The election of Mr. Trump (#notmypresident) offered up an extraordinary opportunity for the Democrats. He presents us with such a stark contrast of choice to offer voters. I had hopes of seeing the party I care about revitalized, reunited, and really working on a grassroots-level to once again begin reaching the people it claimed to stand for. Now I am not sure that it will do so. I am not a politician. But here is what I think needs to happen for the Democratic Party to be an effective presence in people’s lives again:
People do NOT think the Democrats (or Republicans either, really) CARE about what is happening to them. And the way to combat this is not by making calls or asking people to sign online petitions. We need to be SHOWING UP ON PEOPLE’S DOORSTEPS and TALKING TO THEM! We need to asking them, “What are the issues that truly concern you? What worries you? What do you (and not Fox News) think the government) needs to be doing? ” And we need to do this continually! Not just during an election cycle!
If, say, the local Dems were an organization that REGULARLY (and I mean at least once per month) went door to door to residents of Washington County to inquire about their well-being and find out what we could do to help, I imagine our membership would soar. This would accomplish so much more than the phone-banks. It would help repair the damage that political parties of all stripes have inflicted on people. It would let people know that that the Democratic Party is HERE and wants to work for THEM. And even if they presented problems that sometimes had no immediate solution, we could at least listen. And that means a lot to folks in these disconnected times.
Will anyone pay any attention to this post? Probably not. But I’ve seen this done in other places. It IS effective and it DOES work. The Democratic Party can be a vehicle for effective postive change. I wish that would happen here.
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