Washblog

Dwight Pelz as L. Ron Hubbard

One of the silliest things about Scientology (apologies to all the Scientologists out there ahead of time) is that if you're in the religion long enough, you get to learn more about it. According to an email Dwight Pelz (chairman of the state Democratic Party) sent last night, the same is true for Democrats:

I  attended this meeting and sent back my observations. C-SPAN covered the event live, but, hey, you've got a guy on the inside!
...
You are getting this, because you are a Democratic Victory Circle (DVC) member. One of the special benefits of being a DVC member is that you receive "insider" updates on national political developments and projects as well as invitations to special events.
Come on guys, give $1,000 and sit at the cool kids table! Stay away from all those uninformed, poor Democrats who can't shell out the mula.

You can read what Dwight thought about the winter DNC meeting for free, right here.

I went off on Dwight's email a little bit last night, mostly because I can't stand insiderism and also because it just felt weird to have the chairman of the party blatantly selling access. If you give $1,000 a year (that pencils out to just $80 a month folks!) you get special emails and special recognition from the party. If we are giving special recognition, shouldn't we be giving it to people who've earned it, not just those who can pay for it?

Compare what Dwight is trying to do with Dan Slater, the Democratic vice-chair in Colorado. Dan writes a blog, Dem Notes, that would seem to cover a lot of the same territory that Dwight wants to cover.

On the winter DNC meeting back east, Dan writes:

That one word describes what we DNC Members were treated to this morning. Wow.

I hope some of you had an opportunity to see some of the speeches this morning on the cable networks or on C-SPAN. I'm sure that they will replay some of them over the weekend. I could not be more proud to be a Democrat, after seeing the quality of folks vying for our nomination this morning. And there's even more tomorrow!

I'm not sure I can do the candidates justice, but I'll try to hit some of the high points of the day. I tried to write some of the more memorable lines verbatim, but I'm sure I botched some of my shorthand, so take that into consideration as you read this.

We first heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. While not a candidate for President himself, he certainly set the bar high for speaking and set the stage for ensuring that folks understand that the West is critical for victory. He began by giving us an update on legislation, "Last night, at 10 pm, the working poor in America got a raise!" Congress passed minimum wage legislation last night.

Dwight writes:

Barack Obama:  OMIGOD! The man does own a tie! I was fully ready to see Obama in his signature open collar white shirt, but there he was in full Business Attire.

No music - didn't he get the memo?

He began to speak. I found myself waiting for the Obama magic. It slowly arrived.

If this was a coming out speech for Obama, he had to prove that he can put together the elements of his vision in a different pattern than other candidates. In this way, he had a lot to lose today, but he did not stumble. He had to prove to this set of liberals that hope can substitute for the litany of issues we are used to checking off.

"Politics is not reality TV. This is not American Idol, or Survivor, where the failing candidate is voted off the island... We must free ourselves from the constraints of politics... For every over-obsession with a campaign gaffe there is actually a child stuck in a failing school or unable to see a doctor." (Absolution for Joe Biden?)

Dwight could easily make his "exclusive" notes into a blog. It would be public, everyone could see what he thinks and the work that he does. Dan often times writes about heading to one county or another, praising the local leaders and generally spreading good will.

This reminds me of the good advice that Dwight was given last year in regards to blogging and generally creating avenues for participation through technology. At the time, Dwight really didn't see the point of putting his words (or any words for that matter) on the internet, saying that it might create "scandal" to jump into the conversation.

I guess that converation is fine now as long as it costs $1,000 and its one way from Dwight's mind to our eyes.

< You would need to have kids to stay married | Democrats and the catastrophic failure of the Iraq war >
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Parties exist to sustain themselves. To do this they must raise money. If it was not this it would be some other gimmick. This one just pushed one of your buttons.

Nobody has to pay money to hear what Dwight has to say about anything. People donate because they want the party to be strong. You want to hear what Dwight has to say? Show up and work. Sooner or later you will meet Dwight and you will hear what he has to say without donating $1000 or even $10. Dwight is not exactly what one might call reticent.

