Progressive Blogger Matt Stoller Takes Job In Congress

[babylonsister]

Solving the Rootsgap
by: Matt Stoller
Tue Jan 06, 2009 at 00:56


Well, I suppose I had to make the announcement at some point, so here goes. I won't be blogging at OpenLeft for some time. I've taken a job inside the House of Representatives (more on that when I've cleared what I can say) to see how the place works and to help create the space for more progressive policies.

Ultimately what I've learned, from many of you as much as from the task of writing for the public for the last five years, is that there is a serious leadership gap in this country. And by leadership gap, I mean something very specific, so specific that I'm going to give it a name. I call it a 'rootsgap'. A rootsgap occurs when a leadership is dramatically out of step with its base or the public at large. In the 1970s, the conservative base felt consistently sold out by its politicians, like Gerald Ford, who pushed centrist unpopular pieces of legislation, like the Panama Canal Treaty, through the levers of government. Birth control, abortion, public sector unions, civil rights, consumer rights, the Equal Rights Amendment - all of these provoked a fierce reaction from the conservative base who felt betrayed by the Republican politicians who did not oppose liberalization fast enough.

snip//

What we have now is a powerful political apparatus that can elect, raise money, engage in policy debates, work through our own media channels, push back on mainstream media channels, and a set of grasstops who organize on behalf of a progressive identity. It's ten years old, and there are now thousands of trained organizers and millions of activists (like you). What we're missing, among other things, is links to direct political leaders. One of the reasons Reagan succeeded is because he had a political machine borne of the conservative activist class, one well-versed in the standard centrist trickery that led to such an infuriating rootsgap on the right. His direct mail people and his evangelical liaisons knew what they wanted, and they knew they wanted more than what the mainstream GOP was offering. While there are great people around our leaders, what is striking is how politicians are considered to be 'over there' making decisions, and activist movement people are considered to be outsiders and reactive to these decisions. This doesn't make sense; cooperation can benefit everyone involved.

more...

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10743

[tridim]

1. That brings up the question. Are they going to let more bloggers into press briefings now?

[EconomicLiberal]

2. Stoller explains our predicament very well.

The progressive movement has grown at a extremely large rate over the last 10 years, but we have been able to get any significant leadership in Congress to herald this movement.

[Cha]

3. Best wishes to

Matt Stoller in his new job!