Dear Friends,
American had a really bad day on Tuesday. And Pennsylvania had it worse than most states. We are, as you know, a swing state and when the nation swings, we swing harder more than most states. Despite all the good work Penn ACTION did (preliminary details here), we lost five Democratic members of Congress who were strong supporters of health care reform. We lost races for Governor and Senate. And we lost the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
So where do we progressive go from here? We will be discussing this for some time, but let me share with you some initial thoughts.
A referenda on the economy
First, we have to see this election as what it was, a referenda on the sad state of the economy. There is little evidence that there was any substantial shift in the fundamental beliefs of Americans about politics. America is a divided nation. Neither we progressives nor the conservatives are able to build an enduring majority. That leaves a great deal of power in the hands of people in the middle who swing from one side to another and who, frankly, are not the best informed voters. I continue to believe that that we have the potential to create a progressive majority, but we clearly have much more work to do before we get there.
Turnout
Second, the second major factor determining the vote was, as we always said it would be, turnout. The final results will show, I believe that our side turned out pretty well for mid-term election. But the other side did better. We at Penn ACTION tried very hard to stem the tide in a few places around the state–and I think the results will show we had some success. But we didn’t have the resources to do this everywhere in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania will swing back
Given the first two points, the third is clear: we can turn things around here in Pennsylvania, and do so sooner rather than later. Even if we do little, Pennsylvania is likely to swing back in a progressive direction in 2012 when more of the electorate is mobilized and if national political trends are more favorable. Will they be? We can’t say for sure. But I expect the Republicans to overreach and support proposals–cutting Social Security and Medicare and funding for education, reducing taxes for the rich, further exploiting off-shore oil and the Marcellus Shale without any environmental safeguards–that harm and offend working people and the middle class. As we discovered in the last two years, it is, unfortunately, easier to move people to stop change than to create it. So we will have the political advantage of fighting off conservative ideas that will alienate the majority of Pennsylvanians.
If we are prepared to take advantage of shifting national trends, we will do even better. That means:
A clear and consistent progressive / populist message
Fourth, we need to have a clear and consistent political message, one that can deepen support for our political ideals. That means more than just standing against threatening Republican proposals. It means articulating a vision of what American should look like, one that points to the importance of working together to attain our common goals and that, yes, points to the necessity and importance of government in attaining them. And it also means capturing the populist energy and even anger that the Republicans successfully turned against us in the last year.
I believe that a major reason that the nation impatiently turned against President Obama and the Democrats in Congress is that neither the President nor our Congressional leaders articulated such a positive vision of government. Nor did they capture the anger of Americans about the economy. They failed to mobilize people against the Wall Street bankers and insurance companies that are the real source of misery for so many of us. We in HCAN tried to create heat against insurance companies. But we had little support from our political leaders for this important message. And that enabled the right, and especially the tea partiers, to direct the anger in our country against President Obama and Democrats.
Thus when government spending increased to meet the economic emergency, as it should have–and when the banks were bailed out–we were vulnerable to charges that government was creating more economic problems than it was solving. We know that this is not true. But we can’t expect the vast majority of the American people, who pay little attention to politics, to understand the importance of government, and the dangers of unregulated corporations, if we don’t say it again and again and again.
We have two years to build a base of people who understand this basic message before the next election. As the Republicans go too far, we need to show people just how important government is to them. We need to start doing so immediately.
Organizing
And so, fifth, we need to organize to deliver this clear and consistent message.
We know that, after Citizens United, we can’t match the resources the other side has to run TV ads. But we also know that people are more likely to believe their friends and neighbors than the ads they see on TV. The power of organized people can beat the power of organized money.
Over the next few years in Pennsylvania, we have to build our base of support, finding at least another 30,000 progressives to add to the 15,000 of you who are getting this email. We need to organize local progressive groups in every city and county in the state who are ready to take action. We need to use that base of support to get our progressive vision out in all the daily and weekly papers in the state in op-ed pieces and letters to the editor. We need to hold town meetings that articulate our ideals. And we need to be prepared to march and protest when Republicans call for cutting Social Security or Unemployment Insurance or Medicare or repealing the Affordable Care Act or for taking other unpopular actions.
What we have to do to make this happen
Building this kind of organizational effort is going to be hard. All of you are going to have to take part in it. Penn ACTION, along with the other groups we partner with, is ready to help. We’ll keep articulating a progressive message and provide you with the guidance from Washington and Harrisburg and materials–posters, fliers, talking points, drafts of letters to the editor–you need to be effective. We will put our staff at your disposal to help your organizing efforts in every corner of the state.
This organizing effort will take time and we’re going to need your help. I plan on going on the road in the next few months to meet with local groups of progressives so that we can talk about where we go from here and start building local organizations. If you are willing to host such a meeting, either at your own home or at neighborhood coffee shop, restaurant, or bar, please let me know at MarcStier@pennaction.org.
I’d also like to hold some training sessions for activists around the state, in which we hold sessions on planning and carrying out political events; dealing with the media; lobbying political officials; and building our base. If you would like to help arrange such a training in your area, please let me know, again at MarcStier@pennaction.org.
Resources: Join Penn ACTION
This organizing effort is also going to take a lot of resources. As a swing state, Pennsylvania can count on national support. So, just as Penn ACTION brought almost $150,000 in national money for the 2010 election effort, I hope we can bring in substantial resources to support your organizing efforts in 2011 and 2012.
But to secure national money, we are going to have to raise substantial resources in Pennsylvania as well. We are on the way to doing that. In the last three weeks, I’ve received commitments of $30,000 from major Pennsylvania donors and more is on the way. We are also working to secure support from major foundations for our education work.
But that will not be enough. We also need you and other Pennsylvania progressives to become dues paying members of Penn ACTION. Everything you contribute will help us raise money from national institutions foundations, and major donors.
In the next day or so, I’m going to be sending out an appeal for you to contribute $25.00 to become Penn ACTION members. But you don’t have to wait for that email, you can contribute now by clicking here.
Never give up the fight
We progressive are trying to bend history to create a more just and prosperous political community. It is hard, frustrating work, especially during weeks like this one. But you know, from your work on the HCAN and other campaigns, that there is progress to be made and joy to be found in political action–connections with not just your friends and neighbors but with a national movement to realize the ideal of America.
So, don’t let this difficult moment stop you. At this difficult moment, redouble your commitment to progressive activism by
• Becoming a dues paying member of Penn ACTION today
• Signing up our website
• Offering to host a meet-up or training for activists by contacting me at MarcStier@pennaction.org
Marc
PS I’m also posting this email on our new website, http://pennaction.org. If you have comments and questions, I hope you will raise them there. Look under groups for “Where we go from here” for the post and commentary.
Marc Stier
Executive Director
Penn ACTION
MarcStier@pennaction.org
(215) 880-6142