Monday, April 13, 2015

The Ghost of Howard Dean

So I read THIS story about how some Democrats are finally going to try and grow a 50-state on-the-ground movement, and it makes me want to pound my head with a mallet.
Thirty years ago, the DNC made a decision to essentially abandon its state-level structures. As was explained to me later, most of the state-level Democratic groups were viewed as "too far left" and considered a liability to getting Democrats elected. There followed loss of Democrat control of Congress. Save for the brief period of 2006 to 2010, Republicans have been in control of Congress for the last 20 years. At the same time, Democrats have been steadily losing control of state legislatures and governorships. Today, a clear majority of states have complete GOP control of state government (there are presently 31 Republican governors and 31 GOP-controlled legislatures).
I can only hope that such a rebuilding movement is successful. I fear that people Like Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Chuck Schumer will fight this tooth and nail. Ever since the days of Marshall Whitman and the DLC, the official policy of the Democratic Party is that it will not spend money on races below the level of U.S. Congress, and it will not spend money on any race that the Democrat isn't pretty much guaranteed to win. Both of those things need to end yesterday, so here's hoping that tomorrow brings us revitalized local Democratic Party organizations--and a new wave of true liberal/progressive candidates!