Category: Politics

No comments

You are my heroes

  By Health Care, Political Organizing

I spoke tonight at the beginning of the health care week being put on by the Penn Democrats. With the news that Harry Reid had decided to put a public option in the bill he intends to bring to the floor, it was a good night to be speaking. I gave a different kind of speech than usual, putting our campaign for health care reform in the context of the revival of progressive politics. I’ll write that up soon. But on this very good day for our campaign when we have seen some inkling of success coming from our hard work over the past fifteen months, I did want to post the following reconstruction of my closing remarks. I said at the beginning of my talk that the election of Barack Obama was the start of the rebirth of progressive politics in America. And I said that to keep this… Continue reading

No comments

Coming Attractions: Learning from getting older

  By About me, Philosophy, Political Organizing

I wrote this essay about four years ago and have revised it from time to time since. I’ve started to post it once or twice but hesitated because, as a friend of mine said, “it’s awfully personal.” But I was looking for another piece of writing on my computef today and took a look at this again and decided both that I really like it and that it might be useful the people for whom it was written—my younger political and academic friends. With a few exceptions, I’ve left this written as it was when I last revised it two years ago, before I ran for Council and became a full time political organizer. I’ve just updated it in a few places to talk about the health care campaign I’m currently running in Pennsylvania I have been thinking about getting older lately. Partly this is because I turned fifty not… Continue reading

No comments

The dangers of Philadelphia’s zoning code revision for neighborhoods

  By Neighborhoods, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics, Urbanism

I’ve been predicting for some time that the Philadelphia zoning code revision is going to be the next flashpoint for progressives. I’ve been concerned that a zoning code commission heavily weighted towards developers will attempt to limit the power of community groups to guide development in their neighborhoods. So I’m not surprised to that at YPP Matt Ruben has pointed out that a provision in the zoning code revision would undermine the impact of community groups over the zoning process. Matt and others have suggested some ways to improve the process. I’m not yet sure we have the best solution although some of the ideas put forward on that thread are good starting points. But one problem with the whole reform process is being missed in this discussion. Paul Boni points out that community groups generally are welcome at the ZBA, Planning Commission, and Historical Commission. This is true and… Continue reading

No comments

You can help make the PA Senate a little bluer!!!

  By Pennsylvania

You know how frustrated you are with the Republican determination to cut god things out the state budget. This weekend you can do something about it. Volunteer to help Anne Scheuring win Tuesday’s special Senate election in the 24th district by contacting her campaign at info@dsscc.org or info@annescheuring.com Continue reading

No comments

Vote no on the Senate version of HB 1828

  By Labor, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Sometimes there are no good choices. No one wants the city of Philadelphia to adopt Plan C, the plan to balance the budget by drastically cutting services. And there is a risk that if the State House votes down the Senate version of HB 1828 we will wind up with it. But that is far from certain. There is time for further negotiation between the House and the Senate. Labor has some influence over some Republican state senators. And now that organized labor has recognized how bad 1828 it could put its whole force behind a clean bill that allows Philadelphia to raise the sales tax and reduce pension spending. And there is a long way to go before we can rule out City Council passing other, possibly better, taxes that replace sales tax revenues if 1828 is never passed. What is certain, however, is that 1828 violates a principle… Continue reading

No comments

Where is the movement? Notes on the PA HCAN campaign.

  By Health Care, Pennsylvania, Politics, US

Pretty much every day for the last few weeks, I talk to  a health care activist last week who is freaking out about the ups and downs in Congressional consideration of health care. “Relax” I said. “There are always ups and downs whenever Congress is considering any important legislation. There is always  a great deal of tension and division and dispute—some of it is real and some of it is posturing. We are going to win, because we are building a real movement for historic reform.” “But where is that movement?” he said. It’s a good question. And I have to say that, despite my spending twenty five years as a political scientist who sometimes taught and wrote about political and social movements, I don’t think I ever understood what a political movement was until this moment. I understand what one is now because at this moment I’m kind of… Continue reading

No comments

Escaping gravity: some reflections on organizing

  By A political memoir, Political Organizing

To see a world in a grain of sand…And eternity in an hour. Blake Caress the details. Nabokov Organizing is hard, often frustrating work. It takes an enormous amount of energy to get people to fit their personal vision into a collective effort and even more to help them focus on what matters as opposed to what doesn’t. In doing this work you have to deal with every sort of personal quirk and idiosyncrasy found in a, hopefully, large group of people. Of course, as an organizer you are also part of an broad effort to make life better for people. And if you are organizing in a democratic fashion, your goal is to empower people, to lift them and their ideals up, and give them a vision of a better world that they themselves have created. Doing that kind of work is inspiring. But sometimes the disconnect between our… Continue reading

No comments

Why Red, Yellow, and Blue Dogs are all going to support Health Care Reform.

  By Health Care, US

Everyone who favors health care reform, including me, is worried about the Blue Dog Democrats. As the state director of Health Care For America Now in PA, I’m concerned about the five blue dog Democrats in Pennsylvania and our staff, volunteers and I are working as hard as we can to keep all of them on the straight and narrow. We have a long week ahead of us dealing with the Blue Dogs. But I think we are going to win, for two reasons. One is the enormous pressure we are going to bring on Blue Dogs, from our coalition partners and the activists we identified. I’m building and talking and writing about that pressure fifteen hours a day, so I won’t say that much about it here. Instead I want to consider a second reason: given the political logic of the moment, while a lot of the Blue Dogs… Continue reading

No comments

The question remains, which side are you on?

  By Health Care, Politics, US

We are reaching a critical moment in the effort to reform health care in America this year, a moment in which we will find out who is serious about addressing the health care crisis we have we have in this country and who is not. Everyone knows problem: health insurance for the middle class is becoming more and more uncertain for two reasons. The first is that that the costs of health insurance are rising far faster than wages. Health insurance premiums have doubled over the last 9 years, going up three times faster than wages. As costs rise, health care becomes unaffordable for individuals and businesses drop health care coverage for their employees, The second reason is that insurance companies deny people coverage and care. In the fine print of insurance policies are provisions that limit lifetime benefits that enable insurance companies to decide that a treatment we need… Continue reading

No comments

The Republican Gang of Six and the PA State Budget

  By Federal Budget, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Budget

In Pennsylvania today, we face an budget crisis of huge proportions. In the face of drastically reduced revenues due to the recession, the state faces a enormous deficit. And there are only two ways to deal with it. The Republicans in the State Senate have proposed massive reductions in state spending that would had devastating effects on education and health care, particularly for children. The Democrats, lead by Governor Rendell, have proposed temporarily raising the state income tax, which is one of the lowest in the country. The state budget crisis is all about the Republicans in Pennsylvania being captured by the extreme anti-tax, anti-government ideology that has dominated the Republican party in the South and West for years but is relatively new here. These ain’t your grandfather’s Republicans. And, frankly, when Republicans control the Senate by ten seats, I’m not sure there is all that much we can do… Continue reading