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Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Only the Grassroots Can Save the Democratic Party
Joe Trippi's Wallstreet Journal column on the future of the Democratic Party is featured in its entirety on Common Dreams. To me this is one of the smartest analyses offered so far in the continuing discussion about the future of the Party and the progressive movement many within it want to shun. What's your take?
Some excerpts:
"The staggering defeat of the Democratic Party and its ever-accelerating death spiral weren't obvious from the election results. Two factors masked the extent of the party's trouble. Without the innovation of Internet-driven small-donor fund-raising and a corresponding surge in support from the youngest voters, John Kerry would have suffered a dramatically larger defeat. And the true magnitude of the Democrats' abject failure at the polls in 2004 would have been more clearly revealed.
"Mr. Kerry raised nearly half of his war chest over the Internet. He was so successful at this that he actually outspent the Bush campaign. But it was the outsider campaign of Howard Dean, reviled by most of the Democratic establishment, that pioneered the use of the Internet to raise millions in small contributions; Mr. Kerry was just the beneficiary as the party nominee. And it was the risk-taking Dean campaign that forced the risk-averse Kerry campaign to opt out of the public financing system. Had that decision not been forced on Mr. Kerry, he would have been badly outspent by George Bush; he would not have been competitive at all throughout the long summer of 2004.
[. . .]
"Since the Democratic Leadership Council, with its mantra of "moderate, moderate, moderate," took hold in D.C., the party has been in decline at just about every level of government. Forget the Kerry loss. Today the number of Democrats in the House is the lowest it's been since 1948. Democrats are on the brink of becoming a permanent minority party. Can the oldest democratic institution on earth wake from its stupor? Here are some steps to pull out of the nose-dive:
- Democrats can't keep ignoring their base. Running to the middle and then asking our base to make sure to vote isn't a plan. And to those who say talking to your base doesn't work -- Read the Rove 2004 playbook!
- Democrats must reconnect with the energy of our grass roots. One of the failures of the DLC was that its ideas never helped us build a grass-roots donor base. As a result, Democrats held a lead over Republicans in only one fundraising category before this election cycle: contributions over one million dollars. That shows how far the party had strayed from grassroots fundraising before the Dean campaign. We must build a base of at least seven million small donors by 2006. With the Internet it's possible. But it can't just be about the money, it also has to be about ideas.
- The one thing we learned in the Dean campaign was that the 30 people in Burlington weren't as smart as the 650,000 Americans who were part of our campaign. Instead of a DLC in D.C., Democrats should be holding Democratic Grassroots Councils in every county. Democratic National Committee members in each state, along with the state party, should host and moderate these meetings to develop ideas that come from the people, instead of the experts in D.C.
- A party that ignores the needs of state and local parties is doomed. We must begin to invest aggressively in states we continually write off in national elections. If we don't, the decline of the party in these states will continue until we're non-existent. Look at the south.
- In a world in which companies like Wal-Mart pay substandard wages with no real benefits, our party has got to find innovative ways to support organized labor's growth. A declining union membership is not good for the country, it's not good for working people, and it certainly isn't good for the Democratic Party.
- The Democratic Party has to be the vehicle that empowers the American people to change our failed political system. We all know the damn thing is broken. Democrats should lead the way by placing stricter money restrictions on candidates than the toothless Federal Election Commission does. A party funded by contributions from the people can do this. A corrupted and corroded party cannot. The Democratic Party shouldn't wait for campaign-finance reform -- it should be campaign-finance reform.
- Finally, what is the purpose the party strives for today? What are our goals for the nation? You couldn't tell from the election. Very few good ideas come from the middle, and they tend to be mediocre. Consultants have become adept at keeping candidates in that safe zone. But the time has come to develop bold ideas and challenge people to sacrifice for the common good. Experts will tell you that you can't ask the American people to sacrifice individually for the common good. Those experts are wrong -- it's just been so long since anyone has asked them."
December 1, 2004 at 09:25 AM in Democratic Party | Permalink
Comments
Wow. Very impressive, and I say that as one who has dismissed Trippi as a poseur in the past. Is it possible that the cacaphony of voices raised against business as usual in the DNC might reach a high enough pitch that they will listen? Or will the DLC whisper poisons into their ears until they are indistinguishable from the RNC? Trippi offers some hope, as does the fact that his column is making a big splash in e-mail distribution.
Posted by: John McAndrew | Dec 1, 2004 10:31:03 AM
Good article! I always liked Trippi. He doesn't present well on television, but he does think outside the box occasionally, and he knows Washington is out of touch with the voters.
