In an earlier article, I'm Not Taking My Bernie Pin Off Yet: Progressives Need To Takeover The Democratic Party, a call to action was made by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) to lead a progressive takeover of the Democratic National Committee. Now, it's happening.
Near the end of November, Senator Sanders released his plan on how Democrats go forward by recruiting more than just new candidates, but candidates of diversity. Sanders calls for the Democratic Party to be the party of diversity and continue leading the fight against racial, gender, economic, and sexual inequality. In order to do that, Sanders proposes to recruit and train more females, African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims, and people of all ages, creeds, and ethnicities to become future Democratic politicians.
The process has already begun with Sanders' endorsement on Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn) for DNC chair.
Ellison has been a representative since 2007 and was the first Muslim elected to Congress. He is also a progressive, and co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. During Sanders' presidential campaign, Ellison endorsed him.
The Minnesota progressive has received many endorsements since the election; one from Sanders himself. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) among other Democrats endorsed Ellison for chair as well. Just recently, he secured an endorsement from the AFL-CIO: the nation's largest organization of labor unions.
While the election for chair won't take place until early 2017, Ellison is a strong favorite. However, he has not received direct support from Hillary Clinton or President Obama. This leads to the possibility that orthodox Democrats are grooming their own candidate for chair. Someone like Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY) or Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez might declare candidacy as well.
In the meantime, Ellison is the favorite to become the next DNC chair which would be a massive win for progressive Democrats. The Democratic establishment started by President Clinton was strong enough to get President Obama elected and re-elected and Al Gore almost elected, but not strong enough to get Hillary Clinton in office. This leads many to think that the American people are not convinced by today's traditional Democrats. Over the last 25 years, scandals and poor decisions have tainted the establishment to the point where the public no longer trusts them.
Now is the time for change and realignment to get Democrats caught up with the interest of the American people.
