DNC Listening Hearing

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY

DNC Listening Hearing


Want to tell the Democratic National Committee where you want the party to go in the future? Here’s your chance!



California Democrats are holding a hearing for DNC members next Saturday, January 15, from Noon until 4 pm Pacific time, which is 3 pm to 7 pm Eastern time.



See below for complete information on where the hearing will be located, but if you can’t make it to the meeting you can listen to it live on RadioLeft.com!



Send YOUR comments to DNCListeninghear@aol.com, and they might be read at the meeting. In any case, all messages will be given to the members of the DNC.



Try to be polite, now, and you’ll have a better chance of being heard.



And then listen to RadioLeft.com from 3 pm to 7 pm Eastern this coming Saturday, January 15 to hear the information presented to DNC members.



THE CA - DNC DELEGATION invites you to


A meeting for grassroots Democrats to provide input to the DNC delegation from California.We'll listen to Democrats concerning topics of interest-including ( but not limited to ) the election, status of our party, future of our party,and election of a new DNC Chair.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 15TH/NOON - 4:00PM (Pacific)

Patriotic Hall
1816 S. Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA



Patriotic Hall is south of the Santa Monica (10) freeway, about 4 blocks from the LA Convention Center. The Metro blue line (Grand Ave.) stop is 1.5 blocks away.



The DNC California delegation is looking forward to your input! Each person will be allotted two minutes to address the Delegation.


15 DNC members from CA have confirmed their attendance:



BIOGRAPHIES OF DNC PARTICIPANTS

Steven K. Alari lives in Long Beach California and is a member of the DNC National Committee Member since 1988 and a member of the DNC Executive Committee representing Western Region of the United States. Steve also serves as a member of the DNC Resolutions Committee. He is a member as well of the DNC Hispanic and Labor Caucuses. He is also a member of the California State Employees Association, Local 1000, SEIU, AFL-CIO, CLC.

Rachel Binah lives in Mendocino County and is in her fourth term as a DNC member. She has served on the State & County Central Committees for the past 20 years and was a founding member of the Mendocino Coast Democratic Club. Rachel was the Chair of the California Democratic Party’s Environmental Caucus, served as Environmental Plank Chair of the Platform Committee and currently serves on the California Democratic Party’s Resolutions Committee.

Mary Ellen Early has been a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1988, and serves on the Executive Committee of the DNC Women’s Caucus. A former Assembly District Chair and Regional Director of the California Democratic Party, she has served on the State Party’s Resolutions Committee since 1993. Mary Ellen resides in Los Angeles County’s San Fernando Valley, where she is employed as an Information Systems Specialist at a community hospital.

Ed Espinoza is a political consultant serving his first term on the DNC. At 32, he is one of the youngest elected members on the DNC. His background includes 12 years working in professional politics, including staff experience working for the California Democratic Party, the California State Senate, Clinton/Gore '96 and L.A. public relations offices Fleishman-Hillard and Golin/Harris. From 1999-2001 he served as the President of the California Young Democrats and was a Democratic guest spokesperson during the 2000 presidential campaign for Fox News, CNN and ABC television as well as NPR and the CBS Radio Network. During the 2004 election cycle, he managed a budget desk for America Coming Together's 527 campaign in 5 swing states. He is an avid surfer and divides his time between homes in the Washington, DC area and in his native Long Beach, California.

John A. Pérez is Director of Political Affairs for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 324 and previously served as Political Director for the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO. John was elected to represent California on the Democratic National Committee from 1996-2000 and was again elected for the 2004-2008 term of office. In addition to his activities with in the Democratic Party John serves on several Boards and Commissions. He currently chairs the California Voting Modernization Board, serves on the board of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) and is President of the CLCV’s Education Fund. John served in the Clinton and Bush administrations as a member of the Presidents Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS and currently serves on the Board of AIDS Project LA.

Robert "Big Red" Rankin lives in Carson with his wife of 43 years, Anna and has twice been elected as a member of the DNC. He is a member of the DNC Credentials Committee, Senior Coordinating Council, and the " fledging" Rural Caucus. He was been a delegate to two Democratic National Conventions and has served on the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee. He has been a member of the CDP Executive Board since 1993 and is a member of the Disability, Labor, Senior and Rural Caucuses. He is a active member of the LA County Party, currently serving as Labor Chair, a member of the Candidate Interview Committee and the Speakers Bureau. He is a member of the Gardena Valley and Martin Luther King Jr. Democratic Clubs. His Labor Union activities included serving twice as: Local Union President, Chair of the USWA Presidents Committee, and Chair of the Legislation Education Committee. "Big Red" is currently the Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees Coordinator for California. He is also a delegate to the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. He also writes a column, The Voice of Labor, that has appeared in various Democratic publications since 1996.

Garry S. Shay who lives in Hollywood is serving in his fourth term as an elected member of the DNC and is a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC. He has been a delegate to three National Conventions and one mid-term Convention. He has served as a delegate to every CDP convention since 1974 and has been a member of the LA County Democratic Central Committee since 1973. He is the Lead Chair of the Rules Committee of the CDP and a former two-term Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party. He is a former President of Stonewall Democratic Club, and currently serves as its Parliamentarian and as the Parliamentarian of the CDP LGBT Caucus. He runs and manages a list serve which may be joined at: DemocraticNewsGroup-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. His civic activities have included serving as Chair of the Transportation Commission of the City of West Hollywood and President of his the Highlands Homeowners' Association where he lives with his partner of 23 years, Burt Belant and their two dachshunds: Xena and Boomer.

