in search of Democratic Party unity [View All]

we see all kinds of arguments about who the best candidate for 2008 will be ... we see a movement to "reframe" how we argue our case ... and we see a neverending battle between the center and the left ... for Democrats to win again, all of these things need to be addressed ...

last year, "the left" came through for Kerry in a big way ... many who had voted Green in 2000 "came home" and many who bitterly opposed Kerry's views (and his votes) on the critical Iraq issue did all they could to help him get elected ... but with the election over and the "war" not, the rift is growing again ...

and it does NOT have to be this way !!

consider the following spectrum of possible interactions between elected Democrats and registered Democrats:

1. elected Democrats vote without really knowing the wishes of registered Democrats and never explain why they voted as they did ...
2. elected Democrats vote without really knowing the wishes of registered Democrats but they provide a thoughtful explanation of why they voted as they did and make it easily available to ALL registered Democrats ...
3. elected Democrats hold regular "town meetings" with their constituents and openly discuss and debate issues that have not yet come up for a vote in the Congress ...
4. elected Democrats poll all their constituents and robotically vote according to the will of the majority ...

feel free to add other options ... i strongly favor option #3 ... this should be what representative democracy is all about ... but that's not the system we currently have ... most votes are cast using either option #1 or option #2 ... too many elected reps are invisible to their constituencies ... in my state, i NEVER see either of my Senators: Kennedy and Kerry ... that is just NOT OK ... it seems like the only time they "come home" is when there's a "billion dollar a plate" fundraiser ... that's just wrong ...

Kerry votes for something i don't like ... TOUGH !!! there's no feedback ... there's no dialog ... there's no compromise ... there's no "there there" ... this leads to anger and frustration and rifts within the Party ... and it's NOT necessary ... it's bad government and it's bad politics ...

greater contact with our elected reps certainly does not guarantee that every voter will be satisfied with every vote the rep casts ... divisions on the issues are very real ... but perhaps more contact would promote better understanding and more tolerance ... we will never achieve party unity, or at least more unity, without regular dialog ... and this process is badly, very badly, in need of reform ...

unity will only be possible when ALL registered Democrats know their voices are being heard and ALL Democrats have regular opportunities to understand why their reps vote as they do ... screaming at those who don't feel represented will accomplish absolutely nothing; improving the process by which Democrats communicate with one another might help heal the rifts ... giving greater voice to the grassroots (i.e. ALL registered Democrats) is the only way to build the unity we seek ...