Democratic friends and colleagues.

First off, I am disgusted with the US Supreme Court, and their illogical, politically-influenced 5-4 vote to install George W. Bush as president. They have eroded trust in the sacred national institution of the court and the presidency.

Having said that, I am concerned that any Democratic Party-endorsed protests on January 20 need a point, and that they have specific action that the full Party can back. Protesting to have votes counted had a point; protesting just because we lost doesn't necessarily lead to successful counter-action. Especially in California it just says, "We're ticked off because GW is in the White House." A Republican response could be "So what? Why should we care about your state, since we clearly don't need your electoral votes. We'll use the Golden State to harvest cash, but as far as we're concerned, 85 percent of you can vote against us in 2004, and it won't make a doggone bit of difference to us. Go waste your time walking precincts in California. Ha-ha."

In the Bay Area, we have an even bigger challenge, since we've cleared out just about every single Republican in the region. There is not a single incumbent Republican on the partisan ballot in 2002. And most likely, we won't have a single incumbent Republican on the partisan ballot in 2004. We're playing defense here folks, and that calls for a radically-different strategy than trying to portray ourselves as angry outsiders. We're not. At least not here on home turf.

So what's left? Take over appointed boards and commissions. Take over local non-partisan elected offices. Implement progressive policies in cities up and down the state. Support efforts by the State Legislature to pass great legislation.

Californians will have minimal impact on races in other states, unless we are finally able to implement long-distance call-from-home phone banking. Where we can make a real difference is by leading by example, and that needs to happen in our local communities.

We must show progress on issues of land use; environmental protection; energy policy; health care; campaign finance laws; education issues; opportunity for people of all economic means; effective prevention of domestic violence and other such crimes; and many other issues of conscience.

So, with regards to what we should do in January 2001 to show our frustration: Think national; get involved locally.

Call your local city and county and review the list of local boards and commissions. Count the many current or upcoming vacancies. Apply. If you don't, members of the radical right will. Call your local Democratic county committee, and start attending monthly meetings. Join your local Democratic club. If there is no club in your community, contact me directly, and I personally will help you start one. Write letters-to-the-editor about your frustration with GW, and the national Republicans. Heck, even write supportive letters to Democratic members of the U.S. House delegation. But put your most important energies into shoring up our Democratic base in your portion of the state.

The country is looking to California for Democratic leadership. This is the first time in many years that California voted Democratic, but a Republican won the White House. All of us have to ensure that California remains Democratic for years and years to come. We can help the luster of the Golden State to continue to shine.

In pragmatic, ticked-off solidarity,
Chris Stampolis


Chris:

Thanks very much for taking the time to write to us. I agree very strongly with you regarding the need to get Democrats into local non-partisan positions and stop the Far Right's agenda there. But I'd like to respectfully suggest the DNC appears to be missing the boat on some very important issues.

This is the first campaign I have worked on since I was seventeen, and worked on the Carter/Mondale reelection campaign as a school project. I volunteered for Vice President Gore's campaign because I have always believed he was a man of his word, and I wanted to help make his progressive agenda a reality. I worked very hard on this campaign, talking and writing to other voters here and in other states, getting them excited about voting again. It wasn't easy. People were very cynical about whether voting meant anything. But I never gave up and eventually all of the people I was talking to and writing to personally (in the end it was close to one hundred) got out and voted... only to have their renewed faith and optimism about politics paid back in the most cynical way imaginable -- by George W. Bush and his cronies fixing the Florida election.

The media has begun the Florida recount and guess what! In the first county -- a staunchly Republican county that uses the optiscan system -- they found enough votes for the Vice President (that if they had been counted) to have won Florida.

This is a civil rights crisis. Tens of thousands of Floridians were denied their right to vote and this in turn has disenfranchised the nation. The Bush camp has benefited from a crime of stupefying proportions. And from the outside it looks like the Democratic party is doing nothing to right this wrong except tell me to run for Assistant Zoning Commissioner.

On a practical level, I realize they might never pay directly for this crime. Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris have already started an "investigation" into the Florida election, so if they were directly involved, any remaining evidence of their collusion would be destroyed. The idea that Bush will have the Justice Department conduct a full investigation into the Florida election is laughable. Since the GOP has the majority in the House, we probably could not impeach Bush, Cheney, Delay, Lott and Scalia (if there was enough evidence for impeachment). And they obviously have the Supreme Court in their pocket.

Even if we can't hold them accountable for this crime, we have to make it impossible for them to ever commit the same crime again. That's where the DNC needs to jump in with both feet. The party needs to tell us how it is working to protect and expand the right to vote -- including how it is going to reform campaign financing. We need to know specifically who in Congress is proposing legislation on national standards for elections or federal funds for upgrading voting equipment, etc. We need to know that this issue will be central to the Democratic platforms in the 2002 and 2004 campaigns. And if it won't be, we need to know why. And we need to know how to change that platform if we disagree with the Party's decision.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the GOP is cynical enough to use this issue in 2002 and 2004 to get the rank and file disgusted with the Democratic party. They will tell us that we were robbed, that Vice President Gore was robbed, that big money fixed the 2000 election and ask what the Democratic Party did about it. If the answer is we stood firm against the Bush Administration's school voucher proposal, voter turn out will fall through the floor.

Respectfully yours,
[My actual real name, rather than:
The Editoral Board Of The Possum County Daily Flapdoodle.]