Chellie Pingree just made a point that echos what Jaime Harrison said the other night about "The Establishment"

[QueerDuck]

5. Well said. Thank you for this. 🇺🇸

This is an incredibly thoughtful post, and I really appreciate you putting it into such clear focus. All of it is great, but this part was especially worth noting:

The Democratic Establishment are regular everyday people, they aren't some dark force who is out to do anything except participate in our Democracy. Why these people have been turned into some sort of nefarious group is ridiculous.

Demystifying the phrase "the establishment" and reminding us that it consists of regular citizens working to keep our democracy functioning is exactly how we lower the temperature on division.

Your point connects perfectly to how we define the true "base" of our party. There is a tendency in online spaces to claim the title of "the base" based purely on ideological purity. But in reality, the true base is defined by sustained action, loyalty, and labor.

The real base consists of the everyday people you described: the ones who do the unglamorous legwork, donate, volunteer, go door-to-door, collect signatures, and stuff envelopes. Most importantly, the true base is reliable—they show up in every single cycle, unified, to support the entire ticket and protect our democracy.

Thank you for bringing such a steady, constructive, and realistic voice to the thread.