Progressive purity tests, McGoldrick, and the SF People's Organization

No one can pass the progressive purity test

Last week, I spoke to a reporter from the SF Bay Guardian named Steve Jones about the state of the progressive movement in San Francisco and when I read his article, the harshness of my responses seemed unrecognizable to me. I immediately gave Steve Jones a call to talk to him because I felt like my perspective was not well-represented.

Let me just say that Steve Jones is a great reporter and if there are differences in our perspective on what was said and how it was said by me, they are good faith differences.

Steve and I talked about whether McGoldrick is a progressive or not. I stated that I have disagreed with a couple of McGoldrick’s votes including the MTA budget vote and the Rent Board Charter Amendment vote. But I am not willing to eject McGoldrick from the progressive camp or enforce a progressive purity test on him like Randy Shaw did in Beyond Chron. I said that some of the people who were throwing stones at McGoldrick were standing in glass houses as it relates to progressive purism. But I also said that I know I would fail the progressive purity test and I know most others would as well. I have yet to meet the "perfect progressive" and if you do, let me know.

Steve and I then talked about all the progressive icons/figures in town who would fail the progressive purity test, including Randy Shaw, me and the Bay Guardian. Frankly, I find it incredibly unproductive to have strict litmus tests and we all need to do better at learning how to have good faith differences of opinion with each other.

As it relates to the San Francisco People’s Organization. I endorse it and I urge you to go to their convention. Again, Steve and I had a different take on this conversation. I have had some critiques and hesitations about their convention because there weren’t enough queer issues on the agenda. The left can sometimes feel like a good old boys network. I also have larger structural criticisms of the Left around whether the issues of LGBT people (particularly transgender people), women, and people of color are part of the progressive agenda and initially I felt like the identity caucuses that the SF People’s Organization created to deal with this problem were not enough to overcome the power dynamics but I’m happy to report that they have accommodated our concerns and I’m hopeful that they will do their best to create a pro-active progressive organization that seeks to overcome and deal with power differences within the progressive community. And to those who are doing the hard work of pulling the convention together, good luck and thanks for your hard work. I will always remain hopeful about the left and the good news is that it will get better. Remember that no organization is perfect and no organization should take it self too seriously...

But anyone who tries to do the hard work of bringing progressives together deserves some thanks.

S.F. Peoples' convention
8:30-5PM
Saturday, June 11, come to the San Francisco Peoples' Organization's founding convention and be a part of this burgeoning progressive coalition that includes Medea Benjamin, Michael Franti, Sup. Ross Mirkarimi, Matt Gonzalez, and Sup. Chris Daly. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., St. Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough. (415) 546-1342, www.sfpeople.org.

P.S. I did say the quote below as well. I disagreed with McGoldrick's MTA vote but I can understand that there could be honest differences of opinion.

Haaland said McGoldrick "has always been pro-labor and pro-public health." He also defended McGoldrick's recent vote to reduce parking fines, money that Daly, Sup. Ross Mirkarimi, and the activists at the Coalition for Transit Justice said should have been used to offset Muni fee increases and service reductions. "From a working-class perspective," Haaland said, "it could be argued that these fines hurt poor workers who need cars for their jobs."