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Democrats have a tough time getting into the trenches. This has been clear from the beginning of the Obama era, when the Tea Party was able to thwart a number of progressive policy initiatives, despite being a political minority. It became frustratingly apparent when Senate Republicans successfully blocked federal Justice Merrick Garlands nomination to the Supreme Court for an unprecedented 293 days.

Facing partisan impediments at nearly every turn over the past eight years, congressional Democrats chose to take the high road. They chose to place their faith in the system, believing that if only they could weather the storm, the ship would right itself, and the Republican Party would be exposed and punished for their unyielding obstructionism.

The Democrats were wrong. Sure, progressives faced down Republican obstruction and came out with the moral high ground, but from a pragmatic standpoint, that hasnt earned Democrats much. Garland is not sitting on the Supreme Court and his spot is likely to be filled by another ultraconservative justice in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. And Republicans control not only the White House, but both houses of Congress as well.

After Novembers elections, progressives across the country knew that they would be facing serious political adversity at both a national and local level. Outside of Washington, Republicans control 33 governors houses and 32 state legislatures. Across the country, Democrats cannot currently propose and enact policy in any substantial, meaningful way. Instead, they must play defense, focusing their efforts on fighting dangerous and unconstitutional actions in much the same way the conservatives once fought the Obama agenda.

Many pockets of resistance are inspired by the Indivisible Guide, a now 26page document originally released in December by former progressive congressional staffers. The guide outlines methods of fighting the Trump agenda. Since the guides release, Indivisible groups have sprung up in every congressional district, and they currently number more than 5,000 nationwide. There are two Indivisible groups in Oberlin alone one affiliated with the College and one with the greater community.

The Indivisible strategy is simple: Obstruct President Donald Trumps agenda in much the same way that the Tea Party, and later the Republican Party, were able to slow or stop key progressive initiatives during the Obama years.

According to the guides authors, the Tea Partys success was based on two strategies. First, they were purely defensive, focused on saying no to Obamas agenda rather than presenting policies of their own. Second, they acted locally, targeting elected officials at events in their home states.

In these ways, Indivisible is inspired by the Tea Party, although the authors make the difference between the two groups clear: according to the guide, Indivisible is grounded in facts, and people in opposition to Trump comprise the majority of the country, while alliance to the Tea Party was a minority position nationally.

For many progressives, the tactical shift from focusing on maintaining the moral high ground to concentrating on obstructing regressive policy changes is a welcome one. Democrats spent a lot of time following the rules over the past eight years, and that idealism has been costly.

However, after coming out on the losing side of the 2016 election despite having faith that the American people would punish Republicans for their obstructionism, Democrats are finally realizing that the old rules of bipartisan cooperation dont work the same way they used to.

Due to the work of groups like Indivisible, progressives even those in conservative districts are seeing the beginnings of tangible breakthroughs. Confirmation votes for Trumps cabinet appointees were among the most contentious in history. Progressives nearly blocked Betsy DeVos nomination as education secretary due to a flurry of furious phonebanking. Angry constituents also let their representatives know that they oppose a straight repeal of the Affordable Care Act, pushing Republican legislators to be more cautious with the issue. On a local level, protesters held congresspeoples feet to the fire last week at town halls across the country, including right here in Ohios Fourth District.

Nobody enjoys partisan gridlock. But the current political reality in the U.S. is that obstruction works. Voters rewarded Republicans for it. Democrats refused to face that reality and now face opposition from the White House, Congress and state legislatures across the country.

For Democrats, there is a silver lining, however: Through groups like Indivisible, progressives are finally learning how to fight back.

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Progressives Learn From Tea Party - The Oberlin Review

posted at 6:21 pm on March 1, 2017 by Ed Morrissey

This new progressive project, called We Will Replace You, could just as easily be called Operation Cutting Off Our Noses to Spite Our Faces. According to The Hill, the frustration from the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party will take aim at Senate Democrats they deem to be too cooperative with the Donald Trump administration. They plan to challenge those Democratic incumbents in primaries next year as punishment for straying from the resistance:

We fundamentally reject the assumption that Democrats can only win in red states by pandering to racists and big bankers, said Claire Sandberg, a co-founder of the progressive political action committee We Will Replace You.

The way we beat Trumpism and take back Congress and statehouses is offering a coherent vision of our own to put people back to work. We dont need to completely compromise our own values and principles.

