Building the Network

In observing the reconstruction of the Democratic party after November’s shakedown, I have noticed some very positive signs. Everyone understandably expected the youth and grass roots enthusiasm to wane after the election, but they are still going strong. The election of Howard Dean to the DNC chair ensured that we will not lose what we gained. I still see too much bickering between factions in the party, but I think people are slowly catching on to the idea of the new unity. What is emerging from the ashes of the 2004 campaign is an organized network of small nodes working independently for a common objective. In order for the network to function with the greatest efficiency and effectiveness, there are certain elements that need to be in place. For simplicity’s sake, I am not including the actual National Party committee and the candidate committees.

In Oklahoma, I would like to see an in-state news web site that will cover all political news within Oklahoma. There are a few independent news sites out there, but they are typically very amateur affairs. They advocate a viewpoint so vigorously that they are really collections of editorials instead of outlets for information. We need a site that dares to be dull. The news service that I am envisioning is devoid of any red meat, any flashpoint rhetoric. It should simply be a site for any and all information that concerns Progressives and Democrats in Oklahoma. It should say that X state senator is proposing bill Y that will cut Z dollars from children’s programs. It should provide numbers and statistics, as well as profiles of the major players in each story. This site would be a real one-stop shop. Readers should not have to waste their time digging through the mainstream news for nuggets of gold. Most importantly, the site should be well fact-checked, so all information is confirmed to be true. Enough of the rumor mills that are the Democratic message boards! We need to get serious about our information gathering.

I would also like to see a web site or some other method of communicating within the party. Most of the Democratic Party’s dirty laundry is aired in public, which only encourages the enemy. For this purpose, I don’t think a message board would be the best medium. Message boards allow users to type on and on and on without any sort of refereeing, so they just continue to bicker ad nauseam. We need a private mode of communication through which party factions can talk and work toward compromise. Without a compromise, the endless chatter is useless. Some groups won’t get their way on some issues, but they will on others. If they can’t be satisfied with that, they should consider the alternative: no groups will get their way on any issues.

In addition to communicating within the party, we also need to communicate with the outside world. Democrats and Liberals hold extremely diverse opinion, so it is impossible for everyone to agree on the framing of any topic. That should not deter us from making the attempt. After the conflicts have been settled, we need an outlet for the consensus opinion. On some subjects it will be easy—we’re almost totally unified on Social Security. For other subjects, it’ll be trickier, like gay marriage. But we need one message. There’s no rule that says you have to agree with the one message, but the jumble of discordant voices becomes a cacophony that makes us all look wishy-washy. Disagreement is healthy, and argument should take place within the intra-Party communications medium. When it’s time to do battle, though, we all have to be facing the enemy.

Think tanks and lobbying organizations will work more behind the scenes, but they are very useful. Think tanks can help with framing issues, and they can funnel resources into the front line organizations. Lobbying groups can press our agenda in the hostile state and federal legislatures, so we can at least maintain some influence while we are working on regaining power.

Voter education is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. Conservative Oklahomans are bombarded with the twisted Regressive message every day. There are radio shows, television shows, newsletters, and web sites all dedicated to pushing the Republican message in their faces. Is it any wonder why they have a prejudice against Democrats and Democratic values? It serves no purpose to blame the voter. They can only make decisions based on the information they have. Progressives need to reach out to this misinformed population and let them know what our values really are. Combat lies with the truth! My own organization, OKWINPAC is dedicated to this task. We are blazing the trail for future progressive candidates.

Finally, when the election season rolls around, we need plenty of PACs to work on electioneering. Elections are like the Super Bowl of politics. That is when all the nodes in the network are called upon to do their part to win. Not only must the electioneering PACs spring into action, but all the other nodes of the network must press toward the goal. The communications wing must deliver a good, consistent message to the public. The voter education groups must promote progressive values among those who might otherwise never know of them. The think tanks must assist in framing, research, and the distribution of resources. Make no mistake; there is no nobility in defeat. Every effort that does not help Democrats win elections is a wasted effort.

I am proud to play my small part in the emerging network. I wish I could do more, but victory can’t be bought by any single person’s individual effort. It will require many people doing their specific jobs. I encourage every reader of this column to make an effort—even if it is small—to build the network and unite the party. That might include donating to a PAC, or it might simply be changing the way you speak about other Democrats in public fora. Let’s play as a team, and let’s win the game.

On to victory.

© 2005 Bryan Lower

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