García rejects the assessment, made by centrist Democrats like Abigail Spanberger (Va.) and Cheri Bustos (Ill.), that bold progressive stances (such as defunding the police and cozying up with socialism) cost Democratic seats in 2020.
Two weeks ago in Chicago, 200 political activists from a variety of independent political organizations, as well as individual activists, carried out a rich discussion and an amicable debate about how to collaborate in the work of building a large political alternative to the left of the Democratic Party. Just days before, Bernie Sanders, declared his candidacy, running within the Democratic Party as a socialist. Here are two views on left electoral politics.
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Remembering Jim Knutson
Even as class appears to play a bigger role in Chicago politics, racial, ethnic and other identities will impact elections as long as keep impacting everyday life. But campaigns like those for Garcia and for many of the council members are already forging a shared progressive politics.
The grass-roots progressive movement that defeated Rahm Emanuel on Feb. 24 and made him struggle to keep his seat on April 7 is not going away. Just next week, thousands of us will take the streets to demand a $15-per-hour minimum wage. This summer and fall, we will be fighting for a state and city budget that adequately funds the public services we need to build strong, healthy communities. Here, Portside shares three early election analysis articles.
Whether Emanuel wins or loses his fight for mayor, the savvy coalition leading the charge against him may already have changed Chicago politics for the better.
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