This is cross-posted from FLA Politics. I fully realize this doesn't apply to most of you. However, I do think this might provoke some brainstorming about what your state and community progressives and Democrats will need to do after 2006 is over. -Ray Seaman
We all agree here that this election is critically important for all Floridians and Americans. We're going to work harder than we ever have before to elect Democrats and progressives to office. Great - but we must constantly be looking down the road if we are to be an effective political movement. In the extended entry, I'll discuss a few things we as Democrats and progressives will need to do after 2006 and before 2008, regardless of whether we gain the Governor's mansion or not, or even if we gain seats in the legislature or not.
Legislation
- Deal with the hurricane insurance crisis. See
Storming Mad for more details and the idea put forward by Democrats in the legislature to fix the problem.
- Repeal the Bush tax cuts and use those funds and further surpluses to fully fund the class size amendment and Universal Pre-K, as well as raise teacher salaries.
- Push for redistricting reform, similar or identical to the reforms suggested in the failed amendment put forth by the Committee for Fair Elections.
- Begin the process for the creation of a new Growth Management Act.
The Democratic Party
- Perform a comprehensive review of all county parties, or Democratic Executive Committees (DECs.)
- Establish permanent district field offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Miami, and Sarasota, with each field office having a regional field organizer to assist in DEC and precinct-by-precinct buildup or assistance.
- Put more resources and emphasis behind automatic recurring donor programs like M.I.N.D.
- Establish an official training academy for activists in the standard fields of precinct organizing, communications, and fundraising, but also in the increasingly important fields of web technology, advertising, and marketing.
- Establish at the local and state level, a committee or some kind of communications apparatus with which the political party can communicate and coordinate effectively with the political office holder to see which issues and message needs to be pushed for the week, etc...
- Establish a Long Range or Strategic Planning Committee at the local and state level, whose sole job would be to look 10 years down the road and lay groundwork for long term goals and objectives.
The Progressive Movement
- Continue to link progressive issue-based groups together in effective and productive coalitions.
- Establish one or several well-funded progressive think tanks at the state level, and support existing ones and startups.
- Create a program to assist local parties (DECs) to get funding and aid to establish small local progressive think tanks.
- Continue to back the mission of the Florida Progressive Coalition, whether in terms of time, money, or access, whose [the FPCs] job it is to unite the progressive movement in Florida.
We can't just win in 2006 and get drunk from victory (though many of us will probably be drunk on Election Night, whether in victory or defeat.) In victory or defeat, we must continue to build the kind of infrastructure and establish the connections needed to push the progressive agenda Florida so critically needs.