CONTROLLING THE POLITICAL PIPELINE.

It's Friday, and a reinforcement of a frequent Cold Spring Shops theme, "Perhaps, instead of asking 'who is John Galt?,' dear reader, ask 'who is running for school board or mayor' and 'what is she proposing?'" is in order.

Town Hall's Ashley Evdokimo suggests that the Donk establishment enabled the Democratic Socialists (who might not really be socialists, but I digress) to position a lot of candidates through their Ahab-like obsession with the Golden Golem of Greatness rather than, to use the Sunday show locution, paying attention to the issues the American people care about.

While Republicans and Democrats have poured enormous amounts of energy into presidential politics, media cycles, and national messaging, the DSA has invested in something much less glamorous—but arguably much more important.

The political pipeline.

School boards become city councils. City councils become state legislatures. State legislators become members of Congress. Members of Congress become committee chairs, governors, Cabinet officials, and eventually party leaders. Politics has always been a farm system, and the DSA understands that.

Ironically, while much of the Democratic establishment spent years defining itself in opposition to Donald Trump, the DSA spent those same years defining the future of the Democratic Party. And unless Democrats outright say they’re against it, we can’t “trust” their alliances.

The emergence of Michael Harrington's disciples is also giving Never Trump conservatives heartburn, as they are personae non grata among Republicans and the irritated rump flexing among the Donks will have no truck with them.

It's a task worthy of Militant Normals, though, to keep the local and state offices properly staffed, both to identify rising stars for national office, and as a check on the follies of the Donks and their socialist fellow travelers.  "Most Americans can name the president. Many can name their governor. Far fewer know who serves on their city council, county commission, school board, or township board. That’s a problem."  Yes, it's possible to turf out a particularly egregious school board in the face of virtual learning and excessive corona tyranny, or to turf out a soft-on-crime prosecutor.  Better, though, it might be to keep the school boards staffed with people who aren't baffled by critical studies jargon.

It might be that organizing Normals is harder, because Normals have real jobs, while angry leftists treat running for political office as their full time job.  And yet, somebody local generally steps forward to seek elected office.  "The people making decisions about your schools, your taxes, your roads, your elections, and your local economy usually aren’t members of Congress — they’re your neighbors."