Dean : "Letting go of central control"gives activists "real power".

[madfloridian]

Howard Dean said it in his book You Have the Power. He said it much better than I can say it.


"We have to rebuild our grassroots organization."

From page 155 of the book:

Letting go of central control in campaigns is what gives the electorate--particularly activists--real power. I learned this by doing it. When I first used the phrase "You have the power," I didn't at first realize the full impact of what I was saying. I meant only that Americans through working together to change America, could overcome the forces of the right wing and reassume their constitutional role in running the country.

What I didn't understand was that "You have the power" was a lot more than a rhetorical phrase. It didn't apply only to people's power to change a country, it also applied to their ability to direct a campaign.

He further mentions that the idea of a decentralized campaign terrifies most politicians who have grown used to giving out their ideas and letting others respond. He points out that learning to trust the grassroots is not easy, but necessary for the future.


And his point about building up a pool from which to draw candidates is vital. It is vital to our future as a party.
From page 158:

Without the involvement and commitment of people at the ground level, you don't really have a party. You have no pool from which to draw future congresspeople, senators, and presidents. And you have no genuine excitement.

He says we have to put people back at the center of political campaigns, that we must stay centered on our traditional Democratic values, which are about people. He says "the truth is when you trade your values for the hope of winning, you end up losing and having no values--so you keep losing."

In my own opinion this next area is where the Democratic party has failed us badly. The continuing effort to force picked candidates into races shows that some are not paying attention yet on this.

From page 163:
We have to reconnect to the base.

In recent years the Democrats, in our pursuit of big dollars, have neglected the people we're there to serve. We let our connection to our base atrophy and have forgotten, as they say in politics, who brought us to the dance. In service to a falsely named "centrism," we've sidestepped every major request from labor unions, especially on including worker protections in our free-trade agreements.

And I think this would be his answer, if by chance he could even give one in these situations, that we can't keep "searching for someone to come along and unlock the door...and heal what ails our country."

From page 187:
The truth is that person is you, not me or any other politician or leader.

If our country's in trouble, it's not only because George Bush is an inept president and the Democrats haven't stood up to him. It's because we always looking for someone to come along and save us. What I learned during the campaign is that the only way for people for find this kind of salvation is by saving themselves.....by tapping into the power that's already inside them and figuring how to use that power in the outside world.

It is coming down to primaries as a means to change the party. I realize I stand pretty much alone on that here at DU, but it is what I believe. I don't think you can fundamentally change the way something works unless you get new people involved. To do that you need primaries.

[madfloridian]

1. Key words...if you don't involve people locally, you have no "pool"

in the party from which to draw candidates. You have to build your grassroots up and give them something to be inspired about.

I speak because I hurt. I have a right to speak. In Florida too many decisions are made by the party leaders. They act like they don't need us at all.

They beg for our money, they beg for us to take part in all kinds of activities.

The only thing they don't want is our opinion. They want our time and our money, they do NOT want to hear from us unless they call on us. They act like we are children in a classroom who must raise their hands to be called on.

Florida is not building up its pool of grassroots activists. It is squelching them.

[xxqqqzme]

2. That is SOP for CaDemParty

as well. I suspect it holds true all over. One of the reasons the dems keep losing. Politics is poised to move 2 the next level - the one with the guts 2 go there, wiol be the next leader.

[madfloridian]

3. I think you may be right.

Too bad, though. But what I am seeing lately on state level here is bothering me. Locally we all are pretty open to change, we have been lucky on the county level. But statewide, the leaders don't need us until they "need" us...and then for a short time.

[madfloridian]

4. As Skinner said in his post today, primaries are where we choose.

Then we vote for the Democrat in the election itself. I intend to work and do what I can to keep the center of control in our primaries from being in DC.

We need to build up our grassroots and form a pool of people the party can later use.

[Toots]

5. What was that famous saying by Tip O'neil

"All Politics are Local"

[madfloridian]

6. Well, there is no local politics anymore.

That is what I am afraid of. I remember that statement.

I have never seen such an awful day on DU. People who speak up with a differing opinion are cursed at and called crazy and paranoid. Their opinions are dismissed.

I don't think we can win anything at all anymore.

I think there is too much hatred toward each other.