UPDATE: A very disturbing comment has been added below to this diary, the "State of the DPVA". Shawn, who was kind enough to report on the DPVA's quarterly meeting this past weekend, has sadly reported that the DPVA hasn't even bothered to post Clyde Matthews' name on their website. (I just checked it out.) Clyde Matthews, a terrific Democrat, stepped forward, put his life on hold FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, and decided to run against Del. Bill Howell in the 28th District. In my meager opionion, this is just the kind of problem that I feel has taken over the mind set and operation of the DPVA. I'm really just speechless and embarrassed for the Democratic Party. Readers, please contact the DPVA Executive Director and ask for a change in how the DPVA is run ... there are no excuses this time !!! Thank you Shawn for taking the time to tell us that there was a quarterly meeting of the State Democratic Party in Fredericksburg this weekend and for giving us some information about what that Skull and Bones group (i.e., limited membership and a vow of secrecy) is up to. Despite continuous complaints here and here on Raising Kaine, where there were a whopping 154 comments, the DPVA continues to ignore state Democrats and keep them in the dark. The Party barons live in their ivory tower, they've locked their gates, filled the moat, pulled up the bridge, and the plebians'pleadings go unheeded.
Uncanny, isn't it? Can you, the RK reader (not party official), tell me what is going on at the DPVA, repeat the DPVA ... not with the candidates, not with the local committees, but what is going on at the DPVA this election year?
It was a beautiful weekend in Fredericksburg and I'm sure that had Democrats in this area known that a Democratic event like this was going on, maybe new faces might have shown up to sign up to help work to elect Democrats in this Republican-heavy area. But nary a word, much less an e-mail. Never a word, never an e-mail.
But then again, where is the DPVA anyway? Their website still has no GOTV tools. All you can locate are some downloadable Party donkey logos. Where are the tools that Dems need to organize and inervate their neighborhoods? Where's a word or two from the Party Chair?
But look over the border in NC where the Democrats control both Houses in their General Assembly and have a Democrat for Governor. The NC Democratic Party (NCDP) has a website that is chock full of great information for it's readers and constituents. It's useful, up to date, and information is easy to find and right where you'd expect it. The NCDP understands the importance of web presence, the importance of communication (every two weeks, I get a newsletter from Jerry Meek, the State Party Chair, no less, telling what the Dems are doing in NC !!!), and their work has paid off in their majority showing!
Here's a taste of the NCDP website --
Front page
All about the NCDP and their structure
Issues/Talking Points
Even Job Opportunities are posted
The NC state party knows how to engage every North Carolinian who has a computer!
The Virginia blogger Vivian Paige looked at the the dilema of lack of communication in one of her blog diaries in a bit more distrustful way than I might have. But I think I'll stop excusing DPVA's language skills as lethargic and look at it as Vivian does:
In politics and anything peripherally affected by politics, this idea of keeping people out of the loop permeates everything. Decisions get made with no discussion on a regular basis. Things happen and only a few know why. New people are brought into the loop if and only if they agree to abide by the standards of secrecy. The rest are left on the outside, throwing rocks.As long as communication is limited, there will be no equal playing field. As long as backroom deals are secretly made, there will be no seat at the table for those with different points of view.
Politics operates in an electronic world now and NC Democrats seem to understand and demonstrate their own need to hold their majority through timely, effective, and informative electronic communication. I happen to think that we could do a better job here in Virginia.
Now given that clarification, what's your opinion?
North Carolina had the luxury of getting 50 state staffers before any other state and also not having elections going on this year. Cut the DPVA a little slack, they are doing a ton of work to actually win campaigns and have all next year to focus on communicating better with their activists.
When the DPVA remains silent (no regular e-mail newsletters to Virginia Democrats, no e-mail messages from the Chair to Virginia Democrats, no announcements of upcoming meetings, and on and on and on) then the appearance to the Virginia Democrats and Virginia voters is that the DPVA is completely out of touch and not doing their job. These actions leaves the DPVA wide open to criticisms, be they valid or not.
Absolute Axiom: Good business practice dictates good communication. That the DPVA "forgot" or "just didn't bother" to include a candidates name on their website can't be excused, period. And as with any organization, the blame lies with the leadership, who should be operating under some type of controlled plan, at a minimum.