Posted by: Nancy | Dec 1, 2004 3:01:04 PM
I think Trippi's heart is definitely in the right place, as he demonstrated when he brought half the room, including himself, to tears last October when he spoke to Dean supporters.
He's still trying to jump out of that 16 story window!
Posted by: Kathy | Dec 2, 2004 10:38:30 AM
I thank Mr. Trippi for his years of service. He works hard, and I respect him -- BUT, he is flat wrong.
First, he says, "Since the Democratic Leadership Council, with its mantra of "moderate, moderate, moderate," took hold in D.C., the party has been in decline at just about every level of government."
In a two-party, Electoral-based, winner-take-all system, successful parties move to the middle as an election nears. Look at the Republicans. They showcased Arnold, Rudi (their moderates). They used Zell and Cheney to attack.
Where's the pro-choice, pro-gay Republicans now?
The Republicans won this election as they deceived the public. They have created a massive propaganda machine. They told us things are up when they are down; down when they are up.
Look at our success. Kerry received more votes than any Democratic candidate in history. This was the best performance of any challenger during a war. Bush/Rove tweaked the terror warnings, war footage and international events to "play" the public. The lesser-informed swing voters were manipulated, duped and used.
Trippi says, "What are our goals for the nation? You couldn't tell from the election..." Really. What election was he watching? Health care for nearly all. Return to an economic machine that fosters a strong middle class. Repeal a tax structure that favors the rich over working class people. True focus on Homeland Security. Return to aggressive environmental regulation -- clean air and water. Funding schools so our kids learn, not learn how to fill in bubble sheets and complete standardized tests. Real assistance for college and advance learning.
We were defeated by Right Wing opinion leaders. They take their cues, on command, from cable talk shows, extremist radio and blogs. They march in line, and demand their friends and associates do the same.
They echo is a critical component to their system. Research shows this. People who could correctly assess the facts voted for Kerry; those who were misinformed voted for Bush.
Campaigns can be compared to a football game. In football, there is a ground and air game. We did a decent job in our ground game -- we got over 56 million to the polls -- a record. Yet they trounced us in the Air Game -- the TV media. Whenever a positive Democrat issue surfaces, they ran up the terror warning. They released negative reports on Friday, when the public and media missed the information.
Democrats generally rely on their ground game, as we're strongly grass roots based. While we did well, it was only a B+ effort. We ran over the top of each other. We registered quickly, but many registrations weren't completed accurately. We didn't follow up. Many of those we registered weren't fully educated. Many of our ranks failed at the polls. They didn't know their precinct. They didn't understand absentee or provisional ballots.
The Republicans executed their game plan nearly flawlessly. They orchestrated the TV media. They got out their vote. They were properly registered. They were "told" who to vote for. They were walked to the polls. They work as an "ant" army. They are incredible worker bees.
You don't hear them criticizing their leadership. This isn't tolerated.
We are a party of critics. This is good, as it can lead to great vision. It is also self-destructive. We beat up our own candidates.
In closing, our anger, focus and energy must be directed to the enemy -- and, they are the enemy. They want total control, and they will erase 50 years of liberal and progressive reform.
New visions? We've listed plenty of visions. Their objective now isn't visionary, it's fundamentalism. They want to return to the 1920. They want lower taxes, less government regulation, strong religious guidelines -- theirs, not yours or mine.
They want to make the world into an American corporate playground. Freedom is access to American products, access to cheap foreign resources, and limited regulation by U.S. or international bodies.
They want the ability to make as much money as possible without regard to workers' rights, environmental rights or other restrictions. It is a short-term race. They have a head start, they do not play fair, and they have no interest in egalitarian principles of fairness or ethics.
Now, we can pick ourselves apart -- they'd love this. Their favorite strategy is divide and conquer.
Anyone who claims to be on our side yet says, "The staggering defeat of the Democratic Party and its ever-accelerating death spiral weren't obvious from the election results..."
We are right. We were defeated by fear. People are afraid to have vision under these stressed circumstances. They rally to the secure and better known -- this translates into "conservative" attitudes.
Don't give up. We lost by the Margin of Error. The truth of their lies and distortions will come out. We must not panic, and try to re-write the platform or throw out our leaders.
Bush now has the monkey on his back. Stay angry, and point out each and every failure -- there will be plenty. The tide will soon shift to our side as the truth comes out...
Posted by: Scott Goold | Dec 2, 2004 1:58:18 PM
