opportunity as a platform for future ambitions.
Ari Melber in The Nation dubbed it the liberal alternative to the tea party with subtle praise for Jones as the next biggest thing in the progressive world. But, its still not clear the American Dream Movement, with its conspicuous patriotic tones, will be an effective counter punch to the down-and-dirty tea party rank and file.
Hiram Colleges Jason Johnson, author of One Day to Sell and a prominent political scientist, is skeptical.
That stuff does not work if you dont go to the mat for what you want, argues Johnson. Thats the thing about the tea party they dont have any real policy platform.
If [Jones] wants to create a movement like the tea party, then he has to obstruct until he gets what he wants. The movement is nothing but a bunch of words, means nothing if youre not willing to use it as a vehicle to force the change you want.
Johnson suggests Rebuild the Dream should be willing to primary Democrats into submission, similar to how tea party activists threatened Republicans in key Congressional districts with primary challenges.
ColorofChange.org Executive Director Rashad Robinson partly attributes some of RTBs growing pains to it still growing and being relatively young. I think theyre just getting started and its been less than a year.
And while ColorofChange might be highlighted as a major partner in the RTB consortium of liberal titans like Sierra Club, Daily Kos, AFSCME and others, Robinson is quick to emphasize that our work is separate from Rebuild the Dream.
But, Robinson cautions against Rebuild the Dream or any movement making this only about the election. Voting is just a piece of political participation, argues Robinson. Many on the left confuse an election with a movement. Its not about a candidate.
Latest Stories
- Leaders Network Financial and Great Lakes Credit Union Open Permanent Branch in Austin Neighborhood of Chicago
- DUSABLE MUSEUM TRUSTEE CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE U.S. AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
- ASSESSOR HOSTS 2024 MARKET INVESTOR DAY
- One Night Only Performance Show Dance Company Entering ‘New Horizons’
- New Choice Intervention Provides Much Needed Mental Health Services To The Community
- University of Chicago Program Brings Mavis Staples To Campus
- Larry’s Barber College Set For Expansion Of Facility And Education Programs
- Art Exhibit Shows And Tells The Stories Of Widows
- Introducing Shot Bar's New Location
- Illinois Reparations Coalition Advocates for Guaranteed Income Program as Drug War Reparations
Latest Podcast
Sydney Blaylock-The local skater with national experience
