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November 15, 2004

Finding our phoenix

In order to have an effective opposition in this country, it is crucial that the national Democratic Party get it's act together. Immediately. The ashes of the 2004 election aren't yet cold...and the Dems absolutely need to recover and begin the work of rebuilding the party at the national level.

Toward that end a new Democratic National Committee Chair needs to be elected. The ineffective and incompetent Terry McCauliffe is out, having announced his retirement several months before the election. Thus the search is on for a new Chair to be elected in the coming weeks.

Already there are names floating about. Tom Vilsack (Govenor of Iowa), Howard Dean and Simon Rosenberg appear to be the main individuals being discussed.

The DLC wing of the Democrats appear to be throwing their support behind Vilsack, a moderate. Vilsack's main reason for wanting the job is to keep the Iowa Caucus as one of the first parts of the primaries candidate selection process. Huh? The national party needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and Vilsack's main issue is the Iowa Caucuses? Besides that, the moderates in the Democratic Party have been in charge for the last three elections...and they're 0-3. The status quo ain't working. It's time to clean house.

Simon Rosenberg I admittedly know nothing about. In fact I'd never heard of him until I read his name over at Daily Kos. But here is one Kos Diary that gives him a glowing reference.

And then of course there's Dean. The moderates are completely apoplectic at the idea of Dean taking the reins at the DNC. They say he would be a "disaster". A disaster as opposed to losing the Presidential election that we should have won and losing more seats in the Senate and House? Dean has the understanding of the grassroots and the power of those who passionately believe in him (myself included). He's also a student of George Lakoff, who I sincerely believe is a crucial cog in getting Democrats to articulate their beliefs and principles.

Whoever ends up taking over McCauliffe's job needs a very grand vision and absolutely must want to get the Democrats and progressives their own echo chamber that gets massive media attention. They need to continue to build at the grassroots level. The Democrats at the local level did extremely well..even in many states that went for Bush. The bones are there. But the national party must do the heavy lifting required to make the opposition a force to be reckoned with.

Posted by Carla at November 15, 2004 02:42 PM