As for "the press being there," that doesn't mean much. WaPo's story was written by Dana Milbank and comparing his story to the blogs, I don't think he was at the same event. For all I know, he made up the quote from Jim Dean.
I hope this is one of the things that change, should Howard become the next DNC Chair.
I was watching Dana Milbank for awhile, and I remember thinking to myself- I wonder will his account of what happened here today be anything at all like what mine will be? Needless to say, our perceptions were amazingly different. Thank God most bloggers had similar accounts of the event- or I would have thought maybe I was losing my marbles!!
Although, Matt and I did go onto a wicked bungee vertical slingshot that was near our hotel.
I was surprised though to find that there weren't a ton of people driving cross state/coutnry to see Tim Roemer speak. Shocking. Don't they know that he's "strong"?
The opaque nature of the DNC makes it seem more akin to a Communist Party than to a Democratic one. I tried asking a bunch of different people how one goes about becoming a DNC member, and they either shrugged or changed the subject. Hell, some of the people pushing DNC vice-chair candidates couldn't even tell me what the heck a DNC vice chair does...
How are we supposed to feel like a vital part of this party when we can't even see how the party elects its leaders (other than the chair) or who those members are to begin with. I know you can dig up the info on some blogs, but shouldn't it be easier to get into the know? When I sent the list of PA reps to my father he told me that 2 were career (read: corrupt) party-hacks, the third was a complete dirtbag who had sued my pops for libel on behalf of a criminal client (who ripped off poor people) who my dad was bringing to justice (anyway the scumbags both lost). Can we afford to have the corrupt money grubbers in postions of power in this party? I think not.
Let's hope that Dean, or whomever gets the nod, will be able to push for a little more transparancy and accountability from our state parties. The future of our party depends upon it...
It should all be easier, shouldn't it. Unfortunately, we can't rely on Dean or whoever winds up as chair to push for more transparency or accountability. It's up to us to do this. Let's start by sharing the information we gather and how we get it. It should be easier to access this information, you're absolutely right. Fortunately, it's not secret information. We just need to publicize the fuck out of it.
In California, we (DFAers and MMOBsters) are lucky because many people here were already local Dem Party activists. I think, because Dean gave his famous "What I Want to Know" speech at our 2003 convention, he captured the hearts of many Party regulars that already wanted what Howard had the guts to demand. So they helped teach the rest of us how the local Dem structure works.
Our Western caucus in Sacramento had an open "Listening" breakfast as well as audience seats for grassrooters because grassrooters were already part of the host California State Party system. We had an ace woman who's a county chair up there that made it happen.
I have learned that understanding the Party structure isn't hard, just hard work. Show Up, as Dr. Dean says. Many times it is: show up at local gyms or union halls for long and really boring meetings ;-)
Because of the DFA network, we all got the info and Showed Up at our Assembly District Committee re-org meetings last month. (That's the entry level.) And we got tons of progressive DFAers elected as delegates to our next CA State convention. Like any volunteer org, it is the delegates that work the hardest and make an impression, that will get elected to the next level. Like high school, you have to show up to decorate the gym, if you want to run for student council.
I do think that if Dean wins (cross fingers), there will be more communication around Party structure. Each state is its own fiefdom, though, so everyone's milage will vary.
Also I did stay for the Vice Chair Session. I was interested in see who these people were, especially since one of the chairs is responsible for Voter Registration and Participation.
It may also be of interest to some to know that there are five vice chair positions - 3 of which will be reserved for women and two for men (gender parity when you count the Chair). It was a diverse group of candidates and it was noted by the moderator that such diversity would have been nice to see at the Chair level. The Eastern Regional Caucus was the only one at which the Vice Chairs were given an opportunity to speak.
Candidates for Vice Chair are as follows: Mike Honda - A Congressman from CA, I believe Alvaro Cifuentes Nelson Diaz Marjorie Harris - Done lots of Voter Registration work, Sharpton speech writer Linda Chavez-Thomspon - Exec. VP of the AFL-CIO, current Vice Chair. Denise Wilkinson - State Sen. from MA (I liked her a lot) Nancy Jane Woodside - Grassroots Organizer from Utah, opened 1st Party Headquarters in UT (red stater, a big blue heart from what I could tell) Susie Turnbull - Former (or current?) Head of the of the Democratic Leardership Forum
Does anyone know what the heck the VCs do?
