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December 4, 2005--Take a look at the pictures by Michael Shelby of the smiling faces at the PDA reception for the members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in Phoenix, AZ on Dec. 1. Those smiles are the product of hope in action. Eight state party chairs, at least half a dozen progressive Congressional candidates and over 400 activists came through our doors at our event.
Times have been bleak for Americans who want democracy and justice. Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) have established ourselves as the party activists who never give up hope or stop strategizing and putting our strategy to work. On the eve of '06, the winter DNC meeting showed that many of its members recognize the PDA agenda as the winning platform. There are still obstacles. Howard Dean, welcoming and affable towards PDA when I encountered him in a hallway, did not mention the importance of Iraq in his speech on Saturday or the importance of taking a position on the war. PDA staff and activists heard it. I was back in Los Angeles, where on Sunday I attended the town hall meeting of my Congressman, Brad Sherman. The war will be a central focus there in LA, where local chapter PDLA has put on constant political pressure.
I've never liked acronyms. I associate them with war and being shut out: This Name Represents Something You Don't Need To Know. One of the serendipitous aspects of PDA is that most people understand it to mean Public Display of Affection. Progressive Democrats of America is a public display of affection for people, community and this country. Justice is love in action.
I worked two days on improving a DNC resolution in Support of Election Reform, PDA's second foundational issue and a core issue if the people are to change government peacably. John Brakey and Susan Spangler, election protectors in Arizona, had written several key amendments to an election protection resolution. The original document was admirable in addressing Ohio's problems of voter suppression and partisan election process, but contained little about technology's fraud capacity, installed nationwide, and the pressures of HAVA to install more technology. The existing wording made it appear the DNC ignored or worse, sanctioned the situation. The Resolutions Committee was not accepting amendments to this resolution because its principal author, Donna Brasile, was not present (she was helping family still homeless after Katrina.)
Christine Pelosi (House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's daughter) along with John Perez of CA, understood the necessity of showing the DNC would help election protection activists eliminate technological fraud capacity. She asked me to state the problems briefly in a letter and she'd circulate it for DNC signatures. John Perez, Bob Mulholland, and Christine signed it. Gary Shay asked for the revised resolution so the California state party can submit it as a resolution for the next DNC meeting in New Orleans.
A final note: the best energy of the weekend was at the newly-formed Veterans' Caucus. The use of troops as "cannon fodder" in a war based on lies and the grievous nature of war wounds from Iraq acted to distill rage into an active commitment toward ending the violence. Howard Dean was applauded with his language of making sure the Democrats, this time, were seen as "strong on defense," but the speaker that brought the vets cheering to their feet was Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, and Board Member of PDA.
The Bush Administration doesn't like government and doesn't like governing. It thinks war is the answer, and asks warriors and patriots to love war. Well, we don't. The new energy in the Democratic Party has not yet been articulated by its national leadership. It has been building in the grassroots since the election of 2004. PDA has helped it percolate upward, transforming members of Congress. 2006 elections will affirm PDA's agenda of peace, election integrity, health care for all, and social and environmental justice.