Axar.az presents an article, "Note To The Left" by John Samuel Tieman.

A woman was elected to her city council. She had been a socialist protester. After her election, she brought her placards to the council chambers. She set one at her desk each meeting. The transition, from protester to council member, was never clear to her.

Wonder why I like Bernie Sanders? Sure, he's a socialist, and I'm a socialist. But it's mostly because, when he was Mayor of Burlington, Vermont, he worked with his city council to balance the budget. It's not exciting, not dramatic, but it is the stuff of governance.

Socialists in America are having a moment. Bernie, AOC, Mamdani, others. I'm a city council member and a Third Way social democrat. There are a few of us around. But it remains to be seen if the left can widely capitalize on this moment. How many leftists can put down the placard and put on a suit, pantsuit, white shirt, and a white blouse? To be of service, a politician must master the tasks of governance. 99% of activism is political exhibitionism. 99% of governance is the constituent service that few will ever notice.

If the left wants to be more than a passing curiosity, here's what it needs to offer. One, dialogue framed in a decorum that leads to two, practical solutions created in collegiality.

I'm thinking back over a century to the earliest Labour members of the British Parliament. Some were coal miners. In the House of Commons, they at first showed up in their work clothes. Soon they showed up in white shirts, suits, and ties. A generation or so later, Labour member Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, the Welsh son of a coal miner and a seamstress, spearheaded the passage of the National Health Service Act of 1946. Bevan is credited with being a leader in the establishment of the social service system for the United Kingdom.

Not long ago, I tried to post an essay on a democratic socialist website. My essay was rejected. I failed the purity test. I was told that my essay showed my willingness to work with capitalists. Let me put it this way. Politics is about ideology. It is also about getting things done. It remains to be seen if leftists in general can transition from broiling activism to patient governance. Activists tend to be angry and aggressive. Anger and aggression are everyday parts of politics. “Nye” Bevan was a pretty angry fellow. He also knew how to pass a bill. Hence, the white shirt or white blouse.

There's another Labour parliamentarian I am fond of, Harold Wilson. When he was Prime Minister, Wilson abolished capital punishment, eased censorship, supported LGBTQ+ rights, and promoted education by championing the Open University. A committed socialist, he knew how to compromise, how to make a deal. He was approachable. His humble origins gave him an everyman appeal. He personally answered most letters from constituents, members of the Labour Party, and individuals connected to his political work, including a letter from this author. My point is this. Harold Wilson understood that socialism is not simply an ideology. It is a set of ethics that frames a civic dialogue designed to get things done.

While she was still in the House of Representatives, I chatted with now-Governor Abigail Spanberger of Virginia. She gave my wife and me a tour of the House floor. I admire her. Spanberger has reservations about the Democratic Party's leftward shift. She doesn't even like the word "socialism.” She's said that "we need to not ever use the words socialist or socialism ever again". In her opinion, such terms alienate moderate voters and could jeopardize the party's success in elections. Hers is a strategic approach. She advocates a centrist approach using centrist rhetoric to garner electoral success. I would never dismiss the insight of Abigail Spanberger. Indeed, I embrace it. Meaning I agree with her – and I don't. I'm not saying every leftist is a ninny. I am saying that we're a centrist country. Leftists need to embrace that political reality. I'd love to work toward the day when Abigail Spanberger sees socialists as folks she can do business with.

The other day, I, a third-way social democrat, bought a replica of an “I Like Ike” button. I had one when I was a kid. I come from a family of Republicans. I like to think about how things were so different then. I like to remember how my home state, Missouri, could elect at the same time Tom Eagleton, a liberal Democrat, and Jack Danforth, a conservative Republican.

Ted Kennedy, a liberal Democrat and a Catholic, used to like to sing hymns with Orin Hatch, a conservative Republican and a Mormon. In 1997, Senators Hatch and Kennedy created the Children's Health Insurance Program in order to cover the millions of uninsured children. They also worked for the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 1990 Ryan White CARE Act, which provided HIV / AIDS treatment resources, and so much more.

We're also a country with 7.2 million people unemployed. We have 35.6 million living in poverty. 67% are working class. What do we do about that? We owe our neighbors this binding obligation, the search for a workable solution. So don't forget the white shirt or blouse. And a red tie. And a red rose.