We Will Replace You is the most visible effort gearing up to back primary challenges from the left. Spearheaded by a group of progressives, including two former senior staffers on Sen. Bernie Sanderss (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, the groups website includes a warning for Democrats looking to avoid a competitive primary race.

Do everything you can to Resist Trump, or we will replace you with someone who will, the groups statement reads.

Well, thats quite a choice either lose a general election or lose a primary. The progressives at WWRY argue that Democrats can retain these seats through a purity campaign that will turn out like-minded voters enough to beat Republicans in these states. Progressives tried that strategy in at least one winnable state in 2016, the Senate election in Wisconsin, with disastrous results. Rather than look for a fresh face that might appeal to a changing electorate, they hauled Russ Feingold out of mothballs to run as a true progressive against incumbent Republican Ron Johnson. As they now argue, progressives figured that a presidential-turnout model and a pure candidate would provide more than enough turnout lift to win the seat back. Not only did they miscalculate on the turnout model, they also miscalculated on the attractiveness of progressivism in Wisconsin a state that had been turning red ever since Johnson and Scott Walker first won in 2010.

This project takes aim at Joe Manchin (WV) and Heidi Heitkamp (ND) most, but probably will attempt to put pressure on Claire McCaskill (MO), Jon Tester (MO), and Joe Donnelly (IN) too, among others. Manchin could just decide to switch parties if progressives attempt to primary him, as he remains very popular at home, leaving Democrats with a huge hole and a thin bench in West Virginia to fill it. Donnelly and McCaskill are on thin ice in very red states, and a progressive primary challenge might force them to abandon moderate Republican support in the general election. McCaskill only won her last election by hand-picking Todd Akin as her opponent, and Donnelly only won his first Senate election because of a purity campaign against then-incumbent Richard Lugar. With Ryan Zinke out of the way, Tester has the best chance of escaping a tough challenge unless progressives force Tester to go left, in which case Republicans might be able to grab that seat with a lesser-known candidate. Pushing any of these to the Left would be suicidal, and in Donnellys case deliciously ironic.

How serious is this effort, though? The inclusion of former Sanders staffers makes it look at least potentially significant. That also provides another point of irony, however. WWRY explains their threshold for action on the home page of their website:

Three Democratic Senators voted yes to confirm Rex Tillerson, a Big Oil baron with close ties to Putin who conspired to destroy our climate by suppressing evidence about global warming. Fourteen Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to confirm Rep. Mike Pompeo to be our new CIA director, despite Pompeos past Islamophobic remarks and ties to far-right conspiracy theorists, his position in favor of unconstitutional surveillance on Americans, and his enthusiastic support for torture and secret detention. And Senate Democrats like Dick Durbin, Claire McCaskill, and Jon Tester have all voiced the opinion that Trumps Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch deserves a fair shakeafter Republicans refused to even meet with President Obamas nominee Merrick Garland for almost a year and effectively stole a Supreme Court nomination.

This cannot stand. We will only defeat Republicans on the local, state, and federal level if we go on the offensive.

The irony? Bernie Sanders himself doesnt meet this standard, having voted to confirm three of Trumps Cabinet picks so far. If Sanders doesnt pass a progressive purity standard, its probably not worth imposing.

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Progressives begin push to primary red-state Senate Dems for being too Trump-friendly - Hot Air

Forbes

Progressives Need To Rethink Poverty Solutions Forbes More than 50 years ago I entered the war on poverty as a foot soldier with all the eager enthusiasm one could muster. The attempt to eliminate poverty, enthroned in the bills passed by Congress and spearheaded by President Lyndon B. Johnson was a noble ...

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Progressives Need To Rethink Poverty Solutions - Forbes

Perimeter Progressives, a local group formed in response to President Trumps election, drew more than 60 residents and several elected officials to its debut meeting Feb. 28 in Dunwoody.

Joe Seconder, a well-known Dunwoody bicycling advocate who created the group, told the crowd that he intends to focus on local politics with an appeal to both Democrats like himself and disaffected centrists as well. He spoke of city-level organizing as a way to push changes up to the federal level, though he didnt specify any agenda.

