Frost for DNC chair: A local activist's opinion

[crispini]

I got this via email from an activist in Houston and got his permission to repost because I thought it was very good.

Once again we seem to be falling into the trap of wanting folks to gather in a circle, slit our wrists and see whose blood is purer and then we decide who is qualified to call themselves Democrat. We've been down that road before over the last God knows how many years and it is a sure fire way to ruin.

I'm sure there are fine folks who have offered themself for election as Chair of the DNC. Everyone has the right to support whomever they choose based on their own criteria. To belittle anyone's choice only serves to underscore the elitist label others have placed on the Democratic Party.

Emails that take TV ads out of context and the ongoing local Merriman-Sheryl Roppolo tussle both miss the point about Martin Frost. The points are simple.

1. On being progressive, here's Frost's voting record:
AFL-CIO: 93 percent
Human Rights Campaign: 88 percent
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights: 92 percent
League of Conservation Voters: 85 percent
NAACP: 95 percent
NARAL Pro Choice America: 100 percent
National Hispanic Leadership Agenda: 83 percent

2. From 2000-2003, Frost led the redistricting battle, was the primary source of funds for our legal battle, was the force behind the Ardmore and New Mexico quorum breaks via staff, strategic, legal and financial support, including the big rally at the Capitol.

3. Frost is the only person who ever used DCCC money for grassroots GOTV efforts, and under his leadership, we won back 14 seats in Congress. And he was the one major Texas officeholder who raised money to do the same in 1998, 2000, 2002 Texas campaigns, when the rest shunned GOTV for TV.

4. As long ago as 1972, Frost ran a Voter Reg program that registered 50,000 Dem's, mostly minorities, in Dallas County. He does this because he believes in our party and our principles.

5. What people miss is what happened on the ground in Dallas in 2004. Every weekend and many weekdays, hundreds of Dallas Dems went door to door for Martin Frost, canvassing every precinct in his district, including a lot of "hostile territory" no Dem had walked for years. And Martin Frost was out there with them. His volunteers included long-haired anti-war progressives and well-dressed lawyers, people of both the Jewish and Muslim faith, labor union members, college students, Hispanics, African Americans, pro-choice activists, etc. Their support and their work says much more than litmus-testers sitting miles away in judgement. The results of the Frost team's work in 2004 are impressive. Hispanic turnout was double it's normal share of the vote, and a 65% R district was turned into a 54% district. And the only mail and organized phone program done for Lupe Valdez (the new Dallas Sheriff) and the other countywide Dallas winners, was funded by Martin's "friends and allies" and produced by the TDP. That's the real world - and anyone who saw Martin's volunteers gather on a Saturday morning knows progressive D's work hand in hand with Martin Frost.

6. As a 26 year Congressman, Martin could go get rich like a lot of ex-Members do, but this is what he wants to do for his Party and his country. Martin Frost is a fighter who knows that the fight must be fought to win, not just to prove who is right.

[Dr.Phool]

1. Well, I'm still for Dean

But, I think Frost would make an excellent co-chair.

[Coastie for Truth]

2. Frost is a collateral descendant of the

LONE RANGER



seriously - he is.

[Warpy]

3. Sounds like a good guy

especially with the 93% rating from the AFL/CIO. Thanks for telling us about him.

Is he up to the battle of ripping the party out of the hands of the conservatives in the DLC?

That is the one thing the party most desperately needs right now. We know from his ratings that he's a Democrat and from his organizing that he's willing to go to the grassroots. What he intends to do about the election losers controlling the party right now is what we need to see.

We know Dean is hostile to them.

[MisterP]

4. that first para. is always a red flag

well, between Puddy and PNAC, Frost might not be a disaster

[eg101]

7. "Frost might not be a disaster"? Naw, he'd be great for the rich!

Let's see what Jesse Jackson has to say about our lovely Mr Frost:
>>>>>

This week, Rep. Martin Frost - who defeated dynamic Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro in the battle for a leadership position - announced that his victory proves that the Democratic Party is united around "moderation."

Frost was echoing the conventional wisdom about the last election. This is also the line being peddled by the conservative Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) that laid claimed to the successes, as it does after every election. In this case, its claim was peculiar in the extreme. It played no role in mobilizing any voters. Its leaders -- Senator Joseph Lieberman and Rep. James Moran - wielded the first knives in President Clinton's back when the media feeding frenzy started for impeachment. The DLC dismissed the minimum wage as old politics, supported NAFTA and fast track, favors privatizing Social Security and recommends that Democrats abandon their support of affirmative action.

Well, as Senate candidate, Jay Nixon was a perfect New Democrat, one of Rep. Frost's "moderates." As State Attorney General, he moved to end financial support for desegregating schools, not bothering to gain support of the African American
community. He assumes, as New Democrats do, that he could inherit the Black vote against a Republican.

Well, on election day, Democrats enjoyed stunning victories across the South. A massive Black turnout brought South Carolina's Fritz Hollings back to the Senate, booted North Carolina's Lauch Faircloth out and helped send Newt on that midnight train to Georgia. But New Democrat moderate Jay Nixon went down in Missouri.

Missouri is known as the "show me" state and African American voters in Missouri showed Jay Nixon. Donald Suggs, publisher of the largest African American newspaper in the state stated, "The Democratic candidate thinks he can collect automatically the vote of African Americans," but Blacks are realizing that "rote support of Democrats is not in their best interests." Urban League President James Buford, a Black Republican, said the vote signified that "Afiican Americans have no permanent friends and no permanent enemies -just permanent interests."