Your insistence that the state party should start and maintain a blog was nonsense when you made it, and it is nonsense now. There are plenty of blogs, including this one, that deal with politics, and the state party staff reads all of them, believe me. The Democratic Party in WA is so relatively free of "insiderism" compared to other states that it isn't even funny.

Party staff members don't need to be "interacting" with any schmuck out there who might be posting from anywhere, under any name, for any purpose, just because you are in love with the medium and might think it solves all problems, sweetens the breath, and cures warts.

You want to have interaction with your state and local parties? Show up and do the work. I know you do this in Olympia anyway. I don't think the D's in Olympia need to set up their own blog for you to interact with them.

Recognize that blogs and blogging are a useful tool and not an end in themselves. I read 35-40 political blogs a day, and I recognize that there is a lot of work that simply cannot get done through this medium.

I read Washblog several times a day because it already performs the function that you would have the state party duplicate. Why expend resources in this manner? It simply isn't cost-effective, and IMO isn't necessary at all.

If people want to know why the party at the state level does or does not do this or that thing, sooner or later you will find the answer right here at Washblog, once you sift through certain people's self-serving disinformation.

If perception is reality, then the world must be flat and the sun must revolve around it.

by ivan on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 03:20:05 PM PST

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I should note I received this email even though I haven't given anything to the state party since the gubernatorial recount fight back in 2004.  
My guess is they're not really being all that exclusive.  

Also if you look at what he says, it's not like he's giving away a whole lot of seekrit plans, either.

Now, to be sure, I myself have given significant amounts to specific campaigns in the last few years, and over the last season there were certainly more than a few invitations in my inbox to "exclusive" dinners and whatnot, so I apparently am on at least one Idiots With Money list.

I'm always kind of torn about this stuff, because on the one hand I want to say, "Look, you don't have to put on a special show just for me.  This shit is a useless waste of time.  I've already heard your campaign speeches, so I'm most likely not going to go unless I'm feeling especially bored that day.  Please spend the money I gave you on the actual campaign."  

But on the other hand, what is "the actual campaign", anyway?  Apparently, enough people like the rubber chicken dinners that candidates feel it worth their while; candidates simply wouldn't do these sorts of things if they didn't bring in the cash.  And, yes, public financing would be nice, but given things the way they currently are, you need $$ to have any chance at winning.  Capitalism sucks; the system is b0rken; we knew that already.

At which point I figure if stroking potential donors' egos and making them feel important is the difference between winning and losing, and all it takes () is a rubber chicken or an "exclusive" email to dupe them out of their $$,... I'll take winning.

() which I guess is the critical question, and I don't really have a good answer for this.  But keep in mind that, with the system as it is, every party chair is going to have this tightrope to walk.  

Yes, it's great that Dan Slater has a blog.  But I'll wager an entire pitcher of beer that he's doing "exclusive" things of his own to extract whatever he can from the deeper pockets in his vicinity.

by wrog on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 04:08:32 PM PST

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Dwight will audit you with an R-Meter to purge you of any Republican leanings.

It's all laid out in his book, Pelzenetics.

In any case, have you tried asking Eileen to start a blog? Or any other Central Committee electeds?

by sugarfree on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 05:21:16 PM PST

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  And I generally only contribute "sweat" equity. It's been awhile since I sent in any money.

Dave Gibney Pullman

by gibney on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 05:50:47 PM PST

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overreact much?
between this post and the scare over the initiative in your previous post, you have been on the whacky side lately - the party fundraises, get over it.

by cougar country on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 06:12:13 PM PST

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The Dem. party has a right to fundraise as it sees fit.  And the targets of that fundraising have a right to make the call when we think it's done in a way that's counterproductive.  Fundraising doesn't happen in a vacuum.  It backfires when you do it wrong. It can interfere with party building if you needlessly divide insider from outsider.  It's the Democratic party, after all -- you shouldn't have to be rich enough to donate $1,000 to get the inside scoop.

by noemie maxwell on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 06:19:19 PM PST

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addressed to the original poster - emmettoconnell

by cougar country on Tue Feb 06, 2007 at 11:12:59 PM PST

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