What I've being seeing in national politics for the last three years; what I've been reading on the Daily Kos; and what I heard in Obama's acceptance speech is that we must have a party that is fundamentally different from what we have now and have had in the past.
It is too late to substantially change how the Democratic party will fight the 2008 campaigns - our armies are already on the field and everyday that goes by reduces the number of new strategies and tactics that we have time to develop and implement. Is it too early to look to the changes that we want to make - need to make - in our party to make it the sole/soul party of our nation? No, because as we try to persuade those who are leery of our talk of change to join us, we must be able to tell them what our dreams for a new and better Democratic party look like.
I know that November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK, and to some my ideas might sound like a radical plot to upset the power of the Democratic Party. But change, while always intimidating, is sometimes necessary and occasionally good for everyone. Anyway below are some of my thoughts.
These ideas are have been percolating in my wee head for a number of years, but take them as little more than the first utterances on the way to a massive dialogue that we must engage in if we are to change the oldest and largest political party in the greatest democracy in the world into the most responsible, active and inclusive party.
First: We must make every Democrat know that they are full members of the Democratic Party. We need to act more like a club - why aren't new members of the Democratic party contacted and invited to join activities? Why aren't we asked to come to meetings? Why aren't we asked our opinions (where and when to have meetings, etc.). Even things that seem silly, like calenders and newsletters for members, helps to make people feel that they are part of a organization that exists and wants their participation even when there isn't an election. Why don't we come together to do other things like work on a park or build a home with Habitat for Humanity? (I know that some of these things are done but not in an organized way.) Yes, I've been volunteering since President Carter ran for reelection. I've always been the one to contact the campaign HQ and volunteer. I've donated to local politicians, etc. But there has never been a permanent grassroots organization. (I shouldn't have to use "grassroots" -- it should be understood that the Democratic party is a bottom-up organization.)
Second: We must police ourselves. It should be a privilege to run as a Democrat. It would be wonderful if the next story of a politician gone bad started out with: The Democratic party announced today that congressman "fill-in-the-blank" is being kicked out of the party and that documents obtained through an internal investigation are being turned over to the Justice Department blah blah blah....
If people knew that we didn't let people who were unpatriotic, criminals or morally bankrupt run as Democrats, we wouldn't have to defend our candidates when the Republicans attack them. We could spend our money on presenting the issues and building the party.
Third: The party itself needs to be more responsive to local issues. Ex: An elderly person has a problem with their social security. They should be able to call a local member of the Democratic party (a volunteer) who will help them make the phone calls to social security or get them a volunteer who can help them through the bureaucracy. Another ex: neighborhood and homeowners association meetings should have someone at their meetings who represents the Democratic party -- this could be someone who lives in the neighborhood who has volunteered to take on the responsibility of being a liaison between the neighborhood and their elected officials.)-- Sort of like Tammany Hall without the corruption.
Forth: I know that this is going to get some folks going - we need to work on more projects with Republicans. We could work on a park project together or school projects - as Democrats and Republicans, but together. I think this is a way of implementing Obama's call to find common ground. It would be a way to reduce some of the "politics as usual" - less demonizing, less negative advertising and more dialogue that can help to get us to a deeper and more productive working relationship.
Maybe we could get candidates for office to compete to build a park, a home for the elderly, a veterans hall or raise money for a charity. Seeing how two candidates are able to fund raise, organize and build a health clinic would be a better test of who we want in office than another debate where each candidate tries to figure out what the public wants to hear (I know that there are honest candidates who debate fairly, but how easy is it for the viewer to know which one is telling the truth and which one isn't?).
Finally, how do we pay for the outreach and larger permanent organization? I think it could be done in a couple of ways. One, we could allow people to contribute money to pay for some of it (it's not like we don't ask them to donate money every couple of years to pay for massive amounts of advertising - advertising that would be less necessary if we had a stronger grassroots organization). Also, much of the work can be done by volunteers - many of us volunteer our time now - why wouldn't we volunteer on a regular basis if it meant that things we cared about like better schools and the environment were improved?
Of course, maybe where you live the party does do a lot of these things - I just know that they don't do them in Florida.