Local and state politics may not be as sexy as national politics but damn, it sure can fuck up life for a ton of people. Is MORE and BETTER limited to national politics? Of course not.
Case in point:
Texas' school board had the power to decide to change the school books in our nation so your kids could have the "freedom" to learn all about how God created the earth in 6 days and rested on the 7th and what a saint Phyllis Schaffly was. Yeah.
Florida, were it not for a Governor who made an incredibly courageous move (no I don't like Crist, but credit where credit is due), would have seen legislation enacted which would have basically eliminated public education in Florida. Great.
Both Oklahoma's and Florida's "small government conservatives" have decided to insert their government into women's reproductive decisions. Nice.
And now, there's Arizona, where it's 1939 Poland all over again. Except this time, instead of Jews, they hunt Mexicans. Just Freakin' Splendid.
Every day there's a new GOP low bar of teh crazy. We have 50 states. I can't take it.
Seriously, though, I don't know about you, but I'm fed up. Follow me below the fold. Let's get to work fixing it.
These disgusting decisions had everything to do with who sits on our local school boards and in our state legislatures now (and who sat on them five years ago). And what happens in this country now and five years from now has everything to do with what WE are going to do at the local and state level TODAY.
Can I rant for a second? Thanks. I'm telling you, I'm just fed up! It's time for ACTION. It's time for us to spend an equal amount time, energy and money working to influence LOCAL and STATE politics as we expend on its bigger, sexier cousin. Period.
In my state of Florida, as it is in many other states across America, we have a predominantly RED legislature not because that's how "the People" voted. We have it because we cannot find Democrats to challenge seats. Too many "elected officials" win by forfeit, which is NOT a representative government. Period. Why can't we find contenders? Lack of support, lack of education, lack of money. That's the bottom line. This is what I hear over and over and over from good decent people who want to run but decide against it. And I'm fed up. We need to band together to fix it. Period.
/end mild rant
[composes self]
Listen, the GOP and the Tea Baggers are on a social demographic trajectory of death. Unless they moderate their positions on certain key issues, they are going to taper off and eventually become insignificant. It does not appear that they have yet reached the point where they believe they need to moderate to survive. In fact, they are doubling down and expelling anyone and everyone who has the intelligence vocalize the fact that the GOP train is headed off the tracks. Indeed, they have embraced the Tea Baggers; the small, vocal and vociferous hate wing of their party.
Strategically, the party pooh-bahs must know that national elections, in the long term, are not going to be friendly to them. Even the gains in 2010 which they expect could be fairly wiped out again in 2012 when Obama seeks re-election and the country is in a MUCH better place than it is today.
Strategically, perhaps, the only solution for the GOP may very well be to continue their dominance of local and state politics where they can create a "firewall" in an effort to chip away at federal laws they don't like: reproductive health and abortion laws, health care reform laws, marriage and employment equality laws and university equality laws, and immigration laws. They won't care that their "solutions" won't hold up in court (see: Arizona). They will use local and state politics to try to "control" federally enacted laws they just don't like. And there'll be a lot of damage done in the process.
Worse yet, local and state political dominance is easy to do. Local elections can be won with a few dozen votes. Sometimes, there aren't even any challengers - the whole thing is a walk (win by forfeit should NEVER happen when we're talking representation!). And then these idiots get to make lunier and lunier decisions about our lives while we hardly notice until something SO idiotic happens we're taken aback and have to REACT.
In case you didn't know already, I'm sick of it and it's time to do something about it.
FIRST
I'm starting a new DKos series called Local Matters. It will feature stories from Kossacks who are involved in local and state politics. Inspiring stories, funny stories, stories that show how to overcome obstacles, success stories and stories of defeat. We'll highlight candidates from all across the country who are running in local and state elections to help get them the otherwise impossible exposure they need to raise money and be competitive. Vote in the poll to let me know what day of the week you think is best. If you have anything to share, please let me know. And if you have any stories about your experiences in local politics, good, bad or in between, please email me at my profile address. I want to include these stories in the series. If you are working with a local or state candidate, let's try to get them some exposure. Send me an email and let's feature someone every week. Let's discuss how we can make things better for local and state candidates. Let's compare notes about different regions. Let's talk about trends. Let's try to elevate the importance of local and state politics on Daily Kos. Let's make it SEXY.
SECOND (and this is unconnected to the diary series but I believe it's a direct way to eliminate the problem poor recruitment at the local and state level)
I'm creating a new resource that will put local and state democratic candidates in from of a nationwide network of people who want to support them. We'll facilitate a direct-to-candidate donation process for donors. But we're going even further than that: we're going to give candidates access to an alliance of some of the best providers of campaign necessities available; people, businesses and organizations with a passion for local and state politics and a commitment to providing these necessities at extraordinarily affordable prices for these candidates. We're talking about strategists, web developers, social media experts, graphic designers, direct mail managers, television and radio ad producers, viral video specialists, digital marketing professional media trainers, speechwriters, debate coaches, image consultants and so much more. And what's more, we'll be there to provide assistance, support and guidance to any candidate who wants it so they are using their funds in ways that give them the optimal chance for success. You can find out more at Bold Blue Media Alliance where you can take our survey and even join the network (if you want). As I said, I'm sick of it. This is what happens when I get pissed off. This is my way of trying to fix it. Won't you join me?