...I'd like us to copy the Republicans.
No. Really.
I want to know that the money we donate to the DNC and the DCCC et al is doing three things:
-We are building up an army of good Democratic candidates
-We are building up and shoring up our base
-We are building up a volunteer machine that will make the Republicans wet their pants in terror
Good Candidates
I'm a born-and-bred Californian, and I'm sure a lot of you other Californians share my belief that our past gubernatorial elections have been more of vote-against-the-Repub than vote-for-our-guy affairs. Gray Davis blew goats as a candidate (his performance as a governor we'll leave for another time). He was uninspiring, uncharismatic, un-everything. However, while he may have been a poor candidate, we've been blessed with a state Republican that has candidates even more unelectible than the Gray Man. As bad as Davis was, his opponents were worse.
Then, along came Arnold. And who was our champion? Cruz Bustamante. Cue un-enthusiasm.
The Repubs finally wised up. They put political purity behind pragmatism. Better to put in someone who's popular as hell and has a few ideological quirks (like being pro-choice and not virulently anti-gay) in order to win the State House than to put out another schmoe like Bill Simon or a nutcase like Dan Lundgren. Of course, the Repubs have gone back to their former foot-shooting ways with their candidates against Barbara Boxer, but I'm pretty sure they've got a secret lab somewhere in OC where they're building the Perfect Candidates. Might be in one of those office parks in Irvine. Or somewhere down in South County.
So far, the best we've got here is Gavin Newsome, the new mayor of San Francisco. Yes, I know he's a self-made man, raised by a single parent, etc., etc., etc. On paper, that all looks great. The reality, I think, is that Newsome is just Willie Brown's puppet. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure I can see someone's Italian-suit clad arm shoved up Hizzoner's ass. Plus, and this is just a personal quibble 'cause the coffee's really kicking in, dude, what's up with that hair, Gavin? Jebus. Hair didn't work for Davis. It's not going to work for you for very long.
So, Terry, who's the Party targeting for greatness? Who are they grooming? And why?
Building the Base
Who exactly is the Democratic Party base supposed to be? Is it organized labor? Is it the working class? Is it white, middle-class liberals like me who feel like they lucked out and want to make sure that other people have some of the same breaks as us? What does it mean to be a Democrat in the 21st Century?
It sure doesn't mean to be very progressive, at least not from where I see. I've seen people leave for the Greens, the Libertarians, or become Undeclared rather than stick around and be Democrats. Hell, I was Green for a while until Howard Dean tossed his hat into the ring. This was the first time in a while when I felt that a mainstream Democrat was speaking to me (and, yes, I think Dean is in the mainstream. Vermont is small and different than the rest of the country, but the man was in the Assembly, he was in the local Party apparatus, he was the freakin' governor for a decade. He may be on the fringe of the mainstream, but he's still a part of the Party and will fall in line with everyone else after the Steel Cage Grudge Match we call the primaries is over). And we've all seen how Dean was cut down and made to be an outsider by the DNC and DLC.
The problem is this: Howard Dean's gone and boosted the base. What will the DNC do to maintain it, or, even better, build it more? Will Terry Mac start to seek smaller donors? What will he do to make ordinary Democrats not only go to the polls, but get out and volunteer? What will he do to get us all involved?
One sidenote about base: in an article in Salon last week, Michelle Goldberg (sp?) wrote about going to a conservative convention. The mood on the ground was that people are pissed at GWB for not paying attention to the hard-right base. While they'd never vote against him, they might be so honked off as to stay home on Election Day. While we can't count on that, I think it's more vital than ever that we all get out and vote. We might be able to do it out of sheer numbers. Yes, I'll vote ABB, even after Storming in Iowa and shelling out cash and doing precinct work in CA for Dean. I want Howard Dean in, but I also want Bush out. Could this be the year where we have the same discipline as the Repubs have when it comes to GOTV?
Volunteer Machine
If you haven't read Garance Franke-Ruta and Harold Myerson's article about the Repub street machine, do so. Please. And then ask yourself: what in hell do we have?
Now, while I live in Santa Monica and am probably considered a safe Dem voter, I have never once received a phone call on Election Day. I have never had someone canvass my neighborhood. I just get literature, and nothing else. When I was registered as a Republican last year (just for espionage purposes, I swear) I got three robo-calls from Arnold and one live call on Election Day reminding me to vote. Where were the Dems? Where were they when I was a registered, actively voting Democrat? Why wasn't I reminded to go and vote? Why didn't canidate volunteers come by my door?
I'm starting to think it's because they didn't have any. Granted, I don't know how California politics works, so maybe the brains decided it was more worthwhile to bombard me with tv, radio, and paper ads. But, dammit, there's that live caller from Arnold on Recall Election Day, asking if I've gone out and voted (I had, actually, by absentee ballot, and told the caller so. I also told her to suck eggs. It felt good. Futile, but good). Newsome had a machine of his own (or, at least, he borrowed Willie Brown's for the day), and we know about the Dean Machine (and I mean the NH one. The Iowa machine...I'd rather not remember that). Why aren't we going out and training people to canvass their neighborhoods?
When I read about the Repub's 72-Hour Task Force, I knew we're going to have a hell of a time. Where's our version, Terry? Why don't we have a machine of our own that you just plug a candidate into and flip the switch?
So. Whaddaya think?