Very telling.
For 2 years small donors dug deep into the cushions of their couches and put the Democratic Party on their backs; carrying them to within 120,000 votes of winning an election that might have otherwise been a blowout.
Terry McAuliffe brags about raising more cash than the RNC, crediting the small donor, like that is some sort of moral victory.
Today, the netroots got their reward. Matt Stoller of BOP News, Jerome Armstrong of MyDD, and Joe Trippi of Howard Dean fame were tossed out of the candidate Q&A for potential DNC Chairman candidates.
Jerome Armstrong has the firsthand story over at
MyDD.
There's something wrong when DNC Chair candidate Donnie Fowler, during his 5-minute presentation on his candidacy, singles out Matt Stoller as an example of embracing the technological ideas that are going to bring this party forward, and then some DNC staffer walks up to Stoller and tells him he's got to leave the room, because he's a blogger.
How's that for high praise. Thanks for the work, now get out. But remember, we are going to rely on you for your excellent community organizing and fundraising abilities in 2006 & 2008.
Jerome has more...
There's something wrong when the chairs and executive directors go on and on with their praise toward the internet that's brought millions into the coffers of the DNC, and then turns around and kicks Joe Trippi and his band of bloggers out of the meeting room when the "closed" Q & A with the DNC Chair candidates occurs. You could have walked right in off the street and into the candidate Hall unencumbered, but if you happened to be a blogger, or the guy who brought the strategy of embracing the small donor activist on the net for the Democratic Party, and he's got a blog, out you go.
To be fair, the Q&A was supposed to be closed to the press. But as Jerome noted, anyone from the street could have walked right in and watched show. They could have called the press after, emailed friends, or even posted a diary about the entire meeting on Daily Kos, for example.
Finish it off Jerome...
There's praise for the internet here, rejoicing over the small donor, and they're using new-fangled words like netroots and blogosphere, but dem' bloggers that drive the leading edge of the battle, that raised millions for candidates and the DNC? Don't come, you're not really welcome.
That was a problem I mostly worked around while here in Orlando for the DNC meeting. Except for the full-colored brunt I gave to some suit from North Dakota that came up to me and said "bloggers leave", I held it cool and in-check. I've dealt with bumping against authority quite a lot, and can deal with the laggard mentality. But it is a problem. I guarantee you that Frank Luntz is not getting kicked out of any RNC meetings; but that blogger Joe Trippi can't stay inside the room, it means there's something wrong inside the DNC.
Jerome's description really says everything that needs explaining about today's events in Orlando. So all that's left for me to do is talk a bit about Jerome and Matt for those of you who are not familiar with them.
Matt Stoller is one of the best minds on-line. You might run into an ocassional front page post of his on this site. You might even visit BOP News occassionally. His efforts in the 2004 election, vision for the future, and ideas about netroots inclusion might even be unparalleled.
That leaves Jerome, about whom I have alot to say.
Some of you remember Jeff Seemann on DailyKos this election cycle. Some of you might even remember that I worked for him.
Jerome Armstrong was a constant source of support, suggestions, and feedback for the campaign. I could email Jerome and always expect a reply with either a new idea or friendly feedback. If you felt included in our effort in OH-16, felt like you were as much a part of the effort as the staff on the ground; that has as much to do with Jerome as it did with Jeff or myself.
Reading Jerome's account over at MyDD made me feel like they kicked me out of the meeting as well. It made me feel like they kicked ALL of us out. It brought back memories of the sadness I had when the press would call me after the election and ask "why did the blogs let your campaign down?"
Tonight, I feel let down by my party. If they don't get it after everything we did in 2004, when will they?
Tim
P.S. It is also noteworthy to include that Jerome and Matt promised not to write a word about the meeting. They wanted to be part of process, but weren't allowed to be. And for everything they did in the run-up to Nov. 2, they deserved to be.
And that doesn't even include kicking Joe Trippi out. I don't even know where to begin with that.
Update [2004-12-12 7:11:12 by ttagaris]:
I have had a few hours to think about this, and with the exception of the disrespect they showed two people I have a tremendous amount of respect for -- I figured out what really frustrates me about this incident.
The thing that gets me is that after 2 years, the party elite still don't get that inclusion, respect, and direct participation are what BREED the activism and fundraising they covet and need as a party.
Kicking out Jerome, Matt, and Joe Trippi is the complete antithesis to every lesson the party should have learned -- even if they were just mildly observing anything but their small dollar fundraising databases.
If they haven't learned by now, when will they?
Update [2004-12-12 14:14:49 by ttagaris]:
As KagroX importantly points out, this was an Association of Democratic State Chairs event, not DNC. I did not even come close to making this point clear.
Please direct your comments accordingly, and with a clear head.