Considering that we are the party of the netroots, before tonight, our website sucked.
Sure, the DNC website had most of the basic stuff: a pretty solid blog and, most importantly, ways to contribute online.
But the site didn't have the feel of a community that makes sites like DailyKos so popular.
Tonight, that changed.
The launch of the NEW Democrats.org is yet another sign that Governor Dean is on the right track. We made the right choice: he is outraising McAuliffe in '01, he is bringing in new constituencies and he is, finally, giving us a backbone.
To run down some of the new features of Democrats.org:
One of the first things I noticed was that the banner reads "Democratic Party." I recently read that Frank Luntz did polling and people reacted more positively to "Democratic" than to "Democrats."
"Democratic" connotes fighting for what is right; freedom, liberty and justice ... things the Rethugs CLAIM to stand for.
By coming out and saying we are "Democratic", and not merely "Democrats", we are framing the issue to our advantage. And for readers of Lakoff, you know that's a big chunk of the battle, even for something this minor.
The News part of the site is broken down into four distinct parts: "The Blog", "National, "Local" and "Communities."
For long time Democrats, the most surprising (and welcomed) one is the third: "Local."
This is part of Dean's promise to bring a "Fifty State Strategy." There are stories from California, Montana, Maine, North Carolina, Louisiana and Virginia, just to name a few.
That's how we will take back this country. By competing in every state. Howard knows it. We know it, too.
Here's what the site says about the 50 State Strategy:
"The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country, and we're getting started right now with a massive effort to fund organizers on the ground in every state.
The ultimate goal? An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single precinct in the country .... "
That's what I like to hear.
There is also a place to sign a petition to demand that Bush finds bin Laden. At first, I was nervous about politicizing bin Laden. But, after thinking about it, it is certainly legitimate. Its been four years. We need results. Not excuses, results. I'm glad that Howard is giving them hell.
I'm not sure if the other site had this, but the new site is also well translated into Spanish. That is important because Democrats need to commit to reaching out to Latinos if we want to build a new majority. If we can educate them about the issues and get them to vote, they will vote for us. Its that simple.
The new Democrats.org is a sign that we are moving in the right direction. But its just a start. The first stop in the journey is November 05 in Virginia and New Jersey, the mid point is November 2006 and the end of the marathon is November 4, 2008 when we elect a Democratic presidetn and usher in a new progressive majority.
We can do it. Believe.
http://www.democrats.org