Chris Stampolis is in his second term representing California on the DNC and he serves as Secretary for the DNC's Western Caucus. Chris recently was elected President of the California Democratic Council, the statewide organization of Democratic clubs and county committees. Originally from Los Angeles, Chris now lives in Santa Clara, where he serves as a Trustee on the West Valley/Mission Community College District Governing Board and just completed six years on the City Planning Commission. Chris is married to Anna Song and they take daily direction from 2-year old Nicholas, cat Goatee and rabbits Coco and Cinnabun.

Norma J. Torres lives in Pomona has been an appointed member of the Member of the DNC since September, 2001, and is a member of the DNC Hispanic Caucus. She is also a member of AFSCME Local 3090, AFLCIO, and was just elected to my second 4-year term to the Pomona City Council, District 6. Norma hopes to be elected as the Assemblymember from the 61st State Assembly District in 2006. Her WEB page is www.normatorres.com.

as well as Jeremy Bernard, Inola Henry, Mona Pasqual, Christine Pelosi, Congressmember Diane Watson, and Roz Wyman, whose biographies have not, as yet, been received.


If you cannot attend, please feel free to provide your input by e-mail to: DNCListeninghear@aol.com, or, send written input, by mail to : L/O Pam Cooke, 6454 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 209, Van Nuys, CA 91401.

This event is expected to be audio webcast on www.Radioleft.com and picked up by both print and video media.


Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com
RadioLeft.com

at many locations nationwide. I am attending one on Saturday.
The one I am attending is being held in a fairly large auditorium so they must be planning on a good size crowd.

I sent my feedback to the email provided. I have mostly cut and paste various posts from the past and left out a very long rant in the beginning.

________________________________

To whom it may concern:

<snip to the end>

In short, I don't believe you will learn or hear a word you don't want to hear. The republicans not so much beat you... as you stumbled after your defeat. You react to your opponents as opposed to responding to the needs of your base in a difficult time. You react to defeat as opposed to strengthening your message as an independent UNIFIED VOICE that is heard by all Americans. You could have been a voice of strength even IN defeat. You REACT to a non-existent "morals" debate framed by your opponents by running to the right - - that's right where they want you to run. In their place, and you'll get slaughtered. 300 Spartans defeated thousands of Persians. The Persians just kept coming to their turf. BIG MISTAKE. HAVE you LEARNED NOTHING? You'll lose a good deal of your support by running to the right just because your opponents demand you do so. Are you puppets to your master/opponent or do you represent your loyal base?

The Republicans speak to their base and pander to them quite well (more tax breaks---free, not fair trade---corporate greed is good and divisiveness). They talk to their base of haves and have mores... and you talk to their base as if they'll ever accept the Democratic vision! Who will speak to your base while you're cozying up to theirs?

So how do our Democratic leaders speak to their base? We're subjected to sound bites in the media that you will change your platform to appeal to people on the right. One of you went on television the day after the election and said "GOD" or some such thing twice in a statement that amounted to nothing but a pity party! DUH. Like that wasn't the lamest thing you could do? How many times a day do we have to hear that you're "adrift, in trouble, wavering, lost" in the media? The comical thing is that you play to the republican charge of waffling. "We're progressive... I mean centrist... I mean we are moralists..." STOP IT NOW. GROW SOME ROOTS and stick with a platform that matters to your base!

The message to the media should have been: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH US. YOU MUST BE DELUSIONAL TO ENTERTAIN SUCH NONSENSE. We have a platform that's right for the country and the American people. We'll continue to spread our message. We're not changing one damned thing because we love our country and all Americans. AND next election we'll make sure that our message is heard by even more Americans. We're not the problem, you are. END OF STORY.

What did you do? You went on television and told us, IN FACT if not not in these words, that the republicans are right! That you'll allow American workers to sink into poverty as long as those heathen leftists free health insurance baby-killing heathens are beaten back to hell! You may as well have used those words. YOU painted yourselves as weak by your response. YOU TURNED YOUR BACK ON YOUR BASE. NOW FIX IT! STOP REACTING and start attacking! Represent your base proudly. Grow some fangs! Become the populist heroes we thought you were and not the puppets you seem to be!

Also, a week after the election, Donna Brazile accused John Kerry of withholding money from the DNC even though he brought in more money to you than any candidate EVER. This was televised nationally on cable news. Where is your pride? I hope to never see that woman representing the Democratic Party again. She made a fool of the DNC and of us all. Issues such as this did not belong in the public arena. How petty. How foolish. How dare you start petty sniping in public after defeat. Where is the leadership here?

I'm a lifelong Democrat from a family of lifelong Democrats and will probably die a Democrat unless you veer to the right. If our leadership spent more time with their finger on the pulse of average Americans, the less effective the Republicans would be promoting divisive non-issues and winning elections.

One more thing... talk to your constituents by postcard every month. No sound bites. Just tell us what you've done to protect our interests against this administration's policies. Don't include donation envelopes, just use postcards and speak to us constantly... not just when you want our vote or money. Include contact numbers and ask us our opinions about issues.

Lay out what is wrong and what you've done to try to fix it. If you were blocked in Congress, tell us who blocked the good work you're doing. Don't make it a billion words long... just short and sweet. The problem, YOUR fix, their BAD deed. Tell people to get involved and call the bad guy in question to complain. Keep yourselves in our house, on our coffee tables, a note on our to-call list. That's how you invite yourselves into our homes.... not by inane sound bites in the media.

Respectfully,

XXXXXXXXXXX