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Day 134

Worked this morning, but spent the entire afternoon working on / paying attention to the Democratic National Committee. I started by submitting my two main amendment proposals to the Rules Committee, Expanding Democracy by Requiring Government-Run Primaries and Expanding Democracy by Increasing Voter Participation (the deadline was this afternoon). And then at 1pm the DNC Platform Committee meeting began. My initial observations:

  • “This platform meeting is a farce”
  • “The camps pre-determined speakers and you can’t make motions”
  • “The proposal sponsor is only given 2 minutes for their argument (with only 8 mins. total per proposal, including the introduction and opposition)
  • Members’ votes are visible to other members (not a secret ballot)
  • During voting they keep saying, “remember, these ballots are not secret… ,” which appears to be an intimidation tactic
  • Almost every person speaking says “I enthusiastically support Joe Biden for President!” at the beginning (and sometimes throughout) their time (making me think that they are using this as a bargaining tool to ensure a member is given time, or that it is a dogwhistle so Biden supporters know which way to vote)
  • This is definitely coordinated
  • The first amendment was from the Chair, and it contained over 200 amendments (which passed). No one described what they were, and you could only see the text in the portal if you are on the Platform Committee (curious as to how members were able to read 200+ amendments during the first 15 mins. of the meeting)

The low-light of the afternoon was when inclusion of Medicare for All into the Democratic platform was resoundingly rejected (36 yes, 125 no, 3 abstain). I had to go for a walk after that to cool off.

Medicare for All advocate Michael Lighty proposing an amendment to the DNC Platform Committee - July 27, 2020

Things I am concerned about now that I have seen how the meeting was run:

  • I think Bernie’s campaign failed to organize/whip votes in order to stay out of the way of Biden’s camp
  • The people who spoke from Bernie’s camp seemed to be well-knowns… not many “regular people” (they were national surrogates, elected officials, etc.)
  • The campaigns are selecting which proposals are heard (if you submitted a proposal it isn’t guaranteed that it will be covered)
  • I saw more than one instance of the proposal presenter/speaker not being the person who wrote the proposal (the proposal sponsor), making me think there is little chance that I will get to speak even if they like my proposals

But… I am going to work on my argument right now, in case I end up speaking on behalf of my proposal(s) at the Rules Committee meeting this Thursday.

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Day 123

This morning, as I hurriedly entered gifts into our donor database (for my day job), I listened to Michael Moore’s podcast “Rumble.” As he introduced today’s topic of discussion, he recounted his experience campaigning for Bernie Sanders in Iowa earlier this year:

”…back when we were on the trail with Bernie Sanders in January and February we found ourselves in the state of Iowa for the Iowa Caucus… you remember the Iowa Caucus don’t you? The brilliant… brilliantly managed Iowa Caucus? [laughs] We’ll never do one of those again, right folks? Yeah, that’s right. Now remember this was pre-pandemic so all… you’re making the list, right… of all the things we’re never gonna do again? Where we’re just saying, ‘Fuck that. That’s the end of that’? Okay, that’s one of them, right? We all agree on that, right? No more Iowa Caucuses… it has to be a real primary, run by the state. Everybody votes. Everybody has a chance to vote. Every vote is counted — a novel idea.”

Photo by Max Goldberg

I perked up… because this is exactly the proposal I am making as a representative of the Bernie Sanders campaign on the 2020 DNC Rules Committee! In fact, me and my colleague Maggie are hosting the first grassroots organizing meeting tonight! The reason this issue became so important to me is that I was a precinct captain in Iowa during the caucus in February and saw first-hand how mismanaged the election was. I think it is crucial that we make this reform because of how easily an election can be manipulated by the Democratic Party (the state party runs the caucus, rather than an independent entity), and how detrimental the outcome can be, particularly for anti-establishment candidates.

This got me thinking about how people like Michael Moore (and other well-known pro-democracy advocates) might get involved in this process (or perhaps just lend their very large megaphone). More to come…

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Day 121

Had a full day today… work was a bit stressful and had to prepare for a DNC Rules Committee organizing call pre-meeting afterwards (the actual call will be this Thursday evening). We made a lot of progress though, and I feel like I have a better grasp of my duties-to-come over the next month. I was thinking I would use this blog as a place to sort of cover (and process) some of the action taking place behind the scenes… stay tuned!