I have no idea who or what the leadership is in the DPVA -- you really can't get any idea of who is doing what by just looking at their website (much less what they actually are doing). There's just a list of names with titles. The website lacks any cohesive understanding of the Virginia Democratic Party. Yes, there are now more stories about Democrats but the key element, the DPVA who organizes and orchestrates the work and campaigns, is missing from the website.
Bottom line to me -- DPVA needs to either take a time out and/or allocate some resources to fix this ever-widening gap in communication. Take a look at the poll results on the front page....something's wrong.
This latest "faux pas" should be their wake up call, once and for all. Afterall, the Party is about us: the Virginia voters, volunteers, candidates, and bloggers.
Where we in a minority is in GOTV. Republicans knock us out of our socks in that area.
But I must agree, secret meetings, etc. does not help to GOTV.
The 59th race is getting allot of support from the DPVA and they cannot be knocked for failure to support the candidates this year, only in getting out the message to all. It is the reason I give them a "GOOD, with improvement" vote.
What a job they have done since last year. I give an A for effort this year and hope they continue to improve.
It's time for all of us who support our troops to stand up and act!
Today in the United States Senate our own Sen. Webb is locked in a battle against the Bush administration to make sure our troops are safe, mentally, emotionally and physically healthy, and able to serve. His bipartisan Dwell Time amendment would make sure that our men and women serving overseas have as much time at home with their families as they have being deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Webb's Dwell Time amendment calls for a 1:1 deployment-to-dwell time ratio for all active duty servicemen and women.
Call Sen. John Warner today and tell him to support Sen. Webb's Dwell Time amendment. Our troops- and their families- are depending on him!
Senator John Warner
Washington, DC: (202) 224-2023
District offices
Midlothian: (804) 739-0247
Norfolk: (757) 441-3079
Abingdon: (276) 628-8158
Roanoke: (540) 857-2676
You can read more about Sen. Webb's amendment here, and watch his explanation of it here.
Sen. Webb's Dwell Time amendment would help keep our soldiers safe. This is one of the ways we should support our troops! This is exactly the kind of work Democrats are doing- finding real solutions to problems in spite of constant Republican obstructionism!
Danae Jones
Communications Director
Democratic Party of Virginia
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Paid for by the Democratic Party of Virginia.
Chippenham has kindly come to the defense of the DPVA in this diary and I respect and am glad that he/she knows a lot more than what I do about what the DPVA might be doing. But you see it just isn't good enough for just the folks on the inside (those who are the DPVA officials, staff, and local committee members) to be the only ones to know what our State Party is doing. There is a real danger when there is no regular, open communication, Chippenham. Communication can be an incredibly effective tool to evoke and infuse new ideas, it can be a tool to use resources more precisely, and like the important Webb vote in Congress today, had the DPVA been doing their communication job, we possibly could have even put more pressure on Senator Warner to vote for the amendment (but the e-mail didn't get to my computer till around 11 am today, the day of the vote and too late for those who'd already left for work). Every business knows it's value as an excellent operational and management tool.
Democrats are about inclusiveness, open communication, everyone under the tent, an open environment, we're all in this together. But by their actions (actually lack of actions), those "values" aren't being practiced for some reason at the DPVA. It's not new news ?. I've heard these complaints for years now. I have no idea whether this is an "organizational mindset" or whether they really could just use some good help, input or ideas!
So it's time they change their image and attitude and run the DPVA like a business guided by Democratic values to avoid the poor impressions and sloppy work that just can't be ignored any longer. Why are we bending over backwards to provide fuel to the Republican's Democratic fire machine? The Republicans can run their organization, their candidates, and their spin anyway they want to but as for Democrats, sloppiness and disorganization like this isn't the way we need to do business.
Jerimee, congratulations on your accomplishments with ACORN and being the very first Director of Internet Communications for a state party!
Hi Shawn -I am pleased to announce that I will be holding TWO webinars next Wednesday, September 26th - an Afternoon Session and an Evening Session! These sessions will both be interactive, with logins available for everyone on the new Votebuilder Training Site! It is very important that every attendee wishing to participate in the interactive portion sign up at the links below.
Practical VAN for Practical People
September 26th
2:00 PM - Register at https://www.gotomeet...
8:00 PM - Register at https://www.gotomeet...As we approach election day, it's important that we make the most of the tools available. I strongly encourage you to signup for one of these sessions.
Go Fight Win!
-Mike Sager
Deputy Technology Director
Democratic Party of Virginia