Georgia's Hottest Political Export

Drew Westen may just be Georgia's hottest new export. According to The New York Times today, this Emory professor is being heavily courted by Democrats, including Bill Clinton who has read his book and underlined it for his wife. Much of what Westen recommends cuts against taking the safe road on tough issues. Consider this:

As Dr. Westen sees it, the decision to keep quiet when confronted with negative attacks or difficult and controversial subjects like race, abortion and gay rights is always a mistake. “Democrats run from every issue where there’s passion involved,” he complains. “If you don’t say anything, you are giving them” — your opponents — “the right to define the public’s feeling.”

Quick, Jane, grab Dr. Westen and and download his brain!

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And the Winners Are

Tonight the Bibb County Democratic Party chose State Committee members, and the winners are:

1) Daryl Morton

2) Rep. Nikki Randall

3) Lauren Benedict

4) Steve Allen

These are all excellent individuals who will represent us well on the State Committee. (I particularly like the first one to whom I am related by marriage. :)

I did not run for a post this year. I had a conflict and could not attend the meeting tonight, and, besides, one Morton is enough. I am, however, excited about the potential for the new committee and will be more than happy to assist in anyway that will help Democrats win elections. I am very optimistic about the future for Georgia Democrats.

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What Mike Berlon Did

Because of Mike Berlon, Georgia Democrats will never again forget to acknowledge the power of grassroots activism. Because of Jim Nelson, we may all learn to speak "evangelical." Hattie Dorsey, though her service and her candidacy, made certain that we will never again take for granted the support of women and African Americans. And, who better than Carol Jackson to challenge us to re-define "winnable" and remind us that we can successfully reach out to rural Georgia? In Jane Kidd, we elected a powerful, smart, creative women to lead us, but there is no question that the others who ran point the way toward a winning strategy, and I have no doubt that Jane will make sure they are all at the table as we make plans to move forward.

I have never been more proud to be a Georgia Democrat than I was yesterday. For a Party that has spent much of the last six years doing virtually everything wrong, we finally did virtually everything right.

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Jackson is Out

Carol JacksonIs* out first round, and Neon* and Kidd were the top two.

Note: Clearly, no one named "neon" was running. This should've read:
"Carol Jackson is out first round, and Berlon and Kidd were the top two."

Chalk this error up to my first effort at Blackberry blogging....

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DPG Elections

Tomorrow, I intend to blog from the DPG Elections- at least the fun parts. The meeting starts at 1 pm with the Chair's race first, so, tune in for updates!

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Stop. Please. Stop.

I love the fact that people are so eager to serve in DPG offices that they are employing all of the typical strategies. Heck, I half expect to turn on my television and see an ad for one or more of the candidates. I appreciate the mail, the emails, the videos, the websites, and the letters from third parties in support of candidates, but, and this is my personal bias: I HATE ROBO-CALLS, and I just got one ON MY CELL PHONE from one of the candidates. What is "Calling Post" anyway?

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Thinking Past Saturday

One thing is certain, on Sunday, the Democratic Party of Georgia will have new officers. Certainly, the chair and first vice-chair will be new to their offices and, unless Hattie Dorsey is elected, new to the top offices of the party. I think that any of the candidates for those offices could win on Saturday, and while I prefer certain combinations above others, after Saturday, we do have to figure out how to move forward and do a better job of electing Democrats in this state. To do that successfully, we might want to consider not killing each other off before the election.

The chair's race, in particular, has become a nasty contest both in terms of things that are being said overtly about candidates and powerful whisper campaigns that really seem to be doing the most damage. For instance, word on the street is that Berlon wants to exclude elected officials and that Kidd is only interested in serving the needs of elected officials. Neither of those statements are true. Likewise, folks are saying that Kidd represents only the Democratic 'establishment' while Berlon is beholding to labor and progressives. Again, neither of those statements are entirely true. There are worse things being said about all the candidates, and I don't care to repeat those here.

