Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” On the heels of the devastating loss in November, some Texas Democrats are trying to influence their party to stop being insane.
The Race for the DNC Chair
The issue at hand is leadership of the Democratic National Committee. When erstwhile candidate Howard Dean exited the race for DNC Chairmanship last week, he warned against the race becoming a proxy war between Sanders and Clinton supporters. In classic establishment style, it seems his assessment of the situation comes a little too late. To many progressives, this election is not only personal, for some it is a test to see if the Party is even worthy of their support anymore. For Dems who want to grow the Party, this race is going to be a crucial crossroads.
The progressive case for Keith Ellison is clear. Ellison backed Sanders in the Democratic Primary. He was one of the lone voices trying to warn the Party about the very real threat Donald Trump posed. And he represents the kind of vision and leadership that progressives believe is needed to grow the Party. However, instead of learning any lessons from their loss, establishment Dems seem to be up to their same old tricks of waging war on the Left wing of their party in the way we wish they’d wage war on the Right. While he is the current frontrunner, establishment-backed challengers are rumored to be waiting in the wings.
How Texans Are Taking Action
Some Texas Democrats who support Keith Ellison are taking matters into their own hands. According to organizer Kenith Gonzalez, Texas Democrats for Keith Ellison is an independent network of Democratic grassroots organizers, many of whom were delegates to the Texas State and Democratic National Conventions. While officially unaffiliated with Ellison’s campaign, they are working to create a grassroots groundswell of support for Ellison’s campaign.
Here are two ways you can support their work.
- Sign Texas Democrats for Keith Ellison’s petition
The petition’s goal is to get the signatures of 10,000 Texas Democrats by January 20. The petition will then be mailed to the office of every voting DNC Member in Texas. The group wants to let the DNC knows how much to support Rep. Ellison has among Texas Democrats. Currently 2 of them: Al Green and Lloyd Doggett have already endorsed him.
2. Like their Facebook page
Texas Democrats for Ellison’s Facebook page is the go-to place for news on their developing efforts. Stay in the loop so you can be in on their calls to action.
Come on, Texas progressives! I know that many of us feel that the Democratic Party let us down, but we know what the Party should and could be. We know what kind of leadership it needs to start winning. Let’s make sure we make our voices heard.
