** I used to be a leftist. I changed. (many decades ago) **
me too.
My grandfather worked @ city hall for the real Mayor Daley.
It was set up back then that if you had a connected job, you had to do “something” for the party.
You had a chinaman.(mentor\a higher up in the party - you had to know somebody).
Story goes about Jesse Jackson. Comes to Chicago from S.Carolina looking to work for Daley in some capacity. They pulled the abner mikva story on him - https://resumayday.com/we-dont-want-nobody-that-nobody-sent-using-your-connections-effectively-during-your-job-search/
“who sent ya?” Nobody! “we don’t want nobody nobody sent.”
My grandfather was a precinct captain.(Today - TV and the Interwebs are the precinct captains).
My g’father passed in 1964. A bunch of big shots was at his funeral...Da Mare\Donny Rumsfeld\Danny Rostenkowski...(why the last 2, I don’t know) - bunch of alderman\cops.
I was 13 back then and my memory is getting fuzzier.
I remember walking the stairs with him as he worked his precinct (a river ward housing project) handing out fliers. They drafted my uncle to take over the precinct but he didn’t really want to and didn’t last long.
My whole family were RATs (mostly the same today). You couldn’t say the “R” word(Republican) in our house. It was “those people.”
After H.S. graduation, I lived illegally with my g’mother in the housing projects. Rent was based on income. Our combined income disqualified us from living there. someone looked the other way.
There was a long waiting list to get an apartment there. Somehow, my g’mother’s sister got to the top of a list she was never on.
After hearing stories, I think my g’mother had more juice than my g’father.
The first time I voted was in VietNam...my g’mother made sure I got an absentee ballot...for what I don’t know, but it was a RAT-only ballot. She also sent me flags - a city flag that flew over city hall and a state flag that flew over the state capitol.
I don’t when or why I left the reservation but I know I voted for Pres. Reagan...prior to that I don’t remember who I voted for...and I never looked back in regret.
Definitely your family was hardcore!
Mine was hardcore but not as connected/activist.
I left the res early on, long miserable story.
Fascinating.., you come from a colorful family.
It as the same in New York City, where I grew up.
It wasn’t what you knew...it was who you knew, esp. with those highpaying city jobs.