Fashion Statement for this Summer is ‘Impeach’

Progressive Democrats of America Birthday Party in Topanga

Reported by June & Rodger Caldwell

Pictures by June Caldwell

In keeping with the media’s sudden obsession with the clothes and hair of political figures since Hillary Clinton has thrown her hat in the Presidential race, I must say Tom Hayden looked smashing in his ivory garden party suit at Saturday’s PDA soiree. The Progressive Democrats of America had their third year anniversary bash in TopangaCanyon on August 4.

The first week in August was a whirlwind for political activists in LA’s Prius populated Westside. The PDA party highlighted much to celebrate and much more work to do. It was a showcase of original Impeachment T-shirt designs and bumper stickers. Such new favorite Impeach emblems as ‘Jail to the King’ and ‘Enough’ competed with the ever popular classic ‘Impeach Bush and Cheney’ as the new little black dress of the Topanga progressive elite. The crowd enjoyed the generous buffet of taco fixings and salads that soon disappeared. There was also a genuine hunger for a change in direction for the US away from the divisive bullying by the Bush White House, and its right wing extremists, lobbyists and corporate ties. The PDA is one of the primary organizations that has been insistent on keeping the Democratic Party true to its progressive base, and calling foul whenever and wherever that is not done.

Along with PDA luminaries present such as Mimi Kennedy and Lila Garrett, speakers included Tom Hayden, world renowned political activist, still going strong since his work helping to end the Viet Nam War. Hayden chatted with us there against a backdrop of the gorgeous TopangaCanyon with mountains in the distance swept with swirls of tropical clouds at Dorothy Reik’s lush home. The contrast of this idyllic Saturday afternoon vs. his stories of horror in Iraq couldn’t have been more pronounced. He shared atrocities from the Iraq War such as the ‘gated communities’ that are actually internment camps for the Sunnis that the US is using to enable the ethnic cleansing being committed against them by other factions in Iraq, and that our government is supporting with the goal of breaking the will of the people there so thoroughly we can take over permanently. He also outlined a simple and logical exit strategy, and emphasized that all US military must leave, not just our recent troops, in order for there to be any real country left there. His new book, ‘Ending the War in Iraq’ is hot off the press just in time to answer Hillary’s now notorious question about a plan to exit Iraq, and was gobbled up by the crowd.  Other speakers such as Marcy Winograd, President of the PDA Los Angeles, outlined the incredible successes the PDA has achieved in their short 3 years.

Pulling the Democratic Party to the left and keeping them real is the charge of this group. In its first few years of existence, the PDA has genuinely influenced legislation on local and national levels. At the California Democratic Convention in San Diego earlier this summer, the PDA was a dazzlingly powerful force. Within 3 days, the major initiatives of the PDA, forging a statewide resolution to stop Iraq funding and one to begin steps for Impeachment, went from being brushed off as implausible by the Chairman, to being the star issues of the Convention, to dominating the voting and coming to fruition to varying degrees by the last day of the Convention. This was an example of the energizing shot of B-12 the PDA has been to the Democratic Party. At the anniversary celebration, it was clear it is a sustained release one at that.