This week I do not take my party back.

[Pab Sungenis]

Once my intention was known, I was taken into the back room at the meeting place and all but threatened. The people I had lined up to enter my nomination were conveniently not in the room when the nominating took place. I spoke with the chair afterward and aired my grievances, then I left.

The local Democratic party lost a member tonight. There is no room for people like me any more.

[Jack Bone]

1. I wouldn't quit...that's what they want you to do...

stay & stand proud!

[Senator]

7. I'd also recommend rethinking.

...and consider "making room."

Only you know your local situation, but my experience has been that "doing things" can be a powerful weapon against this type of controlism.

You mentioned reaching out to other communities. You don't need a title to do that. And much can be done without bothering to tell the "officials." Should it come to their attention, you need only ask what their justification is for NOT party-building and fund raising. When they reflexively squawk that it's "how" you're doing it, just use their literature and submit any of yours for "approval."

The important thing is for you to make the personal connection to the new members, and hopefully communities. Success will breed support for your methods and results -- even among the currently timid and/or disagreeable. Garnering even a couple of new "big donors" will calm resistance fast.

-----

[xchrom]

2. they lost a really good person. nt

[Greyhound]

3. Names, quotes, and publicity. The only way to beat these jackals

is to expose them.

If you choose otherwise, I can understand it. Ms. Greyhound went through a similar situation (she won), after her family and dog were threatened, she chose the better part of valor and has stayed away from that cesspool ever since.

Do you think if people knew, they would care?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. I stayed out of political involvement for 12 years because of local party junior high school behavio

I was living in a small town in Oregon and joined the local Dems because it was one of the few things in town that wasn't spouse-and-kids-oriented. I was quite active for a while, and then came the annual meeting when we were supposed to make resolutions.

I offered a resolution condemning Reagan's wars in Central America (a cause I'd been interested in for years), and to my surprise, several members of the group argued that we needed to "stop Communism." I tried to argue that this wasn't a question of Communism but of peasants fighting a dreadfully unjust social system and a repressive government, but they were having none of it.

After that, I suddenly stopped getting notifications of party events. I learned where the election night gathering was only because a fellow faculty member asked me if I was going. Occasionally, I met local party chapter officers around town and told them that I wasn't getting notifications, and they always said, "Oh yes, we'll check our mailing list."

But I never heard of any party events again, not for the next four years I lived in that town.

I stayed away from politics till the 2002 election.

[tavalon]

5. The only way to counter these cockroaches is to expose them to light

[deaniac21]

6. It's a shame you didn't have a lot of money.