A Tea Party of the Left Has to Spring From Labor

There has been a lot of hand wringing over the last few years about why the right has been able to organize such an ideological force of nature in the Tea Party movement, yet the left hasn't been able to come close to matching it. The groups that do exist are far too unfocused, and comprised of and run by, non-populist types that are more inclined to feel like they've accomplished something by going to a meeting and venting their feelings on politics than go out, make phone calls, knock on doors and attend events. The netroots is a force, and certainly has an influence on the Democratic party, but their breed of online activism just doesn't translate well into the kind of on the ground work that gets results - like the Tea Party has.

Really, it should have been obvious that the only segment under the Democrats' tent that had it in them to spark a movement would be the unions.

Populist movements are reactionary. They need something visceral to rally behind, and generally an enemy to fight against, that sparks mass action. Obama was able to tap into the netroots and get them to knock on doors, attend events, make phone calls and all the other things that actually have a measurable impact, but without him as a rallying point, they went back to their blogs. They're just not self motivated to action, and while their issues overlap a lot, there isn't a core issue and enemy that lights their fire, like government spending and Obama are to the right.

This isn't the case for labor though. They are already oriented towards on the ground action, they have nationwide networks, are well funded and have a unifying economic issue that non-labor liberals can ride with them on. Where they have enemies that are really going after them, as is the case in Wisconsin, we're seeing the kind of fervor, with it's attendent pockets of wingnut extremist elements, that only the Tea Party has shown in recent times.

If Wisconsin was a rare example, this fervor might die down in coming months, but not only are Democrats going to do all they can to keep this winning issue in the news, but other states are bringing similar legislation forward. Add to this the effort to oust some of the Wisconsin state senators, potentially the governor himself, and the court battles that are sure to follow and you've got a story that wont be going away any time soon.

Both sides have caused their mirror opposites to rise up against them after shorter and shorter periods of time. They take their wins at the polls as wide mandates to push ideologically unpopular positions, which result in losing swing votes and firing up the base of their opposition. That Wisconsin Governor Soctt Walker has sparked protests bigger than the state saw in the Vietnam era is testament to the nerve he has

As much as I'd like to see a moderate like Jon Huntsman get the Republican nod and take on Obama, a more ideologically pure candidate is more likely. If that nominee ends up being someone who nears the aggressively anti-labor position that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker embodies, they may just give the left the fuel they need for the pendulum of populist one-upism to swing to the left. If a Republican like that actually makes it into the Oval Office, I'd bet everything I own on it.

Solomon Kleinsmith is a nonprofit worker, serial social entrepreneur and strident centrist independent blogger from Omaha, Nebraska. His website, Rise of the Center, is the fastest growing blog targeting centrist independents and moderates. He is currently collaborating with other centrist independent and moderate bloggers on a news aggregation and social networking site, and is always looking for ways to help the independent groundswell as more and more people become disaffected with the two major parties.