The Perimeter Progressives logo on display at the Feb. 28 debut meeting at Cafe Intermezzo in Dunwoody. (Photo John Ruch)

We can meet in the middle, Seconder said, kicking off the gathering at Caf Intermezzo, a coffee house near Perimeter Mall. But he also joked, This is the celebration party for Hillary [Clinton] winning Dunwoody in liberal-rousing election results in the Republican-dominated area. State Rep. Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville) also spoke briefly, calling for making Georgia blue from the statehouse to the White House.

Other officials in attendance included Dunwoody City Councilmember Lynn Deutsch, who declined comment, and Chamblee City Councilmembers Thomas Hogan II and Brian Mock. Stumping for votes were Ron Slotin, a Democratic former state senator from Sandy Springs now running for the 6th Congressional District seat, and Keenan Pontoni, the campaign manager for Jon Ossoff, another Democratic candidate in that race. Sally Harrell, a Democratic former state representative who briefly joined the 6th District race, also attended.

Residents of such areas as Brookhaven, Sandy Springs and Gwinnett County made the trip for the event.

For longtime liberal activists like Keith and Nancy Kaylor of Dunwoody, the event was exciting. The Kaylors have both run for local and state offices and once formed a small Dunwoody chapter of the national political and socializing group Drinking Liberally.

Perimeter Progressives founder Joe Seconder, left, holds the microphone for Dunwoody Elementary student Carter Dyche, who led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. (Photo John Ruch)

Im totally awestruck at how many people are here, said Keith Kaylor, explaining that his group used to be lucky to draw five people. With Trumps election, he said, A lot of people really were complacent and we got a big shock.

Others were drawn by the groups appeal to centrism and local politics. Robert Wittenstein, president of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association, noted that Seconder spoke of the group representing a spectrum of political opinions, and Im somewhere in the middle.

Held on a covered patio with a buffet and bar, and only brief remarks from Seconder and Park, the low-key event was more cocktail party than political party. But where politics came up, they were decidedly left-wing.

Tamara Johnson-Shealey, a Democrat who has unsuccessfully challenged Dunwoody Republican Fran Millar for the local state Senate seat, worked a table at the door, signing up people to volunteer on progressive campaigns. And the guest speaker announced for the groups next meeting heads an effort to elect candidates who support abortion rights.

Ron Slotin, left, a Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional District seat, and state Rep. Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville) pose while chatting outside before the Perimeter Progressives meeting. (Photo John Ruch)

The meeting opened with a Pledge of Allegiance playfully led by Carter Dyche, a Dunwoody Elementary School fifth-grader sporting a John Lewis Speaks For Me button, which he said he got from the congressman and Civil Rights leader during an office visit. When Seconder later mentioned Clintons strong showing locally, Dyche called out, Shes the president of Dunwoody!

At least 60 people attended the first hour, and organizers later said a total of 104 people signed in over the course of the evening. Seconder said the group raised more than $750 in donations at the door.

Some of the attendees mingle at the Perimeter Progressives meeting. (Photo John Ruch)

Several attendees noted that the group is part of a wave of new and revived grassroots liberal groups that has followed Trumps election. A very similar group is the Roswell-based Needles in a Haystack, founded in 2012. Other such liberal groups mentioned by attendees were a Gwinnett area chapter of the Indivisible movement; the Huddles that have come from the Womens March demonstrations in January; and Team Seven, a group of progressive activists that has quietly worked on Dunwoody and Sandy Springs elections for a few years.

Im seeing this all around the district, said Slotin. There are progressive groups popping up everywhereIts almost forming neighborhood by neighborhood.

The welcome table at the Perimeter Progressives meeting. (Photo John Ruch)

This election cycle has more groups than usual, said Pontoni, who also served as campaign manager for Michigan state Rep. Gretchen Driskells unsuccessful challenge of an incumbent GOP congressman in the November election.

People are starting to pay attention, especially to local politics, said Johnson-Shealey.

Democracy is a muscle, Park said in an interview before the meeting. To see it beginning to flex and people beginning to wake up is very encouraging.

Perimeter Progressives next will start monthly meetings at the Dunwoody Branch Library. The guest speaker at the March 8 meeting will be Melita Easters of Georgias WIN List, a political action committee aimed at electing Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights.

For more information, see perimeterprogressives.org.

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Perimeter Progressives political group draws crowd for debut - Reporter Newspapers

ATLANTA One of the protesters in the Atlanta Convention Center, angry and upset over the vote, directed his chants at the atrium full of Democrats.