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Day 117

My Dad came over this morning… we had scheduled a video call with my brother and his kids (we only get to chat with them about once a year because they live with their mom), but unfortunately he flaked. Kind of annoying. Been trying to get a bunch of work and personal stuff finished before the weekend begins—so I can relaxxxx.

What else… I had a conference call for work this morning and finally took down all of the Bernie signs I had tiled on the wall of my front room. It was getting kinda strange explaining to people over Zoom that I live in a pop-up Bernie campaign office—LOL. Now I have a whole lot of blank wall space for whatever is next…

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Day 53

Today I found out another petty man has prevented me from political advancement. Advancement that I am well due because of years of labor I have put into a particular campaign, practically free of charge (full disclosure: I was a paid employee just for a short 1.5 month stint back in 2016).

It is the same man who prevented me from being appointed to a similar role back in 2016, I assume because I am just a “nobody” who won’t kiss his ring. He’s right: I don’t believe in blind loyalty. I am interested in working hard and doing the right thing to push policies and systems that benefit people. I am interested in expanding democracy so it is more fair and inclusive — not juking the system to promote my friends and cronies.

This mentality I have does not get you far in politics, particularly if you are a woman.

It is pervasive how often a man will keep a female colleague back for this reason or that reason. A reason as small as one semi-powerful man not “liking” you, can prevent you from moving forward for an entire career. And in the “he said/she said” routine, in my experience, those involved almost always defer to what “he said.”

So ready for the patriarchy to end…

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Day 44

I just watched this video, and am realizing that I may be in denial about the culmination of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.

Where’s Shana? Day one of Bernie’s initial run for president – May 26, 2015 in Burlington, VT

When Bernie announced that he was suspending his campaign, I spent the day talking to fellow supporters I have worked with over the years… and personally felt very little, emotionally speaking. I thought to myself, “this was inevitable.” But watching this video right now, it is finally hitting me that the campaign is over. That something I have worked so hard for and spent so much of my time and energy on is over.

Obviously, “the movement” (or many movements) will continue in some way(s), shape or form… but Bernie really was a special kind of lightning rod that I am afraid I won’t see again. And with all that is happening in the world, it is hard to imagine how we are going to move forward cohesively.

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Day 27

Tonight I organized an Illinois for Bernie “Unhappy Hour” (via Zoom Conference), as a forum for fellow Bernie supporters to share how they are feeling about Bernie dropping out of the presidential race, and to begin to talk about our future as a movement. It was really great to see everyone’s faces… and folks had so much to say that I had to finally cut the call off after 2 hours!

It was interesting to hear the range of emotions people are struggling with, as well as the wide variety of ideas folks have for moving forward. People mentioned joining organizations like: Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), Our Revolution, United Working Families and other local independent political organizations. They talked about the importance of running for office and strategies around that. I, along with a couple others, talked about the great potential we see in the Poor People’s Campaign: a National Call for a Moral Revival. And some said the most important thing we can do right now is push for Medicare for All, especially given where we are at with the coronavirus pandemic.

There were no right answers, and there is no “right way” to grieve. But it always feels good to come together with like-minded folks to share and commune.

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Day 24

Bye bye Bernie.

I heard the news this morning that Bernie dropped out of the presidential race, which was hard. I have been extremely involved in the “Bernie movement” since before he initially launched his 2016 campaign, and have never really stopped. On the bright side, I had contact with a decent amount of Bernie folks today… so things felt less lonely.

Bernie Sanders hits the stage at his 2016 presidential campaign kickoff in Burlington, Vermont –May 26, 2015 (Photo by Shana East)

I decided to record another episode of the “Day 15” podcast today, because a bunch of my fellow Bernie supporters left messages about how they were feeling in light of his announcement (you can leave me a message too at: anchor.fm/theshanaeast — just click on the “Message” button). You can listen to today’s podcast episode here.

Just a few Bernie Bros at the 2017 People’s Summit in Chicago. I’m on the left!