These interests are not alien agenda of an alien people. They do not require the Democratic party to turn itself inside out or upside down. They only require that it stand strong for a moral center agenda that appeals to the values and fights for the interests of working and middle class Americans. For example, investing in education, saving social security, extending health care, protecting patients, lifting the minimum wage, fighting for equal rights and equal protection under the law, empowering workers and holding corporations accountable.

But the passionate concerns of the moral agenda are a far remove from a moderation that gets its bearings by putting its finger to the wind. If Mr. Frost's moderation" is the DLC agenda - against fighting to raise the minimum wage, for privatizing Social Security, against affirmative action, for kicking the President when he is down - then he better learn from Missouri. That is not the recipe for unity, it is the roadmap to defeat.
>>>>>>

Everyone is just falling all over themselves to praise Frost. Am I the only one who bothers to do even a MODICUM of research? You guys are supposed to be the actvists of the party, the ones who make the party better for the voters who don't have time or don't know how or don't care.....
But instead you guys are rolling over for the rightwing corporate interests so fast that you are a blur...

http://www.rainbowpush.org/commentaries/1998/112298.html

[MisterP]

13. I retract my statement: Puddy, PNAC, and Neolib will be disasters

[eg101]

5. Frost is a neoliberal who can kiss my pasty white keister

from our friends at counterpunch:

For them, the Democratic party lost so badly on November 5 because it didn't hew to the center enough. Democrat Martin Frost, the House Democratic Caucus Chairman, reiterated this line on November 7, in his aggressive drive to become minority leader. He trashed House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi, saying that the party needs to appeal to the "vast center," not turn to the left, appeal to moderate swing voters in swing states, and not come across as weak on war and national security. But that's exactly the losing strategy the Democrats have been following. There is no more center to move to, there is only the extreme right.

>>>>>

http://www.counterpunch.org/shivani1114.html

NEXT!

[DaedelusNemo]

9. You're letting labels confuse you

The DLC calls corporate-privilege policies 'centrist' because they agree with the repubs on them. In fact, the center, as measured by where the large majority of americans stand, is for increased minimum wage, affordable health care and education, etc. In other words, the real center is what the repubs call liberal.

[eg101]

11. I'm so diz-zy, my head is spinnin'

and it's you Dems making it spin...
like a whirlpool, it never ends
I'm so diz-zy....

[DaedelusNemo]

12. Funny, if someone points out spin you accuse them of spinning /nt

[Ken Burch]

14. And he invokes the holy names of Tommy James and the Shandells

the damnable heretic.

[H2O Man]

21. Tommy Roe

did "Dizzy"

[Zebulon]

17. Good point

The DLC calls corporate-privilege policies 'centrist' because they agree with the repubs on them.

Good point. We need to appeal to working and middle class voters, not corporations.

[Rowdyboy]

6. Dean is my preference but there's nothing evil about Martin Frost

He's a straight up, quality guy with a mainstream voting record. He is tactically smart and has proven he can beat the rethugs at their own game. Sadly, Martin Frost is about as exciting as kissing your sister.

Hopefully, class acts like Howard Dean, Martin Frost, Donnie Fowler, Simon Rosenberg and Wellington Webb can come together after the chairman is selected and work for all of us.

[eg101]

8. Oh, Frost is right in the GOP mainstream

He is a real standup guy. He stands up for plutocrats and megacorporations.

And I have actually done some research on this (see my other posts on this thread), so I know what I am talking about.

[DaedelusNemo]

10. You haven't shown us reason to believe it

So far, the only thing you've actually told us about Martin Frost himself is that he said something about moderation and apparently Jesse Jackson didn't like that. That's not enough. How about showing us specifically how he stands up for plutocrats and megacorporations?

[welshTerrier2]

15. "whose blood is purer"

one popular "debate mechanism" is to push your opponent's argument to its idiotic extreme ... i've seen the term "ideological purity" used frequently on DU ... it's usually used by centrists to condemn what they view as not-very-pragmatic positions on the left ...

underlying the idea of "purity" is that, because it's sort of a litmus test, people are putting their beliefs ahead of "winning" ... and worse, the beliefs are seen as rigid and extreme ...

well, frankly, the term is a total turn off for me ... it's nonsense ... each of us has our own values and issues and puts varying degrees of importance on each particular one ... i hold deep resentment for those who toss around the "purity" criticism (i'm not at all suggesting that you do this) ... it seems to suggest to me that there is a lack of respect for the importance I attach to any given issue ... like it or not, if we're not fighting for something more than just winning, then we're fighting for nothing ...

I see nothing wrong with opposing all pro life candidates or all pro-Iraq candidates ... these are my values ... to stick a purity label on them as if there's anything wrong with that is disrespectful ... we each value what we value ...

[PresidentObama]

16. Anybody But Dean

ABD...ANYBODY BUT DEAN!!!

I'm not a Frost fan, but he's better then Howard "HEYAYAYEAHAHAHA" Dean.

[welshTerrier2]

18. hmmmm ...

Welcome to DU, Kerry2008 ...

am i correct in assuming you meant to respond to the base post in this thread rather than to my post ?? I assume this because i made no mention of any specific candidate ...

anyway, as long as you did, other than his famous scream, what are your objections to Howard Dean and what do you think the key criteria should be for the new Chairman ??

[genius]

19. Looks good. How does he compare with Wellington?

[Cheswick2.0]

20. sounds like he's perfect for head of the Dallas TX DNC