Chris Bowers is a guy who probably needs little introduction around these parts. He's been a member of DailyKos since forever, rising to prominence on the strength of his
Empirical Cattle Call during the Democratic presidential primary. In early 2004, he started doing the
General Election Cattle Call at the Swing State Project and began writing for the blogfather of them all,
MyDD - on the very same day, in fact. These days, you know him as the anchor at MyDD and a guy whose diaries frequently (and deservedly) shoot to the top of the recommended list here.
But now, you can call him candidate Chris Bowers. Chris is running for committeeperson (the equivalent of a precinct captain), which in Philadelphia is an elected position. Now, I'm not simply plugging Chris's candidacy because of my respect for him (though it is considerable), but because I think his decision provides an excellent example for all of us. As he observes:
It is one thing to say you want to reform the Democratic Party. It is quite another thing to realize that you can just take it over because you realize very few people are participating within it.
In Chris's ward alone, almost half the committeeperson seats were simply empty. There are probably lots of opportunities to become a precinct captain in your neighborhood, too. Chris again:
We all know that talking to your neighbors about politics is more effective than moving to a swing state for two weeks and talking to strangers, so why shouldn't you run for committee person if you have never been contacted by your local precinct captain?
Exactly. Howard Dean (and Democracy for America) have long argued that we must re-engage at the local level. I couldn't agree more, and I'm thrilled to see Chris taking that step. Who's next?