To make matters worse, in the last few days, supporters of one candidate or the other have been attacked in blog-land. A couple of those rants have been directed at friends of mine. While Melanie, Page and I may not agree on who should be chair, I know these women and respect the time and energy they give to the Party and to candidates. They do not deserve to be bashed personally for who they choose to support. Burn-out is facilitated when hard work is not just ignored but instead criticized without mercy. Thank goodness one of the more mean-spirited rants was deleted by the administrator of a site. But all this begs the question: Are we thinking past Saturday? Really?

Someone said that the chairs race feels like Cox/Taylor all over again and that it has the capacity to further divide the party. If we learned anything from that race it is that the potential to do long term harm to the Party is very real. Folks have said that they had heard that some people were going to bail if certain people are elected. I do think that some donors and others will walk away if they do not trust the leadership to do the job at hand, but I also think that those same people will continue to support Democrats in another ways, and perhaps over time the Party will regain their trust.

Gov. Barnes told me a long time ago that "politics is a bloodsport." He's right, but for a party in desperate need of a transfusion as it is, we cannot afford to write folks off just because they are not supporting who we are for chair. I have several friends,who I respect, who are supporting each of the candidates for chair. Most of the people who are plugged in enough to care about this race already donate time and money to the Party and to Democratic candidates. All of these candidates are doing us a favor by offering themselves for service. After Saturday, we have to work to build a Party that can successfully elect Democrats, and doing that will take all of us.

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The $100,000 Question

Do you think it matters whether those who seek Party office have a track record of contributing to the Party? Over at Blog for Democracy, I read that at Saturday's candidate forum, Mike Berlon promised that, if elected, he would give the DPG $25,000.00 each year of his term . That's a total of $100,000 for the four years. Then, last night a candidate for one of the other offices called me and offered that they had personally given more than $100,000.00 to Democratic candidates during the last cycle. (I am checking that particular claim since I was not able to verify donations at that level by searching the Ethics Commission and Secretary of State websites. Maybe the contributions the person referred to were federal.)

Berlon's promise and the assertion of the other person raises a number of issues, but one that bubbles to the top of the list for me is whether or not the past political giving of an individual should be a factor when they are seeking party office. I did some of my own checking on the Ethics Commission website, and less extensively on the Secretary of State's site. I found some very, very interesting tidbits. I am not sharing them now because I want to make sure that the information I found is correct, but you may find it interesting to check here and search under last names of each candidate. Keep in mind that older records are stored on the Secretary of State's site, and I am sure that someone will blog in to tell me how to find the federal numbers.

For me, personally, I think that political giving, at whatever level a person can afford, is an important investment. I do think that there are other important ways to support the Party and candidates through volunteerism. When it comes to the money, the ability to raise money is more important to me than the willingness to write a personal check, though I think a chair should do both. What do you think? Does the money matter?

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Poll: Who Do You Support for DPG Chair?

Update: Let's try this one more time. As Melanie pointed out (thanks, Melanie), the initial poll that I put up last night was not secure. For example, it generated the following results despite the fact that the site only had about 50 unique visitors since the poll was posted after midnight

Mike Berlon (214) 57.37%
Hattie Dorsey (22) 5.90%
Jane Kidd (23) 6.17%
Jim Nelson (114) 30.56%

The poll allowed folks to vote multiple times, so these results are not accurate. Let's try this this one which appears to only allow one vote, per computer. Sorry for the mistake. I am also adding a poll at the main Georgia Women Vote site (right side, bottom), and know that poll to be secure.




In less than a week, the Democratic Party of Georgia will elect new leadership. This is an historic opportunity. Who do you support for chair? Especially if you are a State Committee member, I invite you to post your reasons for your choice in the comments.

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Per Request: Butler, Un-Cut

Per request, this is the original email from Jim Butler. There were a couple in the stream, but this was first:

Demographic and political trends strongly suggest that Democrats should be able to return to power by the 2010 elections, if not before. Certainly it appears that Bushism may relegate the Republicans to Hoover days, and Americans' revulsion about the Bushist mismanagement of foreign policy, domestic policy, fiscal policy, and trade policy will eventually percolate in to Georgians' views. Perdue's legacy of inaction and negative actions won't be much better, if any.

