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U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) attend a Senate Finance Committee business meeting on the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, February 4, 2025.
(Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Dear DNC: Open the Gates Wide for Your People's Cabinet
Instead of choosing the People's Cabinet behind closed doors, the cabinet should be selected through an open process based in local caucuses.
Apr 05, 2025
Chairman of the Democratic National CommitteeDNC Chair Ken Martin on Friday announced the launching of a People’s Cabinet! This is potentially exciting news. As I wrote about last month, a People's Cabinet is a powerful way to combat the latest unlawful, unconstitutional, cruel, and downright stupid action from the Trump-Musk administration.
And it's a great way to lift up leaders who can propose common sense, people-centered alternatives.
One proposal that may be a stretch for the DNC, though: Instead of the same old top-down decision making, please make this an open process. Invite everyone to help select cabinet members—Democrats, Independents, and even non-MAGA Republicans (MAGA already has a cabinet).
The Democratic Party’s approval ratings are very low and there is a lot of ground to make up after the party first insisted Joe Biden would be the 2024 presidential candidate and then anointed Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate—with no public input. This mistake was in addition to their failure to understand the pain experienced by so many non-billionaire Americans, the marginalizing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, and their unconscionable neglect of the horrors taking place in Gaza.
Instead of choosing the People's Cabinet behind closed doors, the cabinet should be selected through an open process based in local caucuses. Allowing "we the people" to select the People's Cabinet could draw tremendous energy and excitement, bring fresh ideas into the process, give people at the grassroots a reason to gather in their communities to build power and momentum for the midterms and beyond, and it would generate ongoing local and national news coverage.
We need locally based, sustained grassroots work to build the power for change. The Democratic Party could find this is exactly the reboot it needs to get beyond the stale and the stuck politics of its current form—a way to gather the many voices and populations that have felt left out until now.
Please, DNC, open the doors, bring in fresh air and new voices, and you’ll see the energy unleashed by the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour multiplied across the nation.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Sarah Van Gelder
Sarah van Gelder writes "How We Rise" on Substack (howwerise.substack.com) and recently completed a zine, “Community As Strategy,” available free at https://open.substack.com/pub/howwerise/p/community-as-strategy-10-ways-to. She is founding editor of YES! Magazine.
Chairman of the Democratic National CommitteeDNC Chair Ken Martin on Friday announced the launching of a People’s Cabinet! This is potentially exciting news. As I wrote about last month, a People's Cabinet is a powerful way to combat the latest unlawful, unconstitutional, cruel, and downright stupid action from the Trump-Musk administration.
And it's a great way to lift up leaders who can propose common sense, people-centered alternatives.
One proposal that may be a stretch for the DNC, though: Instead of the same old top-down decision making, please make this an open process. Invite everyone to help select cabinet members—Democrats, Independents, and even non-MAGA Republicans (MAGA already has a cabinet).
The Democratic Party’s approval ratings are very low and there is a lot of ground to make up after the party first insisted Joe Biden would be the 2024 presidential candidate and then anointed Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate—with no public input. This mistake was in addition to their failure to understand the pain experienced by so many non-billionaire Americans, the marginalizing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, and their unconscionable neglect of the horrors taking place in Gaza.
Instead of choosing the People's Cabinet behind closed doors, the cabinet should be selected through an open process based in local caucuses. Allowing "we the people" to select the People's Cabinet could draw tremendous energy and excitement, bring fresh ideas into the process, give people at the grassroots a reason to gather in their communities to build power and momentum for the midterms and beyond, and it would generate ongoing local and national news coverage.
We need locally based, sustained grassroots work to build the power for change. The Democratic Party could find this is exactly the reboot it needs to get beyond the stale and the stuck politics of its current form—a way to gather the many voices and populations that have felt left out until now.
Please, DNC, open the doors, bring in fresh air and new voices, and you’ll see the energy unleashed by the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour multiplied across the nation.
Sarah Van Gelder
Sarah van Gelder writes "How We Rise" on Substack (howwerise.substack.com) and recently completed a zine, “Community As Strategy,” available free at https://open.substack.com/pub/howwerise/p/community-as-strategy-10-ways-to. She is founding editor of YES! Magazine.
Chairman of the Democratic National CommitteeDNC Chair Ken Martin on Friday announced the launching of a People’s Cabinet! This is potentially exciting news. As I wrote about last month, a People's Cabinet is a powerful way to combat the latest unlawful, unconstitutional, cruel, and downright stupid action from the Trump-Musk administration.
And it's a great way to lift up leaders who can propose common sense, people-centered alternatives.
One proposal that may be a stretch for the DNC, though: Instead of the same old top-down decision making, please make this an open process. Invite everyone to help select cabinet members—Democrats, Independents, and even non-MAGA Republicans (MAGA already has a cabinet).
The Democratic Party’s approval ratings are very low and there is a lot of ground to make up after the party first insisted Joe Biden would be the 2024 presidential candidate and then anointed Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate—with no public input. This mistake was in addition to their failure to understand the pain experienced by so many non-billionaire Americans, the marginalizing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, and their unconscionable neglect of the horrors taking place in Gaza.
Instead of choosing the People's Cabinet behind closed doors, the cabinet should be selected through an open process based in local caucuses. Allowing "we the people" to select the People's Cabinet could draw tremendous energy and excitement, bring fresh ideas into the process, give people at the grassroots a reason to gather in their communities to build power and momentum for the midterms and beyond, and it would generate ongoing local and national news coverage.
We need locally based, sustained grassroots work to build the power for change. The Democratic Party could find this is exactly the reboot it needs to get beyond the stale and the stuck politics of its current form—a way to gather the many voices and populations that have felt left out until now.
Please, DNC, open the doors, bring in fresh air and new voices, and you’ll see the energy unleashed by the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour multiplied across the nation.
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