“There are a lot of reasons why I’m running. One of them is that I’m a candidate who knows what real world struggle looks like. I grew up poor, and my wife and I, like a lot of Americans, inherited one thing together: massive college loan debt.”
And with that, Jaime Harrison, chair of the South Carolina Democratic party, began to make his pitch for why he should be considered for the position of DNC Chair.
Like many chair candidates, Harrison pointed out that one of the great problems we face is one of culture and expectations. “The DNC cannot be the Democratic National Committee to Elect a President, we have to be the Democratic National Committee to elect all Democrats, at every level.”
I took time this week to speak with Jaime Harrison about the future of our party, and the direction he believes we have to go in order to succeed.
”Our party sometimes seems as though it hibernates, then we come out and beg for votes every other year and go away. We need an ongoing conversation to build the candidates and party leaders of tomorrow.”
I asked Harrison about issues that face the DNC, including how we manage state parties. Harrison noted that state parties are the lifeblood of the party, and most importantly, “rank and file Democrats interact with state parties, their local issues caucus or county parties far more than they interact with the national party. We need those parties to be in good shape so that they can be a sign to the rank and file we care about voters everywhere.”
In a letter sent to DNC members, Rep. James Clyburn urged Harrison’s election:
www.politico.com/...
“He has the experience, vision, and commitment to rebuild our party and to return us to victory on national, state, and local levels,” reads the letter, which formalizes the public support Clyburn has expressed for his fellow South Carolinian and former aide
I asked Harrison about his time working for the Representative helping to whip votes: “I learned a lot. You learn what is working and not working. You learn to listen to a lot of distinct voices, even inside your own caucus. This is something we have to do as a party, listen to people and understand their issues. We can’t do drive-by outreach. It has to be a commitment.”
Part of the strategy, Harrison noted, would be a ground-up review of the culture present in the party. How do you improve the party? In Harrison’s view, part of it is getting away from looking too far ahead. “We have no idea who might run in 2020. Right now, we need to be focused on who is running in 2017 and 2018. We need a total culture change.”
One of the issues that I care about directly is the ability to hold onto executive directors, an important part of every state party: “If we do an assessment of the needs of every state, step back and treat them as partners in this, we get a lot farther. I come from a red state. I know the struggle to get party members to invest time and effort. I’m committed to showing them that I get it. Our ED turnover is just too high.”
Harrison wanted to take a moment to talk about a non-chair issue. DNC membership also includes the ability to be involved in caucus at that level, and it is probably pretty obvious one of the major issues I personally care about revolves around individuals facing physical or mental disabilities.
“My aunt (had/has) Chrohn’s disease. Our state didn’t just say ‘no’ to medicaid expansion, South Carolina said ‘hell no.’ And, our struggles in South Carolina are significant. We need to show some love to Democratic party members in every state, regardless of whether they are red or blue. I think we have to talk to some of these communities about medicaid expansion. You can’t do that in generics. If you know the people, you can talk to them personally, directly, about people they know. That is how you get through to people.”
Harrison will be appearing this weekend in Phoenix for a DNC Chair’s forum. Similar forums will be held in Houston, Detroit, and Baltimore. I will not be attending Phoenix, as it is re-organization meetings here in Kansas plus State High School Debate Championships, but I will be in attendance at Houston, Detroit and Baltimore. If you have questions you feel should be asked, please, let me know before those events.
For more on these elections, click here.
Raymond Buckley
Keith Ellison