Last night's Democratic primary loss for Andrew Horne was more than just a disappointment. It may have been a huge opportunity lost.
I was going to write a mad, inflammatory diary denouncing the local party for having selected John Yarmuth as the Democratic candidate. Some, however, would prefer that I offer a "kiss and make up" conciliatory diary. Tell you what, I'll split the difference and tone it down, but others agree with my main points and think they need to be voiced. So here goes:
No matter how we try to heal these wounds, this election caused a rift down to the foundations of the Louisville Democratic party. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Andrew was the first candidate to enter the race, in December. He did so because others, including John Yarmuth, explicitly stated that they would not be interested in running. After the Horne campaign had been formed, Yarmuth had a change of heart and filed to run on the last day of eligibility. At this point, there were some who expected Andrew to bow out of the ring, because John is famously liberal, has a longstanding community involvement, and is well-known. But that's not the way things work - Andrew and his supporters had already spent real money and countless hours in preparation, and it was extremely insensitive to propose that they should suddenly give up and make way for wealth and power. On principle alone I would have supported Andrew to the end.
So we had a run off election, pitting the early adopters and activists of the Horne camp against the Democratic loyalists in the Yarmuth camp, and in the end, it was name recognition which won out. Yes, John won, without the masses of activist supporters, without the volunteer talent, without the sweat that went into the Horne campaign. John appealed to the armchair Democrats, and they probably felt they did the right thing by nominating the most liberal of the candidates to represent their party.
John's name was like a magnet for the Democratic vote, and it will repel the Republicans just as strongly. The statement that the Louisville Dems made by nominating Yarmuth was to not reach out to the other side of the aisle, and I think it shows we can't even form cohesion with our OWN side of the aisle.
The process by which he gained the nomination has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. In essence, by nominating Yarmuth, the Democratic message was that the party doesn't need the activists in order to beat Northup. John wants to run on the issues, and he will rise or fall based on their merit. I for one think that's a politically naive notion, but it's an admirable one. The Democratic party needs to come to the reality that their support went to the candidate who prefers to run off of his past record and not with an active campaign. Therefore, if John thinks a turnkey grassroots organization will walk through his doors tomorrow, he needs to think again about what he's done.
Sure, bygones should be bygones, and I'm pretty quick to forgive John for what I see as a selfish endeavor. We can all come together to defeat the common foe, which is Northup. If Yarmuth beats Northup, I'd like to be first in line to congratulate him. But what happens if John loses in November? It's always in poor taste to say "I told you so," and all the anger that is brimming today won't resurface after a Yarmuth defeat. In 6 months, our local party will lament another loss to Northup, and not a second thought will be given to Andrew Horne. Will John apologize to Andrew if he loses to Northup? Will John apologize to me if he loses to Northup? Will he apologize to the Democratic party for his divisive and ultimately wasteful endeavor? No, he won't, because bygones will have become bygones. He will never face his moment of accountability.
BLACK WEDNESDAY
Today is "Black Wednesday," the day when we dust ourselves off, learn from our mistakes, and plan our next attack. The Horne staff should still meet again, review precinct results, and assimilate our ground game to see how and where we could have been more effective.
This is a terrific group of very hard working people, and I know we can salvage this organization to keep the wheels of change a turnin'. And these folks are committed to creating change. Will I ever go work for John? I'm afraid that I personally cannot invest any energy into what I believe is a doomed campaign, so the answer is no.
But I can and I will support John by supporting the party. HUH? Ya you heard me right. After all this bitching about my Democratic party, I just said I would go to work in supporting them. Don't get angry, go local! The Horne campaign was my first taste of politics, and there doesn't appear to be any turning back for me now. When I can scrape up my dues, I'll join the Metro Dems club. I'll go to campaign events. I'll volunteer more of my time, and my skills. I will promote real candidates for our local government. This could be a long process, taking years to build. But I think the local Democratic party needs to find people who are ready to turn the system on its ears.
The first plan of action I thought of, was to change my party affiliation to Independent. Don't worry John, I'm not proposing we field a 3rd Candidate in the Fall. What I do propose is for Andrew or another viable candidate to run in 2008, as an Independent, and with plenty of warning. Will this divide the Democratic base? Surely, yes. But take a look at Louisville's Democratic base as it stands today, could it be any more divided? After what happened to Virginia Woodard ( What a Way to Start a Year ) I think there are enough of us who are pissed off to the point of splitting off into a formidable faction.
But then I thought about Howard Dean. When his party sloughed him off at the primary, did he get pissed and rock the boat? No, he got even more involved - he became the party chair! So to my fellow Horne supporters: If you cannot see fit to help John Yarmuth: Don't give up, and don't stop working - there's even more to be done now than ever before.
And one more thing, since I'm such an ardent supporter of H.R. 550
Here's a Problem: (read page title)
And Here's the Result:
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) provides for voluntary guidelines formed during reviews by the EAC. I do not think these guidelines should be voluntary, they should be mandatory. When I asked Rep. Northup about voluntary guidelines, and what, specifically she didn't like about H.R. 550, she said I would have to be more specific. That's about as blatant a stonewall as I've ever come across. Today, I had an idea. Since the EAC guidelines are voluntary, there's nothing which would prevent a community from adopting the standards proposed by H.R. 550.
What if a local government, filled with members of a new and active party, was to rewrite local election laws to include H.R. 550's provisions? What if Louisville were to implement a "random audit" procedure? I'll tell you what, we'd be a paradigm of voting integrity, that's what.
We have joined the others assembled outside the gate, and this is my point to ram home.