One of the most important things we do here at Daily Kos is to push the Overton Window leftward. We in the Netroots have had some very encouraging successes lately: from the stunning results of the election of 2006, to our successful campaign to kill the Fox "News" debate, to the increasing marginalization of Ann Coulter, we have accomplished great things.
This does not, of course, mean that we can rest on our laurels. Indeed, if you're like me, the successes tend to spur you on to even greater challenges.
Being active in the Netroots is important. In this diary, I would like to tell you all about another way to be involved that is just as much fun, and has the added benefit of being face-to-face, with live interaction among the participants.
I'm talking about county Democratic clubs. These organizations can be found in most every county in the US, and they are among the most powerful grassroots organizing bodies for our Party. County Democratic clubs are the fundamental networks that help select candidates, canvass voters, set up phone banks, register voters, compile voter lists, educate voters on the issues, and galvanize public opinion for or against local, state and national policy.
Therefore, I would like to ask all of my fellow Kossacks to join their county's Democratic club. With our Progressive voices added to the ranks of the already active and involved liberal networks that are the county Democratic clubs, we cannot help but push the Overton Window that much further in the direction it needs to go.
I'll tell you from personal experience that this is easier said than done. The vagaries of human nature and the mysteries of group dynamics come into play when trying to apply the Overton Window to groups of Democrats. Why?
Like everyone, Democrats are uncomfortable with rapid change and wary of radicalism. There is a natural "conservative" resistance to unfamiliar ideas or strategies, even among long-time liberals.
Questions of the "readiness" of groups of people to embrace political concepts--beyond what they have been exposed to--are debated with much righteous indignation. There is a natural fear of change and an inertia for the status quo that becomes embedded in any given electorate.
There is an inbuilt sense of caution in political affairs, even on the local level, that works against those who push for ideas that are considered radical by local standards. There is great resistance from the outside (Regressive Republicans), there is substantial resistance from inside (Democrats), and both are trying set their own definition of what constitutes "the middle"--the sacred middle.
So what is the Overton Window? It is, simply stated, a way of thinking about the acceptability of a given political idea at any given time (e.g. impeachment, now), and a method of changing the degree of that acceptability. The formula goes like this:
First, an idea is
Unthinkable. And moves on to
Radical. Which eventually becomes
Acceptable. Which invariably leads to
Sensible. Which is always followed by
Popular. Which often takes infuriatingly long to become
Policy.
The best example of the strategic use of the Overton window in American history is the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson and his friends were well aware that America, as a whole, was not yet ready for the type of revolution that would propel the Colonies to separation from England.
Yet Jefferson and his fellow Patriots knew that their present political state of affairs was untenable. They knew they needed to push the populace in the direction of liberty. They understood, on objective as well as intuitive levels, that they needed to push the Overton window to the Left. Thence was born the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson brushes on the issue in the Declaration:
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security
My job as the co-chair of the South Baldwin Democrats (AL), is only partially summarized by "trying to move the Overton Window leftward." And even though I consider moving the Overton Window in that direction (in reddest-red Alabama) one of my most important duties, others in our local party apparatus disagree. There is an inbuilt sense of caution in political affairs, even on the local level, that works against those who push for ideas that are considered radical by local standards. There is great resistance from the outside, there is substantial resistance from inside and both are trying set what defines "the middle". The inertia is even stronger in larger groups, such as state Democratic Executive committees.
This simply means that, in buhdydharma's words, we have to YELL LOUDER! And we will. The pendulum has just begun its swing. The Overton Window has just started moving leftward.
One of the funnest most enjoyable things I do is working with my South Baldwin Democrats. I'm sure you would enjoy working with and getting to know your fellow Democrats in your county, too. To that end, I list below the phone numbers for all fifty state Democratic Party organizations, where you will be able to find information about your county Democratic clubs.
Alabama (334) 262-2221
Alaska (866) 258-3050
Arizona (602) 298-4200
Arkansas (501) 374-2361
California (916) 442-5707 or click here
Colorado (303) 623-4762
Connecticut (860) 560-1775
Delaware (800) 685-5544
District of Columbia (202) 223-2113
Florida (850) 222-3411
Georgia (404) 870-8201
Hawaii (808) 596-2980
Idaho (800) 542-4737
Illinois (217) 546-7404
Indiana (800) 223-3387
Iowa (515) 244-7292
Kansas (785) 234-0425
Kentucky (502) 695-4828
Louisiana (225) 336-4155
Maryland (301) 306-4411
Maine (207) 622-6233
Massachussets (617) 776-2676
Michigan (517) 371-5410
Minnesota (651) 646-0667 or (866) 646-2622
Mississippi (888) 674-3367
Missouri (314) 918-8683
Montana (406) 442-9520
Nebraska (402) 434-2180
Nevada (702) 737-8683
New Hampshire (603) 225-6899
New Jersey (609) 392-3367
New Mexico (505) 830-3650
New York (212) 725-8825
North Dakota (701) 255-0460
North Carolina (919) 821-2777
Ohio (614) 221-6563
Oklahoma (405) 427-3366
Oregon (503) 224-8200
Pennsylvania (717) 920-8470
Rhode Island (401) 721-9900
South Dakota (605) 224-1750
South Carolina (800) 841-1817
Tennessee (615) 327-9779
Texas (512) 478-9800
Utah (801) 328-1212
Vermont (877) 277-9017
Washington (206) 583-0664
Virginia (804) 644-1966
West Virginia (304) 342-8121
Wisconsin (608) 255-5172
Wyoming (800) 729-3367
I encourage all my fellow Kossacks to join their brothers and sisters in Progress by becoming a member in of their respective county Democratic clubs.