The basic thing, Ebbie, is not that one has to have loads of money to do this (although it doesn't hurt). But you do have to get involved in the Party. Go to meetings, speak out, argue your points, try to convince others of your viewpoint. Bring like-minded friends to do the same. And support the strong, progressive voices in the Party. And there are some, but there are far too few.

The Democratic Party is already there, so you don't have to start from scratch. And although the Dems talk progressive values a lot, when push comes to shove, all too often they buckle. But—some members of the party do not. Washington State's Rep. Jim McDermott is a strong, outspoken progressive, and it's people like McDermott who need backing within the party, rather than the usual suspects who get nervous when he speaks out strongly. The problem is that there are not enough people like him, and one of the reasons for that is they don't get all that much support within the party itself. So you don't have to lead the charge, just back up those who do.

The nervous Nellies in the Democratic Party get all panicky when McDermott starts sounding off, saying "My God, he's going to frighten off the independent and undecided voters," because they're afraid he's too progressive. But they seem to miss the fact that McDermott keeps getting re-elected, and got 85% of the vote in the last election. And not all of those who voted for him were affiliated with any political party. Somebody seems to like what he says!

Changing a political party's direction is very much like steering a super-tanker. They don't respond quickly, so when you want it to change direction, you have to keep leaning on the wheel until it responds. That's what the Right Wing did with the Republican Party, and it didn't happen right away. But they took the long view, they had the patience, and it took a decade or two before it started showing real results. But it worked!

There are progressive think-tanks out there, such as the Rockridge Institute and the Center for American Progress and other organizations like The Backbone Campaign (one I'm affiliated with, dedicated to giving the Democratic Party the spine it seems to lack). The more people who get involved, the faster the party will start going in the direction you want it to go.

The problem with so many people posting here (and in general) is that they want a quick fix, and there ain't no quick fixes. So they just say "to hell with it!" and sit back and complain that "it'll never work!"

Well, the Right Wing made it work. And it wasn't just money that did it. It was people getting in and arguing their points face to face.

Don Firth