Abstract

Symposium. Do We Need the New Party?

This article presents views of various politicians on whether a New Party is needed or not. According to U.S. Senate Paul Wellstone Democrats have not yet responded adequately to a host of breathtaking changes in our generation. It is also true that in many states the Democratic Party is organizationally weak and controlled by small groups of activists and moneyed elites who dictate both the terms of the political debate and its eventual outcome. But it doesn't have to be that way. The New Party's approach is one that makes sense for people who are part of institutions, like unions, that must continue to be involved with the Democratic Party, even while one tries to create alternatives to it wherever necessary and possible.