Populist Victories Won In This Conservative Colorado Town

[turbinetree]

Reprinted with permission from Creators.

What’s been happening politically and culturally this year in Colorado’s second largest city is inspiring. Progressive/populist organizing to build grassroots movements to counter plutocratic rule and govern in the people’s interest now have a model of success in one of the least likely places.

Since the 1990s, Colorado Springs has been shaped by an inordinate number of right-wing institutions. Yet, the Springs also is home to a hardy band of progressives, including environmentalists, unionists, women’s champions, scrappy entrepreneurs, LGBTQ activists, students and teachers, a sizeable immigrant population, social justice church groups and some sensible libertarians.

With Bernie Sanders bringing new, highly energized voters into play, young people who had previously evinced zero interest in the old Democratic-Republican duopoly were rallying behind Bernie’s grassroots populism. His revolutionary call to rein in America’s corporate oligarchs also sparked a fire in older, working-class people, including Repubs and none-of-the-above folks who’d given up on the idea that either party gave a damn about people like them. A shift was occurring in Colorado Springs’ political zeitgeist — one that might open a path for new alignments and a progressive-populist movement.

http://www.nationalmemo.com/populist-victories-won-conservative-colorado-town/

Near my old stomping grounds from Parker, CO

[kentuck]

1. There is a strong force of independent progressives in Colorado Springs.

That is true.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. Despite the rah-rah rhetoric in this article, it has some interesting points.

This group appears to have done the hard work of serious coalition-building that so many of the newly politically activated are reluctant to do or are ignorant about doing. It also reached out to established political entities and included them in the coalition, welcoming and helping and reaping the benefits of established political networks and savvy rank-and-file, instead of starting from zero. Finally, I would hesitate to describe something that was so broad-based as "populist."

I'm interested in reading more. Off to the gooogle machine.