An Update on the Whole TNDP Thing

So, I talked to Devin Brady last night about stuff, starting with the fundraiser and moving through the state of the blogosphere and whether progressives really were welcome in the Democratic party or if it was going to continue to be a case of us arriving at the front door with food and gifts, lavishly welcomed, and then escorted through the house and out into the back yard, while the real partygoers stand inside and laugh about how stupid we are.

I did not put it so elegantly, because I had been half alseep on the couch when he called, but that was the general gist.

He apologized and said that they hadn’t meant crazy to mean crazy but… And then, it was nice, because, as he talked he got that what he was saying sounded ridiculous.

I don’t know. I thought it took guts to call. I tried to make clear that I was upset that a lot of us thought the whole “Nathan Vaughn and his blackbird friends” thing was bullshit and the whole “Harold Ford, call me” thing was bullshit–all aimed at reminding voters that those men have some inherent trait that makes them unacceptable leaders. So, for us to turn around and say that there’s some inherent trait in Palin and the others that makes them unacceptable leaders gives us no moral high ground when we complain (and rightly so) about that behavior in others.

And I also reiterated that, for a lot of us further left than most Tennesseans, the Democrats are all we have, in terms of political shelter. This is not to say that we can’t vote green or independent or whatever. But, when bills come up that impact our lives, we know our only hope to stop those bills lies with the Democrats.

And when they shove us aside, it’s like, well, why even fucking bother?

I don’t know.

I sat up all night thinking about it and I’m still kind of, I don’t know, not satisfied. It’s not that I’m not satisfied with the TNDP. I mean, it’s more that I’m not satisfied with my role in this. Don’t get me wrong. I love to be taken seriously. It’s flattering as hell.

But I’m not the spokesperson for progressives in this state. Even if there were such a position, there are lots of good reasons why someone else other than me should be that person. So, it’s weird to apologize to me. And yet, I thought it was a nice gesture.

So, I don’t know.

And he asked if we’d ever met, and I was tired, so I told him the truth–probably not, because I make an effort to not meet people because it’s harder to be mean when you know someone.

The thing is that politicians and people who work in politics in this state have a tremendous amount of power over our daily lives. Power that they need to be accountable for to all of us.

But, they are also regular people–some of whom you’re going to like a hell of a lot if you meet them in person a couple of times.

So, when they ask you to email or call them if something comes up and it’s bugging you, it seems reasonable. They’re regular people. They want what’s best for the state, just like you do. Why not just pick up the phone and talk it out?

But the problem with that is that it’s ridiculous that anyone in politics  is accountable to me as a private person. They are only accountable to me as a citizen of the state.

Moving the discussion out of the public sphere and into the private, where we’re not having a public discussion people can follow, but we’re having a private disagreement that can be resolved before it becomes public, doesn’t do anything to help public accountability.

In fact, it gives the complainer, in this case me, a sense that things have been resolved to my liking, without allowing for any public accountability.

And the thing is, it’s very tempting to buy into that shit.

But once that happens…

You see what I’m getting at?

Once you become the kind of person who can pick up a phone and work things out, you’re not the kind of person who can do this.

In fact, you’re the kind of person people do this in order to work around.