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Yes, Virginia, there is a progressive movement in Philadelphia

  By Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Reposted from YPP http://youngphillypolitics.com/yes_virginia_there_progressive_movement_philadelphia There have been a couple of interesting threads at YPP recently that discuss what it means to be a progressive in Philadelphia and whether we really have anything worth being called a progressive movement in the city. And there was a great article in the City Paper this week that makes a pretty good case that there is such a movement but also pointed to some of the tensions within it. I’ve been pretty sick with flu-like symptoms all week and today I spent my first day at home since late December. So I have a little time to stop and think and take stock in where we are. I want to, as quickly as possible, discuss four issues: (1) What makes for a progressive movement as far as ideology goes; (2) Whether there are real ideological divisions within the progressive movement today; (3) Is the… Continue reading

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The second time as farce

  By Elections and Voting, My 2007 Campaign

The spate of challenges by progressives to their competitors reminds me of the famous lines of Karl Marx: “Hegel says that history repeats itself. He forgets to add, the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” If the first time was the establishment’s use of technical challenges to undermine progressives, the second time is the progressives’ use of the same kinds of challenges to undermine their competitors. I certainly understand why candidates working incredibly hard to win an election are inclined to use every means in the book to do so. And I also understand why they are tempted to use the old guard’s tactics against the old guard, especially when so many of us have suffered because of those tactics. But revenge is never a good motive to do anything. All these challenges on the basis of the statement of financial interests are not really in keeping… Continue reading

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The Great U-turn (on casinos and more)

  By Casinos, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

with Christina Michaels and Daniel Hunter Ever turned onto a highway only to find yourself driving the wrong way?  The road goes on for miles without a turn, taking you further and further away from the right path.  Suddenly, up ahead, there’s a u-turn – your chance to finally head back in the right direction. That’s what the May primaries will be about.  Our City government leadership has been heading the wrong direction.  And up ahead, is the possibility of a u-turn and the chance to get back on course. Already in the fight against slots parlors and campaign “un-finance” reform we are seeing some glimmers of the u-turn to come. Continue reading

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Transit action today / Reflections on the State and the City

  By Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

SEPTA is, again, in crisis. The projected deficit for the next fiscal year is well over $100 million dollars. To close that deficit, SEPTA will have to institute both fare increases and service reductions of about 25%. This would be an economic and social disaster for the city and the region. Little is being done in Harrisburg to address the crisis. The Pennsylvania Transit Coalition, on whose steering committee I have sat since its founding, is conducting a leafleting campaign today at 4:00 pm at both Market East and Suburban Stations. We will be targeting suburbanites getting on their trains and will give them leaflets that ask them to call their state Senators and Representatives. I hope a lot of you can take an hour or so and attend this event. If you plan to do so, contact info@patransit.org and we will tell you exactly where in the stations you… Continue reading

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Casinos and Council: my testimony

  By Casinos

There is as old joke heard at political conventions: by the third day everything has been said but not everyone has said it. It is now almost five pm and these hearings began at ten am. So, I’m sure that by now everything has been said but not everyone has said it. So I will be brief. Casinos have been a bad deal for everyone in the city since the beginning. By now you have heard all the reasons that casinos are bad for us: • Gambling is a regressive form of taxation. • Gambling leads to crime and prostitution. • Compulsive gambling undermines families. And casinos are a particularly bad idea on our waterfront: • The casinos will bring all the burdens I just mentioned to strong residential neighborhoods • The casinos will undermine our port, which has the potential for tremendous growth and the addition of thousands of… Continue reading

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We deserve better: a reform agenda beyond the committee of seventy proposal

  By Campaign Finance Reform, Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Bob Moses was an important leader in SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which played a major role in the latter half of the Civil Rights movement.  I had the great privilege of meeting him when I was in College. When he organized in deep Mississippi he said the first thing to do was to teach people that they deserve better then what they have. He understood that thinking you deserve more, gives people a reason to fight for what’s right. If I could do anything for Philadelphia, that would be it – make us believe we deserve better, and give us hope that we can attain it. Recent debates on Philadelphia  campaign finance laws are one more story of our broken politics – at several levels.  We deserve better than the bill proposed by Councilman Kenny, which proposed huge increases in the caps on campaign contributions.  We need to… Continue reading

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This year, politics in Philadelphia will be different

  By Philadelphia, Progressive Politics

Something really extraordinary happened in Philadelphia politics in the last two weeks. A usually respected Councilman introduced legislation that would have, for all practical purposes, eliminated contribution limits in the Mayoral election. The bills had sponsorship from a majority of Council members and almost every member of Council was ready to vote for it. And yet, after an outcry from progressive leaders, editorial page writers, and challengers to the incumbents from all over the city, the bill was withdrawn today. This is a major victory for the progressive movement in the city. And it is evidence of something I have been seeing out on the streets for the last three months. This year, politics in Philadelphia is going to be different. Continue reading

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Hope, fear and casinos

  By Casinos, Philadelphia

For long enough we’ve been told the casinos are coming.  We have heard this long enough that it should have taken hold.  It hasn’t, despite the politics of fear in our city that encourage us to acquiesce to our continually the broken politics. Now, however, anti-casino advocates have picked up an idea I suggested a few weeks ago, to put a legally-binding question on the ballot: do you believe slots casinos should be in Philly’s neighborhoods? Getting the 20,000 valid signatures we need to get this proposition on the May ballot can block the casinos and help us keep building a politics of hope. So what’s the deal? Continue reading

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The politics of fear and the costs of corruption

  By Philadelphia, Politics, Ward politics

How great are the costs of corruption in Philadelphia? I once got into a debate with a friend at Young Philly Politics about this. My friend argued that corruption really doesn’t cost us a great deal. My view, contained in this revised version of my response to him, is that there are all kinds of corruption in the city. Some of them just cost us money, although I suspect the amount is much larger than my friend realizes. Other kinds of corruption systematically undermine the way the city operates. The cost of that corruption is very serious. Continue reading

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Against repealing contribution limits

  By Campaign Finance Reform, My 2007 Campaign

I oppose any legislation that would have the effect of eliminating campaign contribution limits in the current Mayoral race. The goal of campaign finance reform is to preserve our democracy. Democracy is undermined when money becomes so important in politics that those who contribute to campaigns play a dramatically greater role in determining who holds office—and thus what our office holders do—than our citizens. So I am concerned about both limiting the influence of those who contribute to the campaigns of others and those who contribute to their own campaigns. In order to attain both goals, I proposed last week a compromise that would lift campaign contribution limits gradually if a candidate for Mayor increased his contributions to his own campaign. Rather than being a serious compromise, the new bill goes so far in lifting contribution limits as to make them meaningless. It is a fig leaf that doesn’t cover… Continue reading