I'm a big fan of the Daily Howler: I feel that Bob Somerby does a wonderful job of pointing out the details of the traditional media's all-too-frequent failures to get even the simplest facts straight.

So I'm writing here to recommend Somerby's latest article, "A Nutmeg Nabob spoke against Clinton". I don't live in Connecticut (though I did once, and even had a close encounter with Joe Lieberman), but I'm with Ned Lamont's insurgent campaign in spirit. Nevertheless, I think it might be useful for those who castigate Joe Lieberman for his comments on the Lewinsky affair to check out Somerby's take on what happened.

I'd like to make two main points. One is the one made by Somerby, that Joe wasn't the only Democrat to publicly deplore Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky. But I'd also like to ask the question of whether Lieberman's role wasn't a little bigger and more pernicious than Somerby gives him credit for.

I'm posting these diaries because I believe that the race for state Democratic Party chair in North Carolina has brought to the fore a number of issues that we're wrestling with at the national level, particularly in red states.

Please note that this is the last part of a four-part series. Please read part 1, part 2, and part 3  before reading this post. Thanks!

Opening up the Party

Turlington's caution over the question of who he will speak for--elected officials or the rank and file--begs the question of whether such policy disagreements might not make the party stronger. Because after all the work Meek and others have done to incorporate a new generation of activists, the party could lose them if it cannot prove its willingness to hear them out on issues of policy--most notably through the platform and resolutions process. But the prospect of the rank and file giving input on policy strikes some as absurd.

I'm posting these diaries because I believe that the race for state Democratic Party chair in North Carolina has brought to the fore a number of issues that we're wrestling with at the national level, particularly in red states.

Please note: this is the third part of a four-part series. Please read part 1 and part 2 before reading this post. Thanks!

Whose Grass Roots?

Jerry Meek's work on behalf of rural counties highlights another reason behind his strength, one which Turlington and his supporters seem unaware of, or unwilling to acknowledge. Speaking to the Raleigh News and Observer  in January, Turlington suggested that Meek's emphasis on the grass roots ignored the fact that the grass roots in North Carolina's urban counties--around cities like Charlotte and Raleigh--want different things than the grass roots in rural counties. Such a response obscures the fact that a desire for reform--of the sort that Meek is already implementing--has already united active Democrats across the state. In fact, much of Meek's support comes from rural counties.

(Note: This is the second part of a four-part series. Please read part 1  before reading this post. I'm putting up these diaries because I believe that the contest for state party chair in North Carolina has significance for the national party as a whole.

Are You Experienced?

I closed the last section by pointing out that Turlington has influenced the party as a professional while Jerry Meek has done his work as an unpaid party officer. This has also meant that while Turlington's political career placed him in several appointed positions--chief of staff, executive director, campaign manager, campaign chairman--Meek has chosen to seek elected office within the party. Not that there's anything wrong with making a living in politics. But this difference between the candidates highlights the second reason why Meek has shown surprising strength in this election: his reliance on and familiarity with the party's grass roots.

(Note: you may be wondering, "Why should I care about North Carolina?" My answer: if you're planning to get involved in the Democratic Party, it's useful to know how it runs itself locally--especially in red states--as well as nationally. I also see our state chair contest as a microcosm of the national debates within the party.)

In The Making of the President 1960, Ted White observed that the single most important criterion for a presidential candidate is that he should win the nomination of one of the two major parties. It's surprising how often people overlook this fact. But Sorenson's reasoning--that whatever sterling qualities a candidate may have, he's sunk if he can't command the confidence of his own party--has stuck with me. I've thought of it often recently as I've watched the North Carolina Democratic Party go through the process of choosing between two candidates for state chair, Ed Turlington and Jerry Meek--a process that will end this Saturday when the state executive committee meets in Raleigh and elects its officers.

The question as we move forward from the last election is: what do we throw away, and what do we keep?

The answer is playing out in North Carolina as the state Democratic party prepares to elect its next chairman. At the moment, the two most prominent candidates are Ed Turlington, John Edwards' campaign manager and lobbyist for corporations in the state, and Jerry Meek, a lawyer currently serving as the party's 1st Vice Chair. He's credited with instituting policies that helped the party sharpen its focus on the grassroots.

The election can be seen as a mirror of the national party's debate over the DNC chairmanship. Turlington has the Governor Mike Easley's endorsement, and will mostly likely have the support of the party's institutional wing.

Now that I've got your attention, help me figure out if there are any questions we can raise about the poll's methodology.

First, though, the numbers (RV):

Sample size: 625 MoE: +/- 4%

Dates: Sept. 26-28 (7/04)

Bush: 52 (48) Kerry: 43 (45) Other: 1 (-) Undecided: 4 (7)

I don't have internals yet, but here's their methodology:

Now that I've got your attention, help me figure out if there are any questions we can raise about the poll's methodology.

First, though, the numbers (RV):

Sample size: 625
MoE: +/- 4%

Dates: Sept. 26-28 (7/04)

Bush: 52 (48)
Kerry: 43 (45)
Other: 1 (-)
Undecided: 4 (7)

Help me write a pep talk.

I'm going to be speaking to the local Kerry volunteer group tomorrow evening, and I was wondering if anyone out there can help me with the following figures.

Help me polish this "visibility" idea.

My idea is to have groups of 5 Young/College/Teen Democrats walking with signs/placards bearing the rhymes below at congested intersections where folks have to sit for more than a minute.

Four signs would have one line of one rhyme, and the fifth sign would have a Kerry/Edwards sign. The idea is similar to the old Burma Shave shaving cream ads, which did the same thing with small signs on posts along well-traveled roads. In this case, the people with signs will walk past folks sitting still in their cars.