You have 15 minutes with DNC head Howard Dean: Whatcha gonna ask/tell him?

[LynneSin]

DNC has granted you 15 minutes to sit down with Howard Dean and discuss the future of the democratic party. You can ask him and questions or make any suggestions of what you think it will take to turn our party around.

The timer is starting......NOW:


BTW, I would discuss about trying to get real candidate - progressive/liberal candidates to run for office. I would also suggest we need to focus on the ecomony first. James Carville once said "It's the Economy, Stupid" and that helped Clinton win the election. Finally I would ask that we steer away from these boring stiff but intelligent types. I adore Al Gore & John Kerry, but that type of candidate will not appeal when we run someone in 2008. How about Ed Rendall - smart and massive charisma to boot!

[DaveinMD]

1. I'd tell him to hire me to do Direct Mail :-)

[European Socialist]

2. Please tell the public about the 2000,2002,2004 election fraud.

most people don't know yet.

[dbt]

5. Seconded!

[cestpaspossible]

3. I'd ask him how I can help.

[lojasmo]

7. He'd tell you to run for office. N/T

[Jacobin]

4. I'm going to see him in Jackson tomorrow night

I really don't have much to tell him. Whenever he speaks, I'm in agreement about 90% of the time. He's the man. He knows what to do. He understands that the party is in shambles from everyone running to the far right.

I'm looking forward to listening to him to see what I can do, not what HE needs to do.

HE is doing what he needs to do, big time, and I appreciate it very much.

[stellanoir]

6. "It's the voting procedures and technologies, stupid. . ."

Without nationalized election reform and standardization. The Dems don't have a prayer of ever gaining a majority ever again.

Don't kid yourselves, this truly qualifies as taxation without representation.

I wish he'd scream about this.

He should organize a walkout in the Senate and Congress until they bring election reform to the floor. Or they'll only continue to have spirited but futile Democratic opposition to the Repub's BS.

I'm so sick of this. Ever since the certification of the Electoral College charade and the "torture dude" was put in charge of the DOJ, I decided that this was just really bad theater, and scarcely even watch the news. I've just had it. Now I just listen to tunes and am much happier.

[Stephanie]

9. It's the voting machines, stupid!

Nothing else matters. We will never win another election again unless we can legislate safeguards for honest elections, which we did not have in 2000, 2002, or 2004. Seriously, why talk about anything else?

[Shadoobie]

8. Make DNC a professional organization

This is an idea I have been bouncing around in my head for while.

I am a chemical engineering. I belong to a national organization (AIChE) that provides many benefits for an annual fee. We have an annual meeting every November. During the meeting, there are various sessions to discuss topics related to chemical engineering. The field is very diverse so there are a large number of sessions broken down into categories. The meeting is planned from the organizational leaders but the sessions are set by members volunteering their time. Some other benefits are a monthly magazine, local and regional chapters, career advancement help etc.

I was wondering if the DNC should transform itself a similar organization or be part of a new organization. What I envision would be an organization that Democrats can join for an annual fee (something reasonable). The organization would publish a weekly magazine (perhaps align with a currently published magazine). There would be an annual meeting in the Summer. During most years, sessions would be held to discuss issues relevant to the Democratic Party. They may be based on particular issues (social security, taxes, Iraq, etc) or selling the message (how to be the media, writing LTTE workshops, grassroots organizing, etc). Keynote speakers (Senators, presidential candidates, etc) may be brought in to hone the overall message of the party, get/keep people energized, etc. I would like to see the organization act as an umbrella group for local chapter (college democrats, local democratic party groups, etc).

Every four years, the annual meeting will include the national convention for nominating the presidential candidate.

I don't know if such an idea would work but it may not hurt to mention it. I would think that people would like to see a way in which they can participate in the democratic process. At the very least, it could be a way of getting a message out without relying on the traditional media. With the meeting being held in the summer, people may plan vacations around it in order to attend. I think th important part would be to make sure that regular people can have a say in the direction the party is taking instead of relying on decisions coming from the top political leaders.

I am sure that I can think of more analogies to a professional organization but I leave at this for now.

Greg

[MissWaverly]

10. deal with the dirty tricksters

Quite frankly I am fed up with the power of these dirty tricksters, and how we just let them say and do anything and then just go tsk, tsk. They are ruining everything for everyone else. I include in this, the swift boat liars, the talking heads who are bald faced liars and openly lie on the public airwaves, the publishing of untrue books like "Unfit to Command" the attempt by Sinclair to show propaganda as "documentaries" The attack on AARP, linking the Democrats with terrorists in NY state. Ann Coulter, calling someone an "arab" isn't that against the law, isn't it a crime to discriminate against someone???? Isn't it a crime to publish or say blatantly false material on TV or radio. Isn't it a crime not to disclose that you have a conflict of interest, you are receiving money from someone while you're objectively reporting on them? We have to bring back equal time and fairness in our campaigns and lift campaigning out of the gutter.

[swag]

11. I'd say,

"Good to meet you, buddy. I'm so glad you got the job. You're a hell of a lot smarter than I am, so I won't offer you any advice. But please let me know if you need anything."