Recapturing community:

[LWolf]

Some morning thoughts about Skinner's "Important Message."

I have narrowed my focus on DU since the convention, and even more so since November 2. I'm spending time in the groups/forums that specifically address issues/topics of personal interest/concern, and passing the rest by.

I spent some time last night and this morning browsing through other groups, and the GD forums. No wonder I've narrowed my focus.

re: The groups, the forums, and focusing on the positive: I find it instructive to see which groups are focused on their topic, and which groups are focused on criticizing and/or bashing other groups, other DUers, other democrats, and other people in general.

I am horrified by some of what I'm reading, and it illustrates something I always felt and knew; Democrats are not now, and never were, "united." Why anyone would want to replay the primary wars is beyond me, but it's happening. Why anyone would want to turn on their fellow progressives or democrats, and indulge in a feeding frenzy on their own, while the right-wing machine looks on complacently, I have no idea.

Here's a quote from Dennis which gives us a direction to go at this point:

By recapturing the sense of community, we become empowered. We become once again, "We the People."

(From my "Political soul: vision in action" book)

I may make this my sigline for awhile.

So... What can we do to recapture that sense of community?

[Desertrose]

1. I completely understand LWolf.....

Suddenly there are DK bashing threads coming from nowhere & I feel like its the primary wars all over again...dayam, I am still tired from the first one!

Dennis always cuts right to the chase...one of the things I so admire about him.

We are so busy eating and attacking our own that we missed the last 20-30(?) years of the RW uniting to take over the media, use religion as a political base ( fanaticism in religion & politics seem to, unfortunately for the rest of us, mix very well).

I sure wish I had some answers as to how we become community ...( dump all the duality for a start) eliminate the us vs. them crap....sigh...

...will think on this & hopefully as a group we can come up with some positive ideas here...

Thanks for posting this LWolf :hug:

:loveya:
DR

[LWolf]

3. Dumping the duality is a great start.

Reframing "us." It can't be us vs "them." We all have to be "us."

:hi:

[eridani]

2. I got a lot of that from working on the local campaign

The bonds are still holding, and we are reaching out to the local people in DFA as well.

[LWolf]

4. I hope that part goes well.

I always thought DK & Dean people would be a good partnership.

I nver had a local DK group; I traveled to find one. Those travels stopped a year ago when I began having health issues, but I kept up with them on line. They've reformed and are still working together.

[no name no slogan]

5. IMHO that's the key: staying together between elections

That's the major reason why we keep losing, IMHO: we don't have a local party infrastructure in most places.

Our whole party revolves around elections today. It springs to live every two or four years, directed by the candidate at the top of the ballot, and then shuts down the day after the polls close.

We need to rebuild at the local and state level if we ever want to regain control again. In Minnesota, we've taken some strong first steps. Grassroots activists not only won the state for Kerry, but they also narrowed their minority in the state house to just one vote, from 13. We also ran strong races in two Republican Congressional districts, against incumbent Repubs.

Our very unpopular Republican governor is on the ropes, with a nearly $1 bil deficit, and has no fancy accounting tricks to save him. Our junior US Senator, Norm Coleman, is calling for Koffi Annan's resignation-- making a complete fool of himself in the process.

The local Repubs are very scared for 2006, when we elect not only a new governor, but also the entire state legislature and one US Senator. The Kucinich and Dean camps are coming together in many ways, and are working towards common goals. We are "us".

[eridani]

6. Good point

Progressives have always been good on issue stuff between elections, but ignored the electoral process, mostly. The Dems do elections, but nothing between. As the Wellstone program argues persuasively, there needs to be mutual feedback between the two processes.

[no name no slogan]

7. You've been to Camp Wellstone?

I went to the candidate session last summer and it was a GREAT experience. And you are absolutely right about needing the connection between the issues and the electoral process. Issue-oriented progressives need to realize that it's not just having rallies, signing petitions and writing letters: our votes count too. And "party people" need to realize that the issues-oriented people have a real talent for grassroots organizing, and need to be responsive to their needs, too.

[eridani]

9. I went to a GOTV weekend workshop

Seattle, in October. They had a great graphic illustrating the link between issue organizing and electoral politics.

[no name no slogan]

10. If you ever get the oportunity, GO!

It's well worth the experience. You really do learn a lot, and the materials you get are worth the registration fee of $50 alone.

Being a Minnesotan, I actually had the chance to work with/for Paul Wellstone on several occassions. He helped out on a 1988 campaign for a professor of mine who ran for state leg (and won), and I organized a couple of precincts for him in his first Senate bid in 1990. In fact, I was on the floor of the state convention that year, as a Wellstone delegate, during the seven rounds of endorsement votes.

We saw a lot of that same synergy between issue- and election-oriented groups in MN this year. It is probably why Dennis got 18% of our presidential primary vote (a very respectable third), despite the fact that we had no budget, no paid staff, and no professional politicos running the campaign. Needless to say, we impressed a lot of "party people" with our energy, tenacity, and conviction!d

[LWolf]

8. I'm trying to get ready to move this summer

but don't yet know exactly where I'll end up. Where ever it is, I'll be looking to be part of a local progressive group doing just that.

I hope I end up somewhere I can find a progressive group closer than 50 miles away!