Okay, in the name of full disclosure, I am working with The Blue Tiger Dems.
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With that out of the way, I want to report on one approach to reforming and rebuilding the Democratic Party that is pretty exciting. The Dems in Michigan have already embraced it.
Now the words "respect" and "political process" aren't normally used in the same sentence, but that's exactly what the Michigan Democratic Party and The Blue Tiger Democrats want to do.
Other states have shown interest, and I have been hired to help bring the message to New York. We'll also be launching a new blog soon (a blog...and me? odd match), dedicated to growing the party through civic projects.
Let me see, helping people who really need it, launching community projects, returning trust in government and respect for civil service while growing the party at the same time? How cool is that?
I'll let them do the talking after the break.
This from the Michigan Democratic Party web site.
Michigan Becomes First State to Adopt Blue Tiger Democrats
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer announces that his state will become the first in the nation to adopt the Blue Tiger Democrats program as a part of its permanent mission starting in 2007
Jackson Hole, Wyo. — Determining that the Democratic Party must embrace civic engagement in order to further restore credibility and respect among citizens, Mark Brewer, Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party and Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee, announced today that Michigan will become the first state in the nation to adopt the principles of the Blue Tiger Democrats organization and make it a permanent part of their state organizational structure.
Brewer made the announcement Friday before the post-election meeting of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, of which he is the President, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
At the meeting, Brewer and Bill Samuels, founder of Blue Tiger Democrats (www.bluetigerdems.com), made a presentation to the state chairs reviewing the organization’s 2006 programs and plans to implement the next phase of civic engagement.
Frank Houston, who spearheaded the initial Blue Tiger Michigan pilot project, was named as the Civic Engagement Organizer (CEO) for the MDP’s Blue Tiger Democrats activities in Michigan.
Brewer also announced that he would form a Blue Tiger advisory board that includes Democratic state chairs, vice-chairs, executive directors and elected officials to provide input on Michigan’s new program. To start, Brewer named the following officials to the advisory board:
* Terry Lierman, Chairman, Maryland Democratic Party;
* David Waid, Chairman, Arizona Democratic Party; and
* David Paterson, New York State Senator and Lt. Governor-elect
"Despite the gains the Democratic Party made in the midterm elections, many people still do not believe either party cares much about them. Our goal is to regain respect for the Democratic Party and for the political process." Brewer said. "The Michigan Democratic Party is committed to making civic engagement an integral part of our state organization. By giving Democrats things to do between elections and providing meaningful services we Democrats can show citizens that parties want to engage them more than just on election day."
The Michigan Democratic Party and Blue Tiger Democrats perceive the lack of respect and credibility for politicians and political parties to be a paramount problem. Consider this:
From 2000 to 2004, there has been a 21% increase in the number of self-identified independents;
* Membership in state and local political organizations has been cut in half over the past forty years while financial contributions have increasingly replaced time commitment;
* 70% of all funds raised go to television advertisements that generally hurt the credibility of political parties; and
* $1.6 billion in 2004 campaign contributions went to political advertisements while nearly nothing went to local civic engagement.
Collectively these facts have led to a trend where citizens’ alienation from the political parties and elected officials is at a high water mark.
Samuels, founder of Blue Tiger, said, "We are excited that Michigan has agreed to be first in the nation to become a full-fledged Blue Tiger state. In addition to civic engagement helping to regain trust for the party in communities, we believe that community projects will provide young, idealistic people enormous opportunities to enter the world of public service. Mark Brewer recognizes that and is why he is such a visionary."
"Blue Tiger’s approach of civic engagement, campaign finance reform and greater accountability and transparency in government can go a long way to helping address the respect gap between people and party. It’s time to put the self back in self-government."