The first struggle to bring much-needed reform to the Democratic Party is over the new DNC Chair. Since a crucial part of the reform is encouraging the participation of the grassroots, we need to find ways to play a role in the choice of the Chair, which is officially up to the 440 members of the DNC. In Minnesota, we've got something going that could serve as a spur and model for other states.
We're putting on a series of four Listening Sessions with Minnesota's DNC members - where they do most of the listening and we do most of the talking. Hosted by the Progressive Caucus, a new group within the DFL (Minnesota's own version of the Democratic Party), the Sessions are forums for everyday DFLers to voice their vision of where the national Party should go, how the DNC and its Chair should realize that vision, and who should be the new DNC Chair.
This past Friday, December 3, we had the first event, and it was a huge success. Details follow. People in other states should pressure their DNC members to do the same kind of event.
Over three hundred people showed up on relatively short notice for a Friday evening meeting. The discussion was vigorous and civil, critical and always constructive. It was amazing how determined people were in the wake of the devastating election and given the terrible shape the Democratic Party is in.
Four of our six DNC members, including the state Party Chair, showed up, and they paid real attention to what we had to say. Though we are apparently exceptional in Minnesota in that we elect our DNC members rather than have them appointed, if you can get even one DNC member in your state to agree to come to a Listening Session with the grassroots, you provide an incentive for others to show as well.
The basic idea was to have a discussion for any and all grassroots DFLers about the direction of the national Party in general, the qualities we want in a DNC Chair, and who we think might fit the bill. The idea was also to set a precedent and demonstrate to the state Party that, the election over, the grassroots intend to remain integrally involved in shaping the direction of the Democratic Party both in Minnesota and nationally.
The format was as follows: After brief introductions from the organizers, the moderator, and the DNC members present, anyone who wanted to talk simply lined up at one of the two microphones and spoke for one minute. The first hour or so was dedicated to a discussion of what the national Party needed to do to be more successful and what roles the DNC Chair should play in that process. The last portion of the discussion was devoted to specific people for the position. Then the DNC members each spoke for a few minutes, and finally (an improvised item) we took a straw poll for DNC Chair among likely candidates. Though DNC members were to have the opportunity to respond to specific questions posed to them with one-minute answers, they were not free to interject themselves into the conversation at will. The emphasis was on the participation of the grassroots DFLers present. (In fact, in my view, this element worked a little too well: almost no questions were posed to the DNC members, so that when they had their opportunity to speak at greater length at the end, they endorsed this whole process in general terms and were not compelled to respond specifically to things we had said.)
The DFLers there were amazingly well-prepared and both thoughtful and passionate in their remarks. Among the notable points that came up were calls for: continuous off-year organizing in all 50 states, stronger support for state parties from the DNC Chair, recognition of the power of the grassroots, an overhaul of the primary process, election reform for fair and transparent results, and the need for a more comprehensive, visionary message framed in persuasive ways.
Not surprisingly, Dean was most frequently mentioned and overwhelmingly won the straw poll of participants, with Simon Rosenberg coming in a respectable second.
The things that I think worked really well at the forum and are worth emulating are: emphasizing the participation of the grassroots by limiting the role of the DNC members (with the qualification noted above); limiting each person's remarks to one minute; structuring the discussion around the role the new DNC Chair should play in reshaping the Party, rather than around specific candidates for the position. One modification I would advise: even though everyone was well-prepared in general, because people seemed not super-clear on what the DNC and its Chair really does and can do, the conversation tended more toward a general discussion of the direction the national Party should take. This was supposed to be a significant component of the discussion, and it was great as far as it went, but there could have been more discussion of the more concrete things the DNC Chair should do to move the Party in that direction. I think providing participants, perhaps at the outset, with more information on the DNC and its Chair might facilitate that part of the conversation.
I'll post any relevant updates.