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Changing the Democrat Party

  
 
Hieronymus
17:07 / 07.01.05
So right now the Democratic party is wounded and listing like a leaking ship. After the heartbreak (and I know personally it felt like the worst relationship break-up I'd ever been in. I didn't want to talk to a soul for days) following Bush's re-election, a lot of us felt completely trounced by the politically religious, morally bankrupt Right.

And at present, the party is still picking through the ashes, trying to find where it wants to stand, on issues from abortion to where Christian evangelism stands in the political theatre to Social Security and the war. Should it try to appeal more to Southern, western and rural voters or work more towards the grassroots activism of the last four years?

I honestly feel that Bush's re-election is a good thing, in a way. In that it will seperate the genuinely progressive politics of the party from the chaff of political opportunism. Get us back to our roots. The very same thing that happened to the Republican party, that crisis of the rudder, following Bush Sr and Dole's failure, is happening to the Democratic party. And I personally believe, this is an opportunity we can't waste. But, in order for that to happen, we have to change. The same old course isn't working for us and for the country.

So... with that in mind, we need to dig in and make real shifts in the party. Starting with the leadership, specifically the Democratic National Committee's chairmanship, which is up for succession following Terry McAuliffe's departure. This role is extremely important, as the successor will end up being a major influence on the architecture of what the party stands for. Kid-glove, populist Republican-lite or populist progressivism.

Now at present, there's only a handful of people officially bidding for the position and a few others who have yet to announce their run, but are interested. They include:

Those already in the race:

  • Simon Rosenberg, head of the New Democrat Network

  • Martin Frost, former Congressman from Texas

  • Donnie Fowler, Clinton political strategist

  • Wellington Webb, former Dem mayor of Denver


    • Interested parties:

  • Howard Dean, former prez candidate and former governor of Vermont

  • Former Michigan governor, James Blanchard

  • Tim Roemer, former Indiana Congressman and the guy I like to call the GOP's toady.

    My money is on Dean and I've already written a letter to the DNC members in my state letting them know that's my choice. But I really would ask any Lithers who are members of the Democratic party to weigh in before February 2nd (the day of the vote, I believe).

    We need to change the party from within if we're going to have a snowball's chance of changing the current state of affairs in this country.
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    FinderWolf
    17:43 / 07.01.05
    thanks for posting this - I too feel Dean would be an excellent head of the DNC (even though I wasn't supporting him for President).
    		 
     
    Hieronymus
    17:21 / 11.01.05
    Well it's official.

    Dean's in.
    		 
     
    Chiropteran
    18:58 / 11.01.05
    Dean, from the article linked above:

    "That word -- 'values' -- has lately become a codeword for appeasement of the right-wing fringe. But when political calculations make us soften our opposition to bigotry, or sign on to policies that add to the burden of ordinary Americans, we have abandoned our true values."

    This could be a good thing. Follow up on this, Dean.

    ~L
    		 
     
    FinderWolf
    16:59 / 12.01.05
    Now, who gets to vote for the DNC office? I'm a registered Dem., do I get to vote?
    		 
     
    farseer /pokes out an i
    19:49 / 12.01.05
    Nobody real gets to vote. Only 480 party members get to vote, and they're the elected representatives, past elected officials (presidents), and some democrats who just have a fuckload of money. No joke.

    I've also signaled my own preference for Dean to my local democratic leadership. MoveOn.org's "50 ways to love your country" has some great suggestions on how to interface with the American Government Bureaucracy.

    Before I twist it to the next level, let me explain: I got back into politics because of Dean. I even donated money to his campaign, including some 527's and PACs, which I had never done before then. He was the only democratic candidate who balanced a budget and credibly talked about ending corporate rule in Amerika. Let alone that he'd already demonstrated his commitment to civil liberties and freedom as a Governor. I've tried to work within the democratic party- I was a democratic county elector in Texas in 2004 (first time ever!) and I conspired with my fellow Dean delegates to vote in progressive reps to the state caucus. I made signs, protested, helped out my local party headquarters. But honestly, it was 9/11 that turned me back into politics in general. I voted for Nader in 2000, and was sorta active then, but not like post 9/11. I feel as if challenging this coverup, and throwing real light into the dark recesses of America's Military-Industrial-Peak Oil-Drug-Terrorism-Corporate-Colonialism complex. I have other goals for my life, but sitting back and watching the coverup go down is not going to be one of them. If you've never been to 9/11 Truth, you should check it out. "The Best" on the right hand side has some great links to read more.

