Everyone's interested in the Presidential race- please put some of that energy into a local race too

The Presidential race is sexy, it's fun, it's full of energy, it's all over the news.

But I'd ask that us DUers who pay so much time and energy to politics take a moment to spend some money or some energy on one of your local races. A state house or state senate race in your area. Because these are the races where your volunteer hours can really make a difference. Only a few votes can mean the margin of victory. And your local candidates are the ones who actually make more impact on your daily life than in Washington. You can get FAR more done with your activist energy in your city council or state legislature than you can in a federal or presidential race. You can make a lot more difference.

If you know this already, tell someone about it. And give it a :kick: if you agree!

:applause: :thumbsup:

Rangel in NYC.

:kick:

for Congress. http://www.bensonforcongress.com/

Not all Democratic party officials at the state level are progressives. They influence the rank and file on many issues. The more true progressives that we put in power at the state and local level, the more pressure you can apply at the national level.

Democrats have not shown that they understand the mechanics of politics very well. Howard Dean has shown how important and successful working for progressives at the grass roots level can be. Barack Obama's organizational success in Chicago at the local level demonstrates the value of this activity.

We cannot place all our hopes on one person doing everything that needs to be done. We need lots of like-minded people in office at all levels of government. Any help DUers can give to any progressives at any level, be it time or money, will further the cause.

K and R.

Hola, crispi!

:hi:

Kevsand and I have a few local races we are helping out with this year. The national races are sexy and lots of fun, but they are also the races that can afford paid staffers and lots of media. The local guys are the ones most in need of foot soldiers, mentoring, and support. They are also how you build your party.

The schedule for this next week is just about typical for this time in the election cycle:

I'm making quiches and helping serve at a brunch fundraiser for a State rep race next Sunday. We just worked on a mailing for the local State's Attorney race, and now it is time to do follow up calls to that list to drum up cash and attendees. We also have a fundraiser coming up a Circuit Clerk's race. That one is pretty low key for us, however, it just involves showing up.

I'm thinking I'm scheduled for Thursday night in the tent at the County fair, too, come to think of it... (I better call and double check that to make sure!)

The following week is a parade for one of the small town festivals, and I'm thinking we'll probably be walking in it passing lit, handing out throws, and giving out candy.

Welcome to life in the ____sand family!!!!


Laura

I live in Manhattan, in a solid blue district in a solid blue state, so I thought I might go to Staten Island to help out in the campaign to unseat (NY-13), the only Republican representing New York City. An activist friend of mine agreed -- "See you on the ferry," she said.

Then Fossella got caught drunk driving while en route to visit his mistress -- and their three-year-old child. Under pressure from the head elephants, he reluctantly announced he wouldn't seek re-election.

Well, OK, there'll be some Republican candidate to work against, right? Hmmm, not so fast. All the elected officials in the area turned down the party's pleas to run. I guess they thought it wouldn't be a good year for Republicans. (So reports the Department of the Blindingly Obvious.)

After a desperate search, the Republicans finally found a rich businessman who agreed to run. He'd never held elective office, but at least he could self-finance his campaign -- a definite plus when your party's Congressional campaign committee is almost broke and has dozens of vulnerable incumbents to defend.

Unfortunately, not long after being anointed by the party leaders as their choice, the poor fellow died of a heart attack.

Last week, the filing deadline came and went with no "official" Republican designee. In desperation, the county's Republican Committee decided to back former Assemblymember Robert Straniere, even though he lost his Assembly seat in a primary a few years back because all the local Republican leaders despise him. Having him on the ballot spares them the embarrassment of openly ceding the seat, but they're not expected to do anything for him. One of the Republicans who formerly held the Congressional seat gave this assessment of Straniere's selection:

"It's unthinkable," former Rep. and Borough President Guy Molinari told The News. "If there's something I can do against him, I will do it." Molinari expressed disdain for party leaders who chose Straniere this week: "He's going to make them look like a bunch of jackasses, because they are." (from in the New York Daily News)

Straniere still faces a primary against another Republican who'd filed petitions, this one a cardiologist who "was fined $5,000 and placed on probation for three years in 2003 by the State Health Department’s Board for Professional Medical Conduct." ()

Oh, and after his primary defeat, Straniere moved out of the district. I assume he'll be able to move back there on the cheap by snapping up a house that's been foreclosed on.

The bottom line is that what I thought would be a close race is shaping up as a rout. It will be hard to motivate myself to put any energy into it.

Obviously, the whole scenario was a dirty trick by the Republicans to suppress Democratic volunteers' enthusiasm.

K&R

progressive done even with the DINO congress we have now.

We need more progressives now. Mean ones.

(basically find 5 or more people in the precinct to work together), people from precincts to volunteer for local candidates, stuff ballots, pass out balloons at county fairs, raise funds. Democrats from precincts keep in touch via e-mail, coordinate which people from organized precincts will hand out lists of Dem candidates (any nonpartisan dems) at voting places, which people from organized precincts will drive people who have no transport to the polls (calls made by people in precincts in month before election will identify who needs a ride, call around to pastors of African American churches and ask who needs a ride to the polls, start that now, keep that list updated, maps made out ahead of time for best route on election day (I think that elderly African Americans might be the largest group of people who don't have rides to the polls - many have relied on public transport all their lives and can't get around when they're older). This one group will get the word out and help Democrats up and down the ballot.

It all starts with that one ad in the paper to get passionate Democrats in one location. There is such fire out there, right here, right now. We just need to harness it.

(Crispini - I don't know if you remember, but I pmed you a couple years back when I saw you working like a madwoman in the middle of republicanland and asked for tips about what to do here to get things going. The things I wrote about above are what we're doing and the excitement levels are amazing. It is really happening!! I rarely read Du or anywhere else now, I'm so busy filling every spare minute with working toward getting Democrats into office, it doesn't really matter what the drama of the day is in the online world. I highly recommend it!! Thanks for starting this post!)

Thank you for your hard work. I totally agree about how great it is to get out into the real world and work hard! I feel the same, barely post here anymore because I'm too busy working. Boy does it feel great! And wait until you win your race and/or take your county -- we took our county two years ago and that was THE BEST! :bounce:

to volunteering for the Democratic Party. I told my family to get used to me being gone most of the time until November 4.

The presidential race is the American Idol of politics. Lots of attention and money, but it won't do any real good if we don't put some serious progressives in the congressional seats. Not only do we need to eliminate as many republicans as possible, we have to dilute the right tilt of way too many Democrats in office now.

Rick Noriega for Texas senator. Get rid of Carbon Copy Cornyn. That's where my money and time are going.