I can't see much standing in the way of a brighter future for Democrats and all Georgia citizens other than Democrats' own failure to seize the opportunities to broaden the appeal of the Georgia Democratic Party and its candidates.

One of the candidates for Party Chair has advocated separating the Party from elected Democratic officials. That's very unwise and counter-productive, in my view. It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of past Democratic history in Georgia (when the relationship between the Party and elected officials was based upon the fact Democrats controlled the state and the fact there was no really organized Democratic party, nor much need for one). It also reflects a failure to understand fundamental truths about fundraising. Such a Party organization will simply not be able to raise money effectively. Money isn't everything in politics, as we all know and have been reminded in recent years, but it is nonetheless important.

In the first place, who knows more about how to get Democrats elected to office than someone who has managed to get elected to office in Georgia as a Democrat? Not many of the rest of us, that's for sure.

More importantly, it is clear beyond doubt that most county party organizations need to be reconstituted, and the obvious most logical place to start is with elected Democratic officials in each county. State Party officials should go to them and enlist their help in reconstituting the County party. The goal should be to make being a Democrat in that county socially acceptable to a broad cross section of the community.

What are we missing in most counties? Everyone knows the answer to that. Elected Sheriffs, County Commissioners, Tax Commissioners, and Clerks can, if they will, encourage and enlist local business folk and others widely respected in the community to become the local 'face of the party'.

The experience of Democrats in western states should show us the way. Pick the target groups who have not been willing to consider voting for Democrats. Become acceptable to them, and you cobble together a majority of the votes.

In much of Georgia, many voters today will simply not even contemplate voting for someone with "Democrat" beside their name. THAT is the main issue. That is what Georgia Democrats must overcome. I hope the State Committee will elect as State Officers folks with whom a broader cross section of Georgians can readily identify.

Jim Butler
Columbus GA

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Candidates for DPG Offices

Here they are:

Chairman
Michael R. Berlon (Gwinnett)
Hattie B. Dorsey (Fulton)
Carol Jackson (Habersham)
Donzella J. James (Fulton)
Jane V. Kidd (Clarke)
Jim Nelson (Chatham)

First Vice-Chair
Gloria S. Butler (DeKalb)
Darryl A. Hicks (Fayette)
Angela Moore (DeKalb)
Michael Thurmond (Clarke)
Doug Stoner (Cobb)

Congressional District/County Liaison Vice-Chair
Randal Mangham (DeKalb)
Sally Rosser (Fulton)
Cheryl Williams (Gwinnett)

Constituency Group Vice-Chair
Virgilio Perez Pascoe (Forsyth)
James Quarterman (Douglas)
Terrence Samuel (Thomas)

Candidate Recruitment Vice-Chair
Winfred Dukes (Dougherty)
Danita P. Knowles (Coffee)

Secretary
Patricia Barlow-Ivry (Habersham)
Stephen R. Leeds (Fulton)

Treasurer
Rex Templeton, Jr. (Chatham)

1st Congressional District Chair
Dennis W. Marks (Lowndes)

2nd Congressional District Chair
Margaret Tyson (Grady)

3rd Congressional District Chair
Ernest C. Broadwell (Fayette)

4th Congressional District Chair
Linda Edmonds (DeKalb)

5th Congressional District Chair
William Curry (Fulton)
Sheila Jones (Fulton)

6th Congressional District Chair
Ben E. Myers (Fulton)

7th Congressional District Chair
Tasso Knight (Gwinnett)

8th Congressional District Chair
Keith Moffett (Bibb)

9th Congressional District Chair
Bob Barton (Lumpkin)

10th Congressional District Chair
R. Terry Holley (Columbia)
Patty Payne (Franklin)

11th Congressional District Chair
David McLaughlin (Floyd)

12th Congressional District Chair
Tony Center (Chatham)

13th Congressional District Chair
Donzella J. James (Fulton)
Sukari Scott (Clayton)
Nikema Williams (Fulton)

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Hicks: Only Eight is Unacceptable

"In 2006, more than 500 Georgia Democrats contributed over $275,000 to the DNC and only 8 of these donors also contributed to the DPG. This is unacceptable." No kidding.