    That being said, I have little faith in the Democratic party. Why? Because the Democratic party, as is, appears to be just another management team for the Friendly Fascism Corporate-Oligarchy that we now have. Two management teams with the same end goal of American World Dominance; Republicans do it through war and fear, and the Democrats do it through economic warfare.

    Micheal Moore had to shame Democratic Senators into standing with the Black Caucus in 2004, after they failed in the American Coup of 2000. Where was Kerry? Edwards? Kennedy? Sick...

    The Greens and Libertarians were the only political party to put up the money to begin the manual recounts, and verifications of the corporate-controlled electronic election process. Where was the democratic party when the exit polls, which were all strong for Kerry, were found out to be "wrong"? Exit polls aren't wrong. They're what gave the Ukranians the clue that their election was being stolen from them. They rose up in the streets. Where were the democrats?

    So, where else do we turn? The Green, Libertarian, and Americans for Peace parties have all called for another investigation into 9/11. The Democratic party hasn't. That's a huge strike against the party in general, in my book. What can we do to cause the democratic party to wake up to the serious issues of our time? ONLY when that occurs will the democratic party become stronger, and more persuasive. We live in interesting times, which hold some of the greatest challenges the human race as a whole will have ever faced. It's not time to be bored, that's fer sure...

    What do the democrats do well? Frame an issue. What they aren't great at is manufacturing a sound bite that says X, while meaning XTYZF, and implying only Z. I've recently re-read the book "entertaining ourselves to death", and it almost appears that the Democratic party doesn't understand how to use TV to effectively express their messages. Not that their messages as of late have really had the power they should- the Democrats squandered what little capital they had by using Kerry as "the puppet on the left" smell never really washed out of him. There are some groups out there with Frank Luntz-like rhetorical sorcerous ability... It's too bad he doesn't use his power only for good... lol

    So, what's my plan? I'm trying to put a 527 together with some friends of mine. We'll add our voice to the fray on Social Security, Peak Oil, the Iraq occupation, Corporate Rule, real transparency in government, secure and verifiable elections, the 9/11 coverup, and true fiscal responsibility.

    hm. long post. sorry!

    Yay getting the Democratic party's ass in gear, and trouncing the Corporate Republicrats.

    Maybe the key is to get those with money out of the control of the party. gah! /end
    		 
     
    Pingle!Pop
    12:45 / 13.01.05
    On the "values" point mentioned above... well, you know all those people putting crosses next to Bush's name last November, citing moral values? It might be worth mentioning that the top two issues cited these "moral values" voters were, at 33% and 31% respectively, "greed and materialism" and "poverty and economic injustice". Surely it shouldn't be too difficult to point out to people that, if these are their priorities, voting for the Republicans might not be such a great idea?
    		 
     
    Baz Auckland
    18:04 / 12.02.05
    Dean Elected as Chairman

    The 447-member Democratic National Committee chose Dean on a voice vote to replace outgoing party chief Terry McAuliffe. The former Vermont governor and presidential candidate had promised to rebuild the state parties, take the offensive against Republicans, and better explain party positions on issues.

    "Today will be the beginning of the reemergence of the Democratic Party," Dean told DNC members immediately after his election. "The first thing we have to do is stand up for what we believe in." "I'll pretty much be living in red states in the South and West for quite a while," Dean said. "The way to get people not to be skeptical about you is to show up and say what you think."

    ...woo! Dean!
    		 
     
    Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo
    17:19 / 13.02.05
    I'm hoping that Dean shakes things up, since the Democrats have been pretty rudderless for the last 25 (or longer) years.

    Before civil rights, the Democrats were working class people and Southern racists, with a lot of fringe groups attached. The best description I have read when when Harry Truman said that Republicans were Catholics and rich Northeasterners and Democrats were everyone else. Then, after the Civil Rights bill, the southern racists peeled off, joined the Republican Party, and the Goldwater wing took over, using Nixon's "Southern Strategy" to peel off most of the middle and working class.

    Since Reagan, Democrats have just seemed like "Non-Republicans", to the point of Clinton being a Republican, but not as blatant about it. Repubicans have a strong identity, and even if you disagree with them, the average person knows their public stances on things.

    The Democrats need to do the same thing. I think things like Air America help, but if the party doesn't become more than "Not them", they won't win back people. The amazing thing is that even as ill-defined as they are, they STILL get close to a majority in national races, so a resurgence of the party is not an unknown thing. The Republicans were considered dead in 1977, and won with Reagan, who in 1976 was thought of as WAY too conservative to appeal to a majority of people.

    But if they keep the squishy ideals with bland candidates, they will be like the Repubicans after Hoover, a minor opposition trying to slow down the majority party.
    		 
      
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