Our State Party Is On Life Support

[Syrinx]

The Alabama Democratic Party is miserable.

Lucy Baxley?

The ADP is trying to out-Republican the GOP.

We are never going to win that way.

Democrats, and that includes Alabama Democrats, must forcefully present a progressive alternative.

Our Democrats are Reagan Democrats.

Our Republicans are Satan Republicans.

I think if we could get a good candidate that presented, passionately, a progressive agenda, we would get much better odds.

It's the old-boy network still at work. They've convinced us that progressives can't win in the South. I say BS. Progessives were born in the South.

[Syrinx]

1. I'm sorry for such a negative post

I'm becoming increasingly despondent over the state of the nation. I'm just so frustrated.

[Gayla]

2. No apology needed!

I think we all understand and share your frustration. The only consolation is that the State Party is doing more now than they have
in recent memory. Not enough yet, but it is a good start.
I wish some of our candidates would fight for the offices that they
want like their lives depended on it, cause ours surely do.
But bottom line, each and everyone of us as individuals have to do all
we can to make a difference. We will get there!!!

[Syrinx]

4. thanks for being so understanding

Indeed we need tougher candidates. Barbara Bobo is a joke. I read that she actually said that her opponent, Robert Aderholt, has been a good congressman. So why is she running against him? That's laughable, but it makes me want to cry.

And even the two Democrats that we have in Congress, Cramer and Davis, voted to repeal the Writ of Habeas Corpus. For God's sake, if they won't stand up for the Great Writ, what will they fight for?

Bush and his goons have completely trashed the Constitution, and I'm not sure that it's possible to put the pieces back together, but we must try. We must try.

[trof]

8. More on Cramer and Davis:

Vivian Beckerle's (running against Jo Bonner in District 1) campaign manager has BEGGED for some money from Davis and Cramer. They have large campaign war chests and are running unopposed.
Nada.
She said Davis said "Jo Bonner is a friend of mine".
Given some cash for TV and the current anti-repug mood I think she might have been able to pull off a real upset.
Fuhgeddahboudit.
She's toast.
:-(

[Syrinx]

9. did Davis and Cramer explain their stinginess?

I can't imagine a good reason why they wouldn't help a struggling campaign in their own state.

What a terrible time this is. Sigh.

[trof]

10. Not that I have heard.

[jody]

3. No sweat! Alabama's Dem Party marches to a different tune than Dems in

more progressive states.

One could make a good argument that Aladems survive only because Paul Hubbert is such an effective lobbyist for the Alabama Education Association. Sooner or later AEA will lose enough clout so that Repugs will control Alabama's legislature or Hubbert may see that a Repug victory is inevitable and cut a deal with the Repug party.

The only thing that could prevent that dismal scenario from coming true is for Aladems to start fighting. I agree with you it doesn't look very promising. :shrug:

[Syrinx]

5. thanks

I know we can't win running on things like gay marriage and abortion rights, but I think a candidate with a message that is strongly progressive, economically, could go far, if they really have the fire in their belly. Our tax system is immoral, just as Governor Riley said in his first year in office. I might even have voted for him this year if he hadn't reversed course on that position so drastically. He knew what was right, but he didn't have the fire in his belly. He turned his back on decency. It looks like that betrayal will allow him to save his job, but it will leave Alabama the poorer -- again.

Democrats, not just Alabama Democrats, need to stop being afraid of being portrayed as weak on "terror." They need to start being strong enough to stand up and tell the people the truth about what the Republicans have done to our nation and to our Constitution. If they don't, soon, it will be too late. I don't know how much time we have left, but it isn't much.

Peace and happiness to you.

[nealmhughes]

6. I sneer in the state party's general direction!

Bud and Artur are the two biggest disappointments ever, and to think that we once had Lister Hill in the Senate and Jim Folsom as governor...and Hugo on the Supreme Court. What a horrid delegation we have statewide and in Washington.

People who ought to be our senators and governor, like Jim Folsom and Susan Parker are tossed aside to minor positions or else have the Republican feed bag from DC out-Jesusing them...

Susan ought to run for Lt. Gov. and then Gov. after Jim wins and runs and wins next time, then both to DC, hopefully to replace Bud in District 5 for Susan or else to the Senate. Susan is from Rogersville and grew up in Eva, lived in a trailer after she married at 17 and eventually earned a Ph.D. and is now state auditor and running for the PSC. She is on faculty at Athens State.

We need to take the DLC to the woodshed and have a good old-fashioned country string band on flat bed trucks a la Big Jim with the Suds Bucket and the Strawberry Pickers reborn and take this state's party back to the people....

[Syrinx]

7. what you said!

I admire Susan Parker very much. How people could prefer Jeff Sessions to Susan Parker exceeds my powers of comprehension.

I like Jim Folsom too, and will happily vote for him in a little more than two weeks.

Until recently, I had admiration for Artur Davis. But anyone who votes for torture, and against Habeas Corpus, isn't fit for public office, to my way of thinking.

[liberalmike27]

11. Progressive Workers Agenda

I guess you are right. What we need is someone who has a progressive workers agenda. I like what I've heard of Vivian Beckerlie in Mobile, but I doubt she'll win against Bonner. I think our biggest problem is we are fiftieth on the education list, or 49th. We are always in competition with Mississippi! You'll notice that the lower the state is on the education list, the more republican they seem to be. We are also, predictably, at the bottom of a lot of other lists, including worker pay. Somehow the message needs to get out that we in Alabama are the poorest in the nation, and that Democrats are generally better at helping the poor, working or not.

Add to that, I believe we, and the nation, are having severe problems in getting the people out to vote, who would normally be our constituents. It is partly that lack of fire in the Belly, the Huey Long kind of fire. It has been a long time since people saw Democrats fight for the rights of the poor, and when they don't see much of a difference, they don't vote. This is particularly true in the black community, where Old White men of both parties have written laws to lock up their youth for progressively longer times, with mandatory sentences, and make felonies out of what should've been misdameanors, them taking away their right to vote.

Finally, there has been no fight on the liberal front. We've run away from the word liberal, when instead we should've embraced it. If someone uses the word negatively, we should hammer them. Ask if they approve of worker safety, ask if they want to reinvent forced child labor, or take away food safety measure. Inquire if they want to do away with the 40 hour work-week, and overtime (Oh wait, Republicans have already done that). There are tons of great things liberals have done, and we need to point those out, rather than run away from some things liberals stand for that they may not like.

[Syrinx]

12. excellent points

I hope there are members of the Alabama Democratic Party leadership lurking here!

[LuckyStrykes]

13. One bright note

Sue Bell Cobb is slightly ahead in some polls.

[Syrinx]

14. she can count on my vote! n/t