Party for the people! Curtis Ries yelled. Party for the people!

Tom Perezs narrow victory over Keith Ellison in election to chair the Democratic National Committee a race progressives considered an urgent existential choice between the establishment and grassroots did not spur the massive backlash DNC officials feared in the end. But Ellisons defeat did leave some young, liberal activists with new disdain, as 28-year-old Ries put it, for institutional leadership for the party, for elected officials, the 447 DNC members with a say in the chair.

Liberal support for Ellison, a Minnesota congressman beloved by Bernie Sanders voters, was a very clear message, given to the party by its progressive base, by young people, Ries said. The DNC instead decided that they knew better.

The same frustration cycled through social media into this week: #DemExit hashtags, Facebook statuses on quitting the party, a Medium post for disappointed progressives advising activists to leave behind an organization of paying, craved, cynical lip-service and leaders who live to serve the establishment.

A party chair race rarely decides the direction of a political movement, and this one didnt. Perez, the 55-year-old former labor secretary, is taking the helm of a party still contending with ideological differences and unresolved questions about how Democrats will handle pressure from the left to resist President Trump at every turn.

Since the vote, Perez and Ellison have put forth a united front, making stops in Washington on Tuesday for the first time as chair and deputy chair of the DNC.

But in the wake of a the long-fought chairs race, where Perez was cast as an insider, he is also facing a group of young and progressive grassroots activists and voters who view Democratic Party politics with distrust, unease, or from a remove.

Jeff Weaver, Bernie Sanders former campaign manager, a Perez critic, and supporter of Ellisons, said that Saturdays vote had likely reinforced that distance.

I think there are a number of people now who have increased skepticism about the party, Weaver said after the DNC vote. It is incumbent on Tom Perez and the rest of the DNC to reach out to people who feel separated from the party, bring those people in, and let them know that the party is a place that welcomes them.

Sanders himself told CNN on Sunday that Perez would have to change is to figure out how we elect national Democratic leaders, adding that he was not quite impressed with the process that exists.

If we do not bring this new generation into institutional politics now, they may never get there, said former DNC chair Howard Dean, a backer of another candidate, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., who bowed out before voting. And that would be the end of the Democratic Party as a functional institution.

Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, one of several liberal groups that backed Ellison, said the congressmans experience as an organizer made him an ideal figure to close the gaps on the left. To actively build bridges between the Democratic Party and the grassroots base, he said.

Of Perez, Green said, This was not an ideological battle.

Perez, he noted, would have been PCCCs first choice for U.S. attorney general had Clinton won.

The lefts objection to Perez has to do in part with his entry into the race, and is centered not on policy but proximity to the Democratic Party establishment.

The week after the presidential election, Ellison launched his chairs bid and quickly secured top endorsements from Sanders and House and Senate Democrats, positioning his campaign as the link between grassroots activists and Washington.

One month later, Perez got in the race, followed by news reports declaring him the preferred candidate of Barack Obama. When Joe Biden endorsed weeks later, Sanders released a statement Do we stay with a failed status-quo approach?

Together with his role as a prominent surrogate for Hillary Clinton in last years campaign, the establishment label stuck. (Perezs resume is less commonplace: He is the first Latino chair of the DNC, a civil rights lawyer, and has only held public office once, on the Montgomery County Council in his home state of Maryland.)

In the three final days before this weekends vote, as the candidates made their final appeals to the DNCs 447 voting members in the meeting rooms and lobby bar of Atlantas Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel, there were warnings among progressives that a Perez victory would incite a revolt among the already alienated left wing.

Weaver, the former Sanders manager, made a splash in a MSNBC hit where he called Perezs candidacy divisive and referred to him as a candidate of the inside whose election would send a horrible message to millions and millions of people. A Glenn Greenwald column in the Intercept called him a party functionary.

When voting ended, the only brief protest inside the Atlanta Convention Center came from Ries and the other Ellison supporters.

The DNC race, the first contested chairs vote since the 1980s, spanned 15 weeks and drew a total of 11 candidates. Perez and Ellison, the frontrunners from the start, went through two long and tense rounds of votes on Saturday before the former labor secretary clinched the majority of votes from DNC members.

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Keith Ellison's Loss Leaves A Sour Taste For Progressives - BuzzFeed News