The Progressive Path
by Dawson Mosley

In modern political history, the Democratic Party required progressive momentum while working with the political opposition, betraying the progressive promises of the "left-leaning” party. For the Democratic Party to bloom anew, progressives must show others the progressive path, not merely build a big tent to accept & convert moderate centrist voters into deeper left progressivism, but also push elected representatives out of stagnation in office lest we field progressive candidates meet America's long-term goal—equality for all. Yet the party's recent tendencies, Identity politics over policy, and deference to civility politics over holding strict morals have poisoned the Democratic Party into submission, not a new tendency of the party, as history shows the party has a history of capitulation to the political opposition.

The birth of Neo-conservatism and Neo-liberalism, combining forces, the Uni-party government of the 70's marked a historical shift in the Overton window, one marked with bipartisanship favoring economic growth by any means necessary, trickle-down economics, higher tax cuts for corporations, fiscal responsibility to stock holders, and gutting public transportation, all at the expense of the working class in the real economy. The Democratic Party abandoning aspects of progressivism in favor of economic growth was marked by the Republican Party shifting from openly racist to dog-whistles, allowing for the inoculation of racist talking points without mentioning race, welfare queens, and thugs, for example. One party sows seeds of toxic societal collapse, and one party loses ground in the field that gives them power.

The Republicans' fault for the world we are in is apparent; we of the Democrat Party need to acknowledge the impact that gatekeeping and infighting have had on the party. In the 2016 DNC primary, the Overton window was fertile ground for shifting. Two populists were on the come-up: Bernie Sanders, the progressive, and Donald Trump, the conservative. Sanders had massive grassroots support, real policy proposals, and a plan for a better world—the obvious progressive choice for the party to move forward with. The DNC ignored the voice of the people and polls showing Sanders was the favored candidate; Hillary Clinton, a moderate, was chosen as the DNC presidential nominee. The loss was saddening, and one to be learned from. As four years passed, economic growth was lost to trade war tariffs, farmers bailed out from the harm of the trade war, Trump claimed the election’s popular votes were fraudulent, and he won the popular vote, to the comments about not leaving if he lost in 2020, and the horrible COVID response, the field was again set for progressivism to blossom.

Bernie Sanders is older but is trying once again, receiving massive grassroots support and showing the desire for progressivism in the USA. The DNC is again against the will of the people and, ignoring the history of the last election, nominated Joe Biden as the presidential pick. Winning the election and the opposition attacking the Capitol building, the justification for Donald Trump to never hold political power again was fresh, and the energy to convict was fresh. Due to the stagnation and tepid response of the neo-liberals, Donald was allowed to continue to spew his message of election fraud and denial, while imprisonment never came. As the 4 years of Biden crept on, there was no attempt by the party to platform new blood, after Biden stated it would be a one-term president, stagnation festering in the party. As the outcry in the party of Biden not running again was too little too late, this left the party with few choices, no time for a primary, and the DNC nominated Kamala Harris, another status quo establishment neo-liberal. Kamala riding off the energy of anyone but Biden had good support from the people, started losing that momentum when she said functionally she would not have changed any actions from the Biden Admin, the back pedaling on the we are not going back rhetoric after the DNC told her to, not being a vocal defender of trans people, and not speaking out against the genocide in Palestine were massive element that lead to the failure in 2024.
After losing the election, Harris DISAPPEARED from politics for months, only to come back with a book tour and a snarky "you should have voted for me if you do not like this" behavior, all while she wants to run again in 2028, this is going to win nothing but scorn. Then there is Gavin Newsom, who goes on rightwing podcasts and AGREED with the anti-trans topics mentioned and has a history of being Anti-homeless without solutions, such as Housing First. Meanwhile, we see real progressive momentum in the NYC mayoral race with Zohran Mamdani, who has faced massive amounts of islamophobia and bigotry from our own party, showing the Democratic moderates that the populist progressive movement is not only wanted but needed if the Democrats have any hope of elections happening in 2028, let alone 2026. After winning the Democratic primary for the mayoral race, Mamdani has NOT been endorsed by Chuck Schumer, the current face of the Democratic Party. This lack of endorsement shows great hatred for the progressive energy. How does the Democratic Party have any hope of survival with this as our leadership?
Change is required from the bottom up; progressive values & policies fought for by the revolutionaries of yesterday are being painted over by the fascists of today.

Meeting Notes from October

Our October meeting was utilized for discussing/planning events and community service projects for the upcoming year. We discussed continuing to participate in events such as Chickasha's Juneteenth celebration, cleanup after the fireworks at Shannon Springs Park, and the Grady County Fair as well as new events like the Great Plains Rodeo in El Reno.

United We Stand
by Lacey Moroney

You know what I love about the Democrats? Our ability to listen to and respect everyone. Our little county party is growing, which is amazing! But with that growth comes some challenges. The Democrats are the party with room for everyone, the party of true patriots who understand that strength lies in diversity. We are the voice of the people. And the people have lots of voices and lots of opinions. For instance, some of our people are poll workers. Some have yet to cast their first vote. Some have new pronouns to reflect their true selves. Some are still not sure what all the letters in 2SLGBTQIA+ stand for. Some of our people place God front and center in their lives. Some have no religious ties. Some of our people talk a lot. Some are quiet. Some feel that the only way to beat the other side is at their own game. Some would rather lose the game than sacrifice their morals.
As you can imagine, all these different voices can be tricky to meld into a cohesive movement. But we do it. Because that's what separates us from the other side. The Republican Party demands total allegiance to very narrow ideals. In their party, you either agree totally or you are vilified. But not so in the midst of the Democrats. We have minds and hearts big enough for all. Come home to the Democratic Party. We have a space waiting for you!

UPCOMING EVENTS:
NOV 11 – MONTHY MEETING, 6:30 PM, @ the Emerson Room in Austin Hall at USAO, Chickasha, OK
Jeff Pixley, Congressional District 4 Candidate, will be our guest speaker.

DEC 09– MONTHY MEETING, 6:30 PM, @ the Emerson Room in Austin Hall at USAO, Chickasha, OK
Mitchell Jacobs, Congressional District 4 Candidate, will be our guest speaker.

JAN 13– MONTHY MEETING, 6:30 PM, @ the Emerson Room in Austin Hall at USAO, Chickasha, OK
Speaker to be announced.