Thanks so much for pushing our way in--for those of us who were able to be there because of your efforts and the efforts of other DV members, it really meant something.
Thanks also for helping me out personally--I had completely given up on the idea of making it to New York, and your efforts made it possible--I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated it.
Also, great poll question--I am trying to get involved with my state party, but it is really hard to get any information out of them! So far they haven't even listed the date/time/place for my town's caucus--and most of them happened last week!
Thanks again, KB
Some form our delegation didn't show, I'm sure there were many others of similar issue.
I was curious why so few stayed for the Vice-Chair session. We need excellent Vice-Chairs and I do recall the shirts from the morning, but not the afternoon.
Our committee was told that the list was closed off (we had our names in two weeks in advance) for space and space alone. I'm glad you got in, but I'm curious why it is this session didn't have a central organizing committee that set up how to handle these inquiries. Instead of it having been a personal issue with rank and file it simply seemed in need of more structure before the event to ensure that everyone who wanted to attend could attend.
I want to say though that the people who worked the caucus were very patient and gracious, and they and Elena handled very well what otherwise could have become messy. I loved the fact that there were so many really young people working there; They're the future of this party. I was so glad to have gotten the chance to attend; it was truly a wonderful experience.
(I personally didn't stay because I had a 12 year old who had a soccer game to get to, but some of the driving votes folks did go back to watch the afternoon session.)
As I said, there was no system for accomodating the rank-and-file. A lack of such a system, and an unwillingness to create one, indicates a disinterest in including the rank-and-file. Or at least an aversion to change. They should've reacted to the public interest and established a procedure for allowing us to attend. Instead, they deliberately misinformed us.
I did stay for the Vice-Chair session. That certainly WAS an empty room! I'm glad I did, though. Those were the most interesting speeches to me because the candidates talked more about party policies and procedure and there was a little less theatrical. Or maybe it just seemed that way because there was no press and all the observers left.
Interestingly, I was not even aware that the Vice-Chair candidates were speaking until I arrived there. The NYSDC had told me the session would last until noon. We had told those who had contacted Driving Votes that the session would last until noon, so I suppose most of our attendees had only planned on staying until then. I think it was Nancy Jane Woodside who mentioned that it was the first caucus the VC candidates had been invited to speak at!
It seems clear that some embedded people do not want the access to be as open to those of us who do want change in the party, this probably includes those in the party infrastructure and in the media which does such a rotten job of covering the democratic party.
As in other mydd coverage today, I believe the Washington DC Democratic Party and office holders are one faction at the root of those who are killing this party, they muct be deposed.
The NY Times had an article about Dean and the Repug's feeling satisfied w/ him because they still consider him a "scream"...and a few Dem's quoting in the thinly veiled negative...more wood for the fire in an already fragmented party, which is why I hope your quote is read by many, many staffers.
Keep up the good work and I look forward to more DV events.
I will add my voice to the chorus of praise for Elena and the DrivingVotes team. Despite the chaos brewing under the surface, the situation felt completely under control from the moment I was greeted at the door by a volunteer 'til the end of the day.
I wish that kind of organization could have been running the PFAW Cleveland election protection center I worked on election day. A massive chaotic clusterf--k all the way around. Lots of really bright law students from Yale and Howard that will think twice before volunteering again :+(
Oh well. On to 2006.
Go Dean.
Unfortunately, I don't believe Mr. Buckley was giving me that advice in the same spirit that Howard Dean does. We should all be involved, and meetings should still be open and accountable to the public.
However, had the event been publicized as a come-one, come-all event, well, oh my god, the voting delegates could have been outnumbered by the public 10 to 1. And the very open caucus would have been a disaster. A real mess.
So practically, as if the practical ever matters, I'm not sure what the NYDems were supposed to do. The event was supposed to be a chance for voting members to interact with the candidates and their coteries. It was televised. And even though the public wasn't invited, we were in fact very welcome. So?
