David Young has been elected the new chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. He was elected with a majority of the vote on the first ballot, and his election was affirmed with a voice vote. He replaces Jerry Meek, who did not run for re-election.
I'm posting live from my iPhone. I'll try to add comments as I can.
Comments
It seems to me that the "kookiest" resolutions
come out of the District Conventions. There were some wacky ones at the 6th District convention that Momoaizo and I attended a few years ago (2 years, mo?)
I'm pretty sure that there was a statewide committee after the district conventions and before the SEC meeting to meld together similar resolutions, etc. It was actually a very democratic process, and I was impressed with the final product that came out of that committee. I've got that document somewhere. Wayne Goodwin, now Insurance Commissioner, was chair of that committee.
I don't agree that they were "kooky" or "counterproductive"
at all. They were all well thought out and well written and came from a desire to improve our lives and our state. I guess the "kookiest" would be the hemp production - which was voted down because of how "we might look" to the Republicans.
Well, I am not impressed by scaredy-pants who worry about what those Republicans might think or say. But then, I realized that the "WMDs in Iraq" was a pack of lies in 2002 and that our economy was going to tank BIG TIME back in 2005.
And growing hemp would be a valuable cash crop in 2009, if we had enacted it.
OH WELL - when the economy does finally tank BIG TIME (and we ain't seen nothing yet) just remember it was what the Republicans thought (and put into law) that caused this..... and it was those "kooky" folks calling themselves PROGRESSIVES who knew that this was going to happen and were ignored for years.
Want to know where things will go from here? go read this:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/02/02-0
And here is why the Dems should have listened to the Progressives and impeached bush/cheney:
Iraq's Shocking Human Toll: About 1 Million Killed, 4.5 Million Displaced, 1-2 Million Widows, 5 Million Orphans
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
I think you are giving
I think you are giving yourselves a little too much credit. Plus the way the people in your organization tried to covertly take over the party a few years ago did little to make the rest of us Dems some of whom are "progressive" want to work cooperatively with you. Sorry but that's the way it looks to me.
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Same as RangerKing
I'd like to know as well. I have nothing but time, brains and effort to use for the Democratic Party here in NC. I just need to know where I can help out and what I can do. Voting on these folks is a great priority as well. I just want to be involved in any way possible. Anyone have ideas?
P.S. I love writing on BlueNC - as this is a great way to get started too.
-- A liberal originally from Yadkin County. Did I just blow your mind?
Precincts
I believe it starts with attending Precinct meetings. There may only be a handful of people and you get yourself voted up the food chain.
Precinct meetings are set for
Precinct meetings are set for the week of March 8th and as greg noted you work out from there. Often there are only a few people in attendance and would welcome someone willing to hold a precinct office. Attend the county executive committee meetings and you will probably get recruited to serve on a committee, help organized a party function, or man a booth at a local gathering. It all starts at the grassroots!
I'm a moderate Democrat.
Precinct meeting
In Buncombe, the precinct meeting is set for February 28 at 10 AM. Date and time could vary by county - I recommend calling your county chair and asking for date and time and place (usually, the polling place) and to find out if your precinct is organized. IF it is not organized, have a long talk with the county chair on how to get it organized and get busy!
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
I'm sure you'll begin to hear
I'm sure you'll begin to hear about me sooner or later. I'm trying to get my precinct organized and hopefully will be elected as its new chair. I'm a new voter and 18, but I'm also eyeing the third vice-chair of my county's party. It's all about networking and as a young, aspiring teacher and an aspiring politician I have to start somewhere.
Awesome, RangerKing
You're right, it's a great place to start, and I know at least in my county, we've had a difficult time finding a young person to serve as a county officer. I suspect you will be welcomed with open arms.
awfully glad you asked
The short answer is: attend your precinct meeting!
The more complete answer is a bit difficult. We have spent a lot of time trying to make this easy to understand quickly.
The formal rules are contained in the NCDP Plan of Organization: http://ncdp.org/north_carolina_democratic_party_plan_of_organization_contents
My (failed?) attempt at a cliff's notes version is listed here: http://ncdp.org/content/organizational-chart-NCDP
Here is a pdf of that chart: http://ncdp.org/files/ncdp-organizational-chart-2009.pdf
Please let me know what I can do to make this stuff easier to quickly understand. Email me at jerimee.richir@gmail.com if you have an idea about how we can better educate democrats on how to get involved and make decisions for their party.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
getting the word out
I think it would be worthwhile to write up a simple explanation on how to get involved with the Democratic Party, beyond working for a candidate, and have it published in local papers.
Of course, an enterprising journalist could write up how to get involved in the Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens. That would be an interesting read.
dancewater
http://dancewater.blogspot.com
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com
http://facesofgrief.blogspot.com
How to become a SEC Member
Quick Answer on how to become a SEC member: Get elected at your county convention.
Detail in the NCDP Plan of Organization Section 4
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Ed Ridpath
www.EdRidpath.com
yup - thanks Ed!
Let me know if you have any ideas on how we can better disseminate this info.
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http://twitter.com/Jerimee
I will not talk out of school publicly
but I hope that the new leadership (not that the old did not) places some sort of oversight on county parties to ensure that they and their precincts are in full compliance with the Plan of Organization.
Sometimes counties and precincts decide they can skirt the P of O to inflate the active precinct count. While their intentions are good, it should be made clear that the Plan and Bylaws are not merely recommendations.
Amen!
We are very fortunate to have someone overseeing precinct organization and she won't let a precinct consider itself organized - or others consider them organized who might be trying to pull a fast one in order to get elected to county office - unless the P of O has been followed explicitly.
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Vote Democratic! The ass you save may be your own.
Hey, appriciate the info Huh
Thanks, Huh, and I learned something here from that.
My point, however, wasn't about there being two kinds of "progressives"/"Progresives". My point was that in many cases, people that used to consider themselves liberals or were previously identified as liberals changed that identification to "progressive" because liberal became somewhat of a negative, especially during the Bushman hayday.
It was all I was saying and somehow went way out of proportion.
I still believe that, by the way. No, I don't expect many to actually admit to that, but then, lots of "neocons" won't admit to that identification either even though they truly are.
I do appreciate that. If you stay on BlueNC at least part of the time, you'll learn stuff.
The best thinking is independent thinking.
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