CALL TO ACTION: Convention Delegates Needed
We speak often of using existing levers of power to affect progressive change. Here is a perfect opportunity to do just that.
Going back to some of my earliest episodes of the HoosLeft Podcast, we’ve debated the efficacy of participating in the two-party system. Is it even possible to create real progressive change from inside the Democratic Party, or is the party too compromised by big money, consultants, and corporate donors to ever be worth the effort?
That debate is honest. It’s healthy. And it’s rooted in frustration that every left-leaning Hoosier recognizes on a gut level.
The Indiana Democratic Party has, far too often, felt less like an opposition party and more like a brand manager for acceptable losses. Too cautious. Too consultant-driven. Too comfortable to rule over safe little fiefdoms while sacrificing the larger movement. Too willing to confuse “moderate” with “harmless.” Too often allergic to bold economic populism while tripping over itself to chase donors — and voters — who will never love it anyway.
So yes — the skepticism is earned.
But after years of wrestling with that question, I keep landing in the same place: working outside the Democratic Party is not a viable strategy in the United States.
Not because the party deserves loyalty. It doesn’t.
Not because it’s ideologically pure. It sure as hell isn’t.
But because of how power actually works in this country.
The Two-Party System — The Only Way Out Is Through
The U.S. political system is structurally hostile to third parties. This isn’t a matter of vibes or historical bad luck. It’s baked in.
Political scientists call this Duverger’s Law: winner-take-all elections almost always collapse into two dominant parties. Anything else becomes a spoiler, a protest vehicle, or a pressure campaign — not a governing force.
You can hate that reality. I do.
But ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.
So the choice isn’t:
pure progressive party vs. corrupt Democratic Party
The real choice is:
fight for control of an existing power structure, or
shout truths from the sidelines while Republicans run the state unopposed
That’s the difference between hijacking a battleship and going to war in a fishing boat.
The battleship is ugly. It leaks oil. It’s incredibly unwieldy and difficult to steer.
But it’s still a battleship.
Parties Are Not Ideological — They’re Organizational
Here’s the thing too many people miss: political parties are not belief systems. They’re machines. Hell, if you go back far enough you’ll find that the Democrats were the party of the Confederacy and the Klan, while Republicans were radical abolitionists.
My, how times have changed.
Parties are empty vessels — rules, bylaws, committees, credentials, ballot access, and institutional memory. They are a specific arrangement of empty chairs only as good as the people sitting in them. Whoever shows up and does the boring work gets to steer.
Right now, much of that machinery is controlled by people who are risk-averse, donor-owned, and unimaginative. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened because they showed up — and too many progressives didn’t.
Now, I get it. Most of us on the left actually have to work for a living. It’s exhausting.
But if we want different outcomes, we need different people inside the structure.
Not someday.
Not after the revolution.
Now.
What “Taking Over the Party” Actually Looks Like
It doesn’t start with a viral candidate or a charismatic statewide savior. Ironically, after Barack Obama organized the grassroots to stun establishment candidate Hillary Clinton in 2008, the party adopted a top-down approach, bleeding down-ballot seats at an alarming rate. They thought a charismatic front-man was all you needed, when any musician will tell you it’s the rhythm section that makes a band go.
We need an army of bass players and drummers. And by that, I mean precinct committeepersons and state convention delegates.
These are the people who elect party leadership, vote on the party platform, and serve as a direct connection to voters in their areas.
If you want a Democratic Party that actually fights for working people, labor rights, housing, healthcare, and democracy itself, this is where the fight happens.
And Hoosier Democrats face a real choice about the direction of the party — perhaps for a generation — at this year’s convention, which is being held in Indianapolis on June 6.
The same establishment that has continually run to the imaginary center, who has adopted Diet Republican economic policies, who have played footsie with charter school profiteers — LOSING EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, mind you — is putting its thumb on the scales to install their preferred candidate at the top of the ticket, thinking name recognition, an Ivy League degree, and a boatload of billionaire cash will carry Democrats to victory.
Maybe. But at what cost? To work for whom?
Winning is great — and necessary — but it cannot be the goal unto itself. Delivering material change for the working people of this state must be the goal — and being indebted to the wealth class prevents this.
This scheme is wrong both morally and strategically. Chasing “moderate” Republicans has not worked and it will not work. This is what Indiana Democrats have done for over two decades now, and we get spanked every time.
It’s time to let progressives steer, but we will not be handed the wheel.
The Clock Is Ticking
Right now, there is a real, concrete opportunity to do this work.
The deadline to file to run for delegate to the Indiana State Democratic Party convention is February 6 at noon.
That’s it. No extensions. No do-overs.
If you believe:
the party needs to be pushed left
economic populism shouldn’t be optional
democracy is worth defending aggressively
Indiana deserves better than managed opposition
Then this is your moment.
I’ll Help You Do It
Let me be very clear about this part.
If you are interested in running for precinct committeeperson or delegate and don’t know where to start, I will personally help walk you through the process. Or put you in touch with someone in your area who can.
Paperwork. Deadlines. What the role actually entails. What to expect. What matters and what doesn’t.
You don’t need permission from party insiders.
You don’t need a resume in Democratic politics.
You just need to decide you’re done waiting for someone else to fix it and for your most recent primary vote to have been in the Democratic primary.
If you’ve never voted in a primary, or recently pulled a Republican ballot for strategic purposes, you may still be able to get a waiver from your local party chair — though I wouldn’t count on it. Gatekeepers gonna gatekeep.
This is how change happens in a rigged system: not by opting out, but by showing up in force and taking the levers.
If you’ve ever said, “Someone should really do something about the Indiana Democratic Party,” congratulations.
Someone is you.
And the deadline is February 6 at noon.
Feel free to message me directly for more information: