Quick, did you guys know we had a Dem message for '06?

[TayTay]

Can you name it? There are six things that are part of the 'Democratic Agenda' and that you will start to hear over, and over, and over and over. Wow!

I had a good time at the DCI meeting. It was different from what I had expected. I thought it would be more of a separate track to train real newbies and there was that, but it was also a lot of people who have been going to these things for years and who are community organizers and stuff. I met this incredible guy from the DNC who has more energy than a classroom full of hyperactive 3 year olds at a Christmas Party. (Honestly, I felt old just looking at him.) I listened to a lot of people from around my state and people who have participated in past presidential, state and local races. (Lots and lots and lots.) Sen. Kennedy sponsored lunch. (So, both of my Sens have either provided lunch of bought libations for me in the last 3 months. Huh! What are the odds of that happening.)

There were way more Kerry staffers there than Kennedy people. (At least at the panels.) Geez, were they ever serious about the training and the grassroots stuff and everything. (Dead serious.) Whatever downtime they had last year is way over. There were more hyperactive Type A people than should be in one room. (I am not Type A, I think I am Type Z or something. Type A people make me tired.) Type A people are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on a Sunday morning at 9:15 when I am still trying to get my eyes to focus on the panel description in the booklet. Geez. And they all love the grassroots. And, I think that if we can grow enough grassroots people who are really, really good at this stuff and make vast improvements in going door-to-door and decentralizing the structure and kicking out deadwood and stuff that we all get to exported to Iowa. (Not too sure about this part, I'm a little tired.)

Oh yeah, the message. (Together, America can do better.) Dems want

1: Honest leadership and Open Government
2: Strong national defense based on telling the truth
3: Health care system that works for everyone
4: Jobs that stay in America from energy independence
5: Public education system that creates job opportunities
6: Retirement security

This is what Democrats stand for and what our 'plans' are based around. Huh!

[ProSense]

1. Wow!

Democrats are on the ball. That Agenda is like the pocket version, the basics of what's at their websites.

Kerry’s Agenda:

A Strong Economy
Health Care
Energy Independence
National Security
Homeland Security
War on Terror
Veterans
Troops and Military Families
War in Iraq
Seniors
Education
Children and Families
Protecting the Environment
Fighting Wasteful Spending
Fiscal Responsibility
Electoral Reform
Civil Rights
Rural America
National Service
Science and Technology
Legislation

DNC: Democratic Agenda

Security, Opportunity, and Responsibility

The Democratic Party is committed to keeping our nation safe and expanding opportunity for every American. That commitment is reflected in an agenda that emphasizes the security of our nation, strong economic growth, affordable health care for all Americans, retirement security, honest government, and civil rights.

To learn more about the Democratic Party's commitment to security, opportunity, and responsibility, read about our agenda below.

Keeping America Safe at Home
Strength Overseas
Honoring Our Troops, Veterans, and Their Families
A Strong Economy
Education
Retirement Security
Affordable Health Care
Honest Government
Election Reform
Protecting Our Environment
Civil Rights

[TayTay]

2. They just need to get Parag out there.

Parag Mehta was the guy with the high energy. He was a White House Fellow for two years (2000-2002) and was the only Democratic writer in *'s Admin in 2001. (Funny guy. He said a reporter came in to do a story on the speech-writers and asked each one what their favorite political speech was. The Repubs all mentioned Lincoln or Reagan. Parag, a Hindi, said, "The Sermon on the Mount. Well, think about it. It's all about 'Blessed are the Peacemakers' and taking care of the poor. I'm a Democrat and that's our message. Besides, it was a speech by a Jewish guy, made in front of an audience of brown-people and it was all about sharing. How could I not love it?" I adore Parag. He said he's still a Deaniac, probably more so because Gov. Dean called him up early last year and made him Director of Training for the DNC (national.)

Gov Dean must hold on to his 50 State strategy. I saw it and it's amazing. Everyone in Worcester at this meeting was not only on board, but had already moved on to improvements, databases and on-line voter feedback forms so that the state DNC can assess issues and needs and get back to field people within days (hours for the General election, I think.) If you ever hear that Parag Mehta is coming to do a training event run, don't walk, then schedule a nap for afterward (and I asked him to go to PA-07, MH. It's on the schedule. Help is on the way.)

Btw, I saw Ayanna Pressley there at a panel. (She was at the Boston Party and was the woman who made sure everyone had a photo with the Senator.) Her bio is amazing. She was JK's Senate scheduler for six years (the only African-American scheduler on the Senate side) and, it says, 'key architect of the daunting logistics to mount a run for the Democratic nomination.' I saw Setti Warren at panel discussions and Tracey Lewis who was also at the Dec event. Nice, nice people who were absolutely serious about Massachusetts getting local and getting very serious again about grassroots. It was great and odd, but, if anything, they had even more energy when talking about local stuff than national. Again, I learned a lot. (And the state people know not only have my name, but my husband's name and our address and pictures. I guess I have to go do stuff now or else.)

Hey Whome, BlueMassGroup did a 'politics on the Web' event that was interesting. The State Party can't figure out why they don't get any comments on their web site. (Cuz they only post news stories.) We had local candidates asking about how to get on the web and do interviews with the bloggers and stuff. Want to interview someone for your site? We have these unloved Lt. Gov. candidates running around trying to get some exposure and trying to get people to pay attention to a down-ticket race. They will apparently show up if you promise them coffee. (Didn't someone make something of that office once? Geez, you'd think people would remember.)

[ProSense]

5. This is a fantastic report.

It's so uplifting to get a personal account of the really wonderful people behind the terrific things the Democrats are doing at the local level. It's really inspiring. Thanks Tay.

[MH1]

9. Oh, thank you! Great report,

and I love that you thought of me and PA-07. I hope I hear about it when Parag is coming.

It sounds like your experience was really excellent. For contrast, I was just at our new "Drinking Liberally" group tonight, and ran into another fellow who's been trying to make things happen in our county, and we were commiserating. Unfortunately he's moving away soon and they haven't found a replacement for him in his official functions, let alone the unofficial side of it. Sigh. Could you tell Parag too hurry up and get down here? We need him bad.

[TayTay]

13. I got a copy of the hand-out CD for you

It has the major powerpoint slide presentation on both of Parag's presentations. He liked what the Mass Dems are doing with their web tracking software and wants to take that national. (It goes live in ten days or so and is a way to track each precinct in Mass.) The idea is to get 'Feet on the Ground' and have people go out and poll their neighbors. On the first poll, you don't discuss anything in particular. You learn by asking what people are concerned about. Then that info goes into the database. This goes to the state people who can them emphasize different parts of The Message to different areas according to need. The Message doesn't change, the emphasis does in those areas, btw. I will walk you through the site, if you want. I have to wait for it to go live under the Vitcory '06 area on the MassDem site. (And yeah I met the DNC coordinator for my area at the DCI. So, ahm, I guess I have to do stuff now. Sigh! So much for being laid-back and lazy. That means less time on other things.)

Anyway, give me an address and the CD is on it's way. I will try and get it in the mail by Tuesday. (I want a proper mailer for you so the Post Office doesn't munch it up.)

[MH1]

17. Ooohh, ooohhh, kewl!

I'll email you.

:yourock:

[sandnsea]

18. That sounds really exciting

It would be great for people to have that kind of info right at their fingertips. Are they talking about a national database where everybody can see who to hook up with in their own precinct and really make sure we've got it all covered??

[TayTay]

20. Depends on the state

Massachusetts census lists show party affiliation (or unenrolled, which is independent around here.) It very much depends on the state. If your state has that info publicly accessible, as well as other items from the census, such as occupation and stuff like that, then this is a nice, nice program. If your state doesn't have it, then you can't do this or have to have your initial ground people gather this info.

We also learned, btw, that you have to bring paper with you. People tried doing this with PDA's that had the surveys and stuff loaded into them and it was a mixed result. Tech savvy places didn't have a problem with it, but some people thought it was just too creepy to have someone show up at your door with a hand-held device that had all this info on you in it. (Very X-Files.) Also, a lot of poorer neighborhoods thought it was the government coming after you for immigration reasons or for past discretions and such. We have to survey with paper.

In Mass, that info will be entered at night. (Canvass some, then go back and enter the info in the pre-assigned boxed on a grid on the state Party site. Not a big deal or a big time suck.) I liked this.

The deveopment work for this is done by Sage Systems, a company founded by MassDems. Here are some of the Dem web sites powered by them:

https://www.sage-systems.com/dp/new/email.asp?input=true
http://www.jillderby.com/
http://www.sage-systems.com/

You can see from their web site where they are trying to go with this. The biggest concerns are with those distrcits nationwide that are rural or sparsely populated. It is much harder to convass and track people there. So, the software and the people who use it have to adapt. (Okay, we're working on it in Massachusetts. In truth, a lot of developers for this stuff use Mass as a testing lab then take this stuff national. I guess this is because politics is intense around here and a lot of folks get involved, relatively speaking.)

[karynnj]

3. Wow! that sounds great

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that your somewhat hyperactive Senator has hyperactive staffers.

The 6 points sound really good - and would fit Kerry like a glove in 2008. Honest open government - doesn't he have speeches since the 80s on this. Strong national defense based on telling the truth sounds like Kerry wrote it. Healcrae, education, retirement security - standard Democratisc things. Wasn't "Jobs that stay in America from energy independence (while improving the environment)" one of Kerry's big 2004 speeches.

[TayTay]

4. I read the other thread where Gov Dean is getting brickbats

for spending money on his '50 State Strategy.' Ahm, he got nothing but praise from everyone I saw. (Including tons of people who were involved in '04 in ways you'd probably expect cuz I'm in Massachusetts and don't want to belabor this point to death. ) As far as I can see, the only people more excited that Gov Dean's DNC folks are the 'former XXXXX for the Kerry campaign' people. They saw and talked extensively about what happened in '04, what they have to do locally and nationally to fix it and so forth.

Ahm, I am a little bit at a loss here. I post lots of stuff that is really Massachusetts-specific and this stuff at this event blurred the lines. It's Mass-specific so I don't want to bore you to death with it, but national was talked about hand-in-glove with local stuff. It's like this: Jack Corrigan was there. He's a Masshole. He was on the legal team that presented before the Supreme Court of Florida in 2000 in the recount. He was part of the Boston team on election night 2004 and talked about the decision to no concede and then to concede and his part in it. (He does not believe there was enough fraud to affect the outcome and that alone will piss people off.) He had an argument with a MassVotes who was pissed about the machines and wants to know what Dems are going to do about it. Then he went on to talk about Massachusetts and getting out the vote and going door-to-door. (Ahm, was that worth writing cuz it had national stuff or local?)

BTW, the Kids for Kerry, now Kids for Democracy people say hi! I saw Bill Dooling who ran the Veterans for Kerry in Iowa in '04. (He is now working with Max Cleland to help the Fightin' Dems in '06.) He also talked about finding Vets at home, especially among the young people coming back from Iraq and making sure that Massachusetts continues to honor and take care of our veterans. (Is that national or local?)

[Vektor]

6. I'm type-A as all get-out, but NOT bright-eyed until noon...

...and half a pot of coffee. And even then, it's iffy.

Lotsa staffers, eh? Anyone I know?

[TayTay]

7. Remember the nice lady who made sure everyone got a pic?

Ayanna? She was there. She was at the panel discussion in which they discussed, 'Creating a Democratic Community.' (Yes, we need this in Massachusetts. Just because 87% of the office holders in the state are Dems doesn't mean we aren't going to fall off the cliff and go Rethug at any moment. Sigh! We must be very vigilant lest those people who live out in the Western Part of the State continue starting to begin to think about maybe voting Rethug in the future. This is how we got Romney as Gov, fercrissakes. Don't leave anything to chance.)

It was disconcerting to have Setti Warren introduce his Alderman from Newton. (Setti said he was with the Senator 24/7 from late 2003 through late 2004 as his Trip Director. I saw Setti on C-Span all the time at Kerry events.) Ahm, his Adlerman (Selectman, or City Counselor) seems like a nice guy. (I think I have some weird whiplash here. All these people just fit back at home cuz they are home. But they are also national people. Who were at home. It was a little jarring for me.)

BTW, I love Democrats and Mass Dems. We had as a star attraction, and Indian-American from Texas, who is Gov Dean's go-to guy for training. We had a GLBT guy tell us that if we need money for candidates to not forget MassEquality because, 'they have power and a ton of money.' I saw the Catholic caucus having danish with the Jewish Voters Outreach at coffee. We are ignoring the Brazillians and are not trying hard enough to connect with the Hispanic voters. (Tsk, tsk.) I saw Matt Kennedy again and he was better as a speaker than 5 weeks ago. (Better jokes: Is it true that in your family at age 3 that you start doing fundraisers and at age 7 you get taken out to select a Congressional District? No, but we are informed in 6th grade that we are expected to make speeches and organize the playground for singature drives.) We have been ignoring the Asian American voters and the Muslim groups are somewhat disappointed about the Ports deal, but are heavily tilting Democratic. (And the Somalians in Maine are a real trip, btw.) We have to start paying attention to the High School kids and the Young Democrats are pissed because some of the Town Committee people are old and in the way and won't step aside for new blood.

Oh and 85,634 contributors in Massachusetts in 2004 gave money to John Kerry's campaign. (Average donation although this is really a skewed number was $119.) 9.8% of those people went door to door for the campaign and Parag thinks we are slacking off because that's no where near good enough. How can MAssachusetts ever hope to continue it's tradition of exporting political talent and raising more Michael Whouley's if we let 91.2% of people who make donations not get contacted? I ask you, is this right or not? (I need some time to digest this.)

[Vektor]

21. Thanks for the report -

wish I could have been there. Man, I feel like I am missing out on so much living out here. I'm glad I have you to be my eyes and ears "on the ground"!

I really liked Ayanna a lot. Did you get to talk to her at this latest event? She was very personable, and did a hell of a bang-up job at the party, even with all that madness going on. She totally kept her cool, and handled herself and the crowd like a pro - which of course she is. What exactly is her job title? She told us, but I cannot recall. I hope I see more of her this summer. She was a great gal.

I'm glad you had a nice time. I look forward to a lot of exciting goings on this summer. WEL and I are dizzy with anticipation, suffering through this semester like it's purgatory, DYING to get out there.

We can't wait to see you, who we now refer to as "The Godmother." :-)

[TayTay]

22. Thanks! Godmother, eh?

That's sounds both frightening and soothing at the same time. Hmmmm. Okay, I'll take it.

Ayanna Pressley is Sen. Kerry's scheduler (and she is, or was until very recently, the only African-American scheduler on the Senate side.)

From somebody who actually knows what they are talking about:http://www.brubach.com/capitolhilljobguide.htm

Scheduler - The Scheduler is usually responsible for allocating a member’s time among the many demands that arise from congressional responsibilities, staff requirements, and constituent requests. The Scheduler may also make necessary travel arrangements, arrange speaking dates, etc.

See Here:

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031777002774&path=!news&s=1045855934842

[Vektor]

23. Oh, wow!

Scheduler, huh? She really does have a lot on her plate. Her organizational skills must be superb to be able to juggle all those appointments and obligations. Good for her! I thought she was doing a great job. I remember thinking "My god, she is being MOBBED with people trying to get near the Senator, and she is handling each and every request with complete grace."

I was breaking a sheen just watching the whole swarm.

The wine may have been a factor too, however. :-)

Edit:

This:

"Legislative Assistant - In some congressional offices there are several Legislative Assistants and responsibilities are assigned to staff with particular expertise in specific areas. For example, depending on the responsibilities and interests of the member, an office may include a different Legislative Assistant for health issues, environmental matters, taxes, etc."

...sounds interesting. Especially this part:

"Legislative Assistant for health issues"

Once I have some years of nursing experience under my belt, (particularly in public health, which I intend to do some of) this might be an option, and a way to help the community on a larger scale. I have also considered the option of nurse lobbyist, but I'll have to see in the future if I'm willing to swim in the shark tank that is the lobbyist world. :-)

I'm always looking for ways to combine my chosen profession (nursing, chosen out of necessity) and my REAL passion (politics, somewhat on the back burner for now while I train for a lucrative career that I am guaranteed a job in RIGHT AWAY...)

Legislative assistant is a another good option to consider.

[Island Blue]

8. Thanks for the report.

Sounds like a great, political-geekiness filled weekend! That sounds like an incredible agenda we have - who could really argue with any of those points? (Don't answer that question.)

And personally even though I'm not a Type A, but I am extremely bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first thing in the morning (unless of course I've been out drinking the night before - then, not so much.)

[ProSense]

10. HAHAHAHAHAHA (Tay)

How timely, the bash/bash strategy:

For Democrats, Many Voices, but No Theme Song

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: March 6, 2006

WASHINGTON, March 5 — From Arizona to Pennsylvania, from Colorado to Connecticut, Democratic candidates for Congress are reading from a stack of different scripts these days.

At the Capitol in Hartford the other morning, State Senator Christopher Murphy denounced the "disastrous prescription drug benefit bill" embraced by his Republican opponent, Representative Nancy L. Johnson.

Jeff Latas, a Democratic candidate in an Arizona race, is talking about the nation's dangerous reliance on oil imports from the Middle East. Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat, says he is running against "the arrogance and cronyism" displayed by Washington Republicans.

And in New Mexico, Patricia Madrid, the state attorney general, is urging the United States to set a timetable for quitting Iraq.

"We have a lot to run on," said Ms. Madrid, who is trying to unseat Representative Heather A. Wilson.

These scattershot messages reflect what officials in both parties say are multiple vulnerabilities among Republicans on Capitol Hill, as well as President Bush's weakened political condition in this election year.

But they also reflect splits within the party about what it means to be a Democrat — and what a winning Democratic formula will be — after years in which conservative ideas have dominated the national policy debate and helped win elections.

And they complicate the basic strategy being pursued by Democratic leaders in Washington to capture control of Congress: to turn this election into a national referendum on the party in power, much the way Republicans did against Democrats in 1994.

Interviews with Democratic challengers in contested districts suggest that the party is far from settling on an overarching theme that will work as well in central Connecticut as it does in central Colorado.

And while Democrats have no shortage of criticism to offer, they have so far not introduced a strategy for governing along the lines of the Republican Party's Contract With America, the 1994 initiative that some Democrats hold up as their model for this year's elections.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/politics/06cong.html

So when Democrats point to specific issue it means that's all they're running on and it's exclusive of anything else? What a bunch of GOP enablers.

[MH1]

11. Yes and no...

I kind of knew there was an agenda. Well, several. And there still are several...I just looked at democrats.org and democrats.senate.gov and they each have something different than what you posted as the "6 points". (And whatever happened to the "legislative agenda" that was posted on democrats.senate.gov last year?)

I think they need to work on having a unified message.

Sorry if I'm being too nitpicky...Anyway it sounds like it was a great meeting!

[MH1]

12. Heh...I started typing that before ProSense posted.

But they kind of go together, don't they?

[ProSense]

14. Check post #1

All the issues in the OP are on the DNC agenda

http://www.democrats.org/agenda.html

[MH1]

16. But, not organized the same way.

And, "Open government" was not there. "Honest and open government" is not = "Honest government". Open is something more. It's also a big big thing with me so I picked up on that one right away.

In any case even if the lists were the same but just jumbled, they still wouldn't be as effective, IMO. At a quick glance I didn't think they were even the same. The substance behind the points might be the same, but it is not so easy to remember and catch peoples attention if the bullet points keep changing.

Ed. for typos. Sigh. Bedtime.

[TayTay]

15. Parag had some hilarious videos with him.

Culture of Corruption: he then showed about 18 different Dems saying, 'we have a culture of corruption' on all the TV shows. Same thing with 'We can do better.' Dem after Dem after Dem saying the 'We can do better' line. (Which came from the Dems deciding to call in Wall Street Ad firms to help the Dems create a 'brand.' This was then focus-grouped and they found out that Longshoremen in Texas just love the 'Together, America can do better' line. It tested through the roof. I am not making this up. I thought it was an okay slogan, but nothing to write home about. I guess I'm not longshoreman from Texas and don't know shit aobut good slogans. Sigh!

By the way, it's: Together (comma for dramatic pause) America can do better.

This comes from the '92 PResidential campaign. We needed a slogan that offered

Contrast: Do better implies someone is not doing better
Optimism: Together is a nice word. It just screams community and Democrats, don't you think? And having America in the slogan re-inforces the Together part.
Vision: Ahm, cuz we can do bettter.

(Obviously, I will never work in the Department of thinking up slogans. But this is what they said. Ahm, okay. I guess it's an okay slogan.) I'm serious. I have a copy of the powerpoint for this, honest.

BTW, I love the tag line in some of the slide shows:

:dem: Training till w'ere Blue in the States! (Well, I liked it but I am tired.)

[ginnyinWI]

19. I had already noticed the "do better" line

I'm glad they are doing it on purpose. I agree--at first glance it seems simplistic--but then I suppose I'm a bit more demanding than the average news consumer--most people need a simple mantra that they won't need time to figure out.

All of this "the Dems have no message" stuff is just desperate spinning on the part of the GOP. We do--and anyway, it's normal for the party out of power to have more than one faction. Everybody's looking for the key.

[zann725]

24. Great list of goals. Though maybe a slogan too? "If not NOW...WHEN?"

Or something like that...so that '06 goals don't get pushed back on us...again...as they often do.