If you are a State Committee member, then you should've gotten this information in an email from Darryl Hicks. Hicks is running for 1st Vice Chair of the DPG. Having run a statewide campaign, he has political experience, plus, as we heard from him-over and over again during the primary-he is a expert in customer service. When the customers are voters, volunteers and donors, those are handy skills. Hicks, who is personable, smart and experienced, can be a valuable part of a leadership team. He has my vote.

Good luck Darryl!

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I'm Voting for Jane Kidd

I'm voting for Jane Kidd for DPG Chair. Jane can go from boardrooms in Buckhead to the Rotary Club in Bainbridge, be welcome, be comfortable and make people feel great about being a Democrat. In addition, Jane can, without a doubt, can raise the cash required to fund a winning strategy.

For Georgia Democrats, Jane offers a unique combination of leadership experience, political acumen and deep roots. From personal experience, Jane knows what candidates need and what it takes to win. She is making a 159 County Strategy for candidate recruitment a top priority, and she understands that local elected Democrats and local Democratic organizations are our greatest under-developed resource. She is committed to making Republicans earn every vote in every race, and she knows that supporting County Parties so that they can be more effective in electing Democrats is key.

We don't have to hope that Jane can raise money, a quick scan of her campaign disclosures reveals that she can indeed. Plus, her own volunteer-rich campaigns show a strong commitment to good grassroots organizing. For the Democratic Party of Georgia to be a success, it has to be more than an organizational chart, it has to become a viable force, promoting Democrats and Democratic candidates in Georgia. Jane has the skills and experience to bring life to the party. You can learn more about Jane and her vision for the party by checking out her website. Plus, Jane blogs!

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Just a Suggestion

A number of well-qualified people have filed their intent to run for DPG party chair or first vice-chair. Not everyone can be elected, and, in fact, my understanding is that if the chair is female, the 1st vice must be male and visa-versa. I know of nothing in the bylaws that prevents folks for filing for more than one position, and hope that some of those with the energy and drive to serve will do just that. Everyone can't be chair.

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I Have Withdrawn

Three weeks ago, when I finalized my decision to run for Candidate Recruitment Vice-Chair, I did so with full awareness of the time commitment required to do this job, and to do it well. Candidate recruitment really is a full-time job, and one that must begin immediately. Unfortunately, due to illness in the family, recently my circumstances changed unexpectedly, and it is clear that I will not immediately be able to devote my full attention to this extremely important task. I am, therefore, withdrawing my name from consideration for Candidate Recruitment Vice-Chair.

I want to thank all of the people who have been so supportive of my candidacy. I have not yet had an opportunity to call each of you personally because it is important to make this decision public as quickly as possible in order to give others the opportunity to run for this vital position. Therefore, I have sent notice today to the Democratic Party of Georgia withdrawing my intent to run. While I regret that this decision was necessary, I want to assure each of you that it is not a reflection on the Democratic Party of Georgia, an organization or on any of the other candidates for office. I will continue to support the Party and our candidates in every way, as I hope you will. We are at a crossroads, and we need the time, energy and ideas of all in order to accomplish the ultimate mission of the Party- electing more great Democrats in Georgia. I believe that we can and we must accomplish this mission, and to that end, I will continue to work to recruit Democratic candidates for offices at every level of government, and I hope that you will do the same.

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Sen. Doug Stoner

I had heard that Doug Stoner might run for 1st Vice Chair, and tonight I got an e-mail from him announcing that he was, in fact, a candidate for that post. I believe that others who have filed include Danita Knowles, Angela Moore and Sen. Gloria Butler. Danita sent out an announcement a week or so ago. Who else is running for this post?

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