How to Do Something
By 
People largely responded positively to my call to do something, anything, but something to fight Trump. Right now, there’s a lot of people who want to do nothing but relitigate the Democratic primary. These people are primarily Bernie supporters, although there are some Hillary supporters who wrongly blame Sanders for her defeat. Some of these people who engage in nothing but bitterness toward Hillary supporters are our worst commenters and I don’t need to point them out by name. But of course there are also plenty of well-known people wanking around on the internet who engage in full narcissism on a daily basis talking about how Democrats need to engage in “actual introspection” and accusing people concerned about Russian interference in our elections of redbaiting and the like.
Don’t listen to what these people are saying. They exist to hear themselves and not accomplish anything. Follow the path of useful people. Such as these Bernie supporters who have just taken over the Democratic Party in Brevard County, Florida.
Bernie Sanders supporters have taken over the leadership of the Brevard County Democratic Executive Committee, pledging to work to turn the county’s political landscape from red to blue.
The new party chair is Stacey Patel of Satellite Beach, who trounced two opponents in committee elections this week. Patel was an elected Sanders delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
Patel said after her election that she will work to find candidates who can win local offices.
“We’ve already expanded the membership significantly this year” within the local Democratic committee, Patel said. “And we are going to work to continue to expand the membership. By doing that, we’re going to expand the Democratic electorate here, and begin to identify really strong candidates from the Democratic side. So we expect to really be prepared for 2018. We are all in this together.”
No Democrats represent Brevard in the Florida Legislature, in partisan countywide offices, on the Brevard County Commission or on the Canaveral Port Authority board of commissioners. Some positions up for election in 2016 had no Democratic candidates.
Voter registration figures show that there currently are 42,607 more registered Republicans than registered Democrats in Brevard County. Democrats last outnumbered Republicans in Brevard in 1988.
Now, you may look at the last number and say that Democrats have no chance to win here. And you might be right. But to provide the most obvious rebuttal, Florida is a very purple state and driving greater turnout from Brevard County through an agenda that motivates people to be Democrats is something that could actually flip a statewide or presidential election. This is a big county and needs an active Democratic Party committee. Moreover, local races are not that hard to win. Maybe the Brevard County Dems can get some school board officials elected here and there and start working up from there. In any case, whatever the old guard were doing in Brevard County, as in counties across the nation, it sure the heck wasn’t working. Why not support new blood?
But the larger point is one I have made many, many times. If you think the Democratic Party sucks, and especially at the local level it often does, go take it over yourself. Do what these people in Brevard County are doing. This is how you fight fascism and articulate an alternative agenda that does not cuddle with corporations.