Do we at DU focus too heavily on national matters?

[lapislzi]

Obviously, national matters are important. We read about them, see them every day, discuss them with our families, friends, and co-workers. National matters are Out There for all to see. And everyone has them in common.

And most of us can't do a damn thing about them.

Wait! you say...we are activists; we are involved! Yes, many of us are activists and doing great work. You are to be commended. Everyone who's organized with a national movement: I salute you. You will change things by sheer force of numbers...eventually. If I didn't believe it, I would despair. This post is absolutely NOT intended to diss anybody who's involved in working for change at any level.

But I want you to think for a moment about how the Republicans, and the extremist right especially, have attained the positions of extraordinary power they now hold. They didn't start out in National. They started by stacking the school boards and worming their way into local government.

To put it another way, your local government (town/city council, aldermen, etc.) has a greater effect on your day-to-day quality of life than any other governmental body. Who picks up the garbage? Who plows the roads? Who arranges for a stop sign to be put up when someone's kid gets hit by a car? Who gives the nod to big box developers who destroy your downtowns and siphon money and jobs? Your local government, that's who.

In my town, in blue New York, we've had 5 retired Republican guys (men) on the town board for the last 10 years. And I can tell you that the only thing that ever changes is that our local taxes go up every year. There is no oversight of these guys--who, by the way, never met a developer they didn't like--and no accountability about how the people's money is being spent.

So I'm running against them in the local election. But that's not what this post is about either. I can tell you about my campaign some other time.

It's about how you can often draw a straight line from the thugs in DC to the thugs in YOUR TOWN. They behave the same way. In my town, little Patterson, NY, they roll their eyes if you stand up to speak at a town meeting. They make their decisions behind closed doors. They hire their buddies for every project. They don't answer for any decision, ever, because no one ever calls them on it. Sound familiar? Well, that's all going to change on November 9.

Where do you think a groundswell gets started, anyway?

I'm just askin'.

Your thoughts? For the record, it's hard to get worked up about sewers and tree limbs until you realize that this will be the way we take back the nation: neighbor to neighbor.

[SteppingRazor]

1. Yes, local is important. However...

A national board perhaps isn't the best way to address local issues.

How many people on DU care about trouble with zoning laws in Walla Walla, Wash.?

A religious zealot on the school board in Coffeeville, Kan.?

How about a possible dope fiend in City Hall in Delray Beach, Fla?

(note: all of the above problems are fictional, just created to make a point)

I think DU discusses primarily national issues because those are the issues that are of interest to all DUers.

[lapislzi]

2. I don't mean address local issues in GD

That would be silly. We also have the state forums to channel some of that. My point was that maybe more efforts need to be directed at the local level. In my opinion, that could be a bigger payoff.

That's all.

[SteppingRazor]

4. I completely agree with that...

and I think the state Dem. parties need to start being taken much more seriously by the DNC. As a lot of those state parties were responsible for installing Dean, though, I think that will happen soon.

[Telly Savalas]

6. I don't think the OP was talking so much about DU...

but rather the progressive movement as a whole.

[flamin lib]

3. Hallelujah, Praise the Lord! Lapis has found the light!

Absolutely right and I must confess that I've been way to complacent about local politics. NO MORE!!

We have a candidate running against Joe Barton (R TX district 6) and I'm doing all I can which, unfortunately, isn't much. It is truly a David (Harris) vs Goliath fight. Barton raised $2.6 mill in the last election--more than he could spend!

I have always maintained a small email address book to sent political commentary to and it has done some good and now I'm trying to expand it.

Local leaders move up the food chain and are the "farm team" from which the national offices are filled.

All politics is local . . .

[wellstone_democrat]

5. yes, please pay attention to MY personal matters

I think that would be more appropriate.



BTW, there are state and interest forums. GD isn't a good place for neighborly chats and school board campaigns

[flamin lib]

12. Yeah, and GD is a good place to incite others to get active in

their own local issues. The OP is entirely appropriate to GD. If I post about my local race it should go in Texas but if, by example, I want to promote the concept of getting active locally it is a different matter.

That's how I read the OP--hey, I did it and you should too!

[mestup]

7. Local very important, but gets less attention.

In my state some horrid ballot initiatives will likely pass because of a) a huge $ tv ad campaign and b) nobody seems to give a shit.

I think people of all political persuasions have been so banana-republicized that they all just hope/pray for a new national leader.

It's sad really. Even if the Dems were to gain the Preznitzy in 2008 (!) my state will most likely have already been dealing with the fallout of some crippling new laws.

But how do you make others see the importance of local issues?

[lapislzi]

8. Hit them over the head

OK, not literally.

You have to get out there and show people how these issues affect their daily lives.

For example, there's a proposed big-box development in my town. Of course all the builders are for it, and many local residents are too until it's pointed out to them what the cost will be in real terms: traffic, minimum-wage jobs, degradation of water quality, noise, etc. We have a very active citizens' group going door to door to educate people about this. It's their quality of life, every single day. The federal government doesn't have anything to do with your water, but your local town board sure as hell does.

It's just like any other kind of activism, only a) smaller and b) smaller budget! Many of my neighbors (self included) have shelled out some sizeable sums to stop this thing.

[flamin lib]

13. Show them that what these people do affects every day life is

exactly what it takes.

Congress critter So-n-so took $400,000 from the petro/chem companies. Why should you care? Because he sponsored a bill that makes cleanup of their toxic mess a publicly funded program. He shifted the $3 mill/year project from them to you!

[LetsGoMurphys]

9. Where I am from it doesnt always work this way...

Not in EVERY case but many times people will run on the ticket that they have the best chance to win on. Many times these people are totally apolitical when it comes to national issues. I know people who run as dems that think we should "just nuke the whole middle east and that will be the end of our problems." On the other hand I know people who run as repubs that I can't believe due to their personalities and views. While I agree that local politics are very important, in my case its not always your typical D vs R race.

[lapislzi]

10. You are absolutely right

I didn't even print my party affiliation on my literature. We have guys who switch parties according to whoever will endorse them. But a few things hold true:

1. The Republicans almost always have more money.
2. They are better at getting their people to the polls.
3. They stay on message, whatever that message happens to be.

They have been very successful at the local level, and I think we would do well to emulate them, especially in terms of getting our people out to vote.

[LetsGoMurphys]

11. It seems that in my area it is the Dems who have the advantage

Possibly because there are more registered dems.