Progressive Dems are Mainstream

Dear Editor:

I attended the Sept. 18 monthly meeting of Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains (PDSMM) which featured Alan Minsky reporting and commenting on the majority of Progressives making up the base—the delegates—of the Democratic Party Convention. Your article reported the salient point, “Overall, [Alan Minsky] said, he found ‘universal’ support for most of the Progressive checklist including single payer healthcare, taxing the wealthy, revoking Citizen’s United and removing big money from politics.”

Indeed, Minsky also reported that on the floor of the convention, nearly all the delegates he met he regarded as progressive inferring that the active base of the Democratic Party is progressive on nearly all issues. That being so, one can only conclude that Progressive IS the mainstream of the Democratic Party.

But the title of your report, “Progressives Seek to Recruit Mainstream Dems” (see Messenger Vol 36, No 19, [Oct. 4, 2012]) seems out of touch with reality. Also mainstream suggests that Progressive, is marginal. This is not true. The Democratic Party is a big tent, diverse and inclusive of all social strata and ethnicities and values cooperation and a safety net for those less fortunate. That is progressive. The title is a distortion.

I realize that titles are often chosen by editors and not the writers. That being said, I hope that the headline of future articles on the progressives better reflects the reality and the text. Other than that I found your coverage, and your references to Alan Minsky’s report in TruthDig very gratifying. Dorothy Reik and the PDSMM represent the mainstream. If it were not for money in politics, the elites of the party—the [Democratic National Committee] (DNC) and [Democratic Leadership council] (DLC)—are marginal to the progressive democratic base.

The PDSMM is a valued member of the Santa Monica Mountains and Topanga community. I hope you continue to report on them.

Peace with Justice,

Gary Hundertmark