Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Newly Elected L.A. Congressman Jimmy Gomez Has Some Advice For The Democratic Party
(Photo courtesy of Jimmy Gomez, via Facebook)
()
L.A.'s seemingly endless election season continued on June 6th with the race for California's vacant 34th Congressional seat, which Democratic candidate Jimmy Gomez won with 60.9 percent of the vote. Gomez is the first Democrat to be elected to Congress since the 2016 general election, and in a first-person piece for the Washington Post on Tuesday, he laid out what he sees as the Democratic party's keys to victory in the 2018 midterms and 2020 general election; or, at least, the direction in which the party should be moving in to climb out of its current slump.
Get over the 2016 primary.
Yes, incessantly debating Bernie vs. Hillary was fun while it lasted, but now it's time to put the past aside and focus on the issues uniting Democrats, Gomez argues. "The voters I talk to aren’t interested in a Bernie-or-Hillary litmus test—if they did, I never would’ve been elected to Congress," the congressman writes. In his own Congressional election, Gomez was widely viewed as more progressive than his opponent Robert Lee Ahn, a fellow Democrat who first registered to vote as a Republican. Nevertheless, the two candidates—who both came from immigrant families— agreed on many issues, including the importance of focusing on health care; Gomez stresses the importance of this kind of message unity within the Democratic party.
Come up with a positive message.
It's not enough to be against the GOP; the Democratic party needs to figure out what it's for, Gomez argues. "If, after two years, all we can say to voters is that we’re the anti-Trump party, there’s no reason to think we’ll win enough congressional seats to change the calculus in Congress," Gomez says. In the piece, he praises congressional Democrats for opposing Republican policies like the rollback of coverage for preexisting medical conditions and gutting of the Dodd-Frank banking law, but makes sure to add, "Resisting isn't enough."
Ditch the "elite-speak."
Democrats in office are alienating potential sympathizers in the fight against climate change, Gomez continues; apparently, "publicly debating the impact of fractional increases in temperature," instead of describing the problem in everyday terms, is giving Republicans the upper hand in the climate-change debate.
Support for LAist comes from
Don't rely on old-school strategies to build support.
Town hall meetings have long been a staple of grassroots organizing, but Gomez notes that they're not always effective in engaging new voters, or reaching working people who can't necessarily give up a Saturday for the cause. In the piece, Gomez describes attending nontraditional events, "from bird-watchings to tree giveaways, neighborhood cleanups to self-defense clinics for women," to meet constituents where they are instead of relying on them to seek him out.
Gomez's ideas for revitalizing the Democratic party are similar to those put forth by Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and other Democrat firebrands who are currently generating buzz about potential 2020 presidential runs; if Gomez plans to practice what he preaches while in office, he could put California's 34th District on the map as a home base for the new and improved Democratic party.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance. -
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
Best of LAist