This American Life nailed the problem at core of Democratic Party
A Democratic voter who had worked for the State Department and was a high school teacher was looking for someone to back in the primary against his Republican congressional rep and noticed that one of the candidates was a CEO of a medical devices company who outsourced jobs and another was a lawyer for a top lobbying firm, so he got into the race himself.
Some of his friends were politically connected and tried to hook him up with big donors.
I was shocked that he said there were upfront demands about changing his policy positions before they would donate. He didn't call it quid pro quo, but I sure as hell would.
Maybe this in inescapable, but we need candidates who will say no to people with money on at least a few key issues like not privatizing public education, not saying free higher education is pie in the sky when you give twice the cost of that in defense spending increases, and making healthcare truly affordable by either single payer or putting a choke chain on insurance companies at minimum.
Every Democrat on both sides should listen to this.
It's My Party and I'll Try If I Want To
Jeff Beals
I'll contribute to your campaign. But you have to change your website because it says "rigged economy." And you need to change, "rigged economy" on your website. I don't like that. And it's just a distortion. And I said, well, I can't change that.
Ben Calhoun
He couldn't change that because that would mean giving up the main argument he thinks Democrats should be making right now.
Jeff Beals
I think that a lot of democratic politics has been about trying to find the least offensive cause to the donor class to rally people around while stepping on the fewest toes. And there are worthy causes you can rally people around. Guns-- you can rally people around that. And you could maybe get to 51-49 and win.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/649/its-my-party-and-ill-try-if-i-want-to
