The vision is becoming clearer

I am heartened that some Democrats seem to be moving beyond "Resistance is our strategy" to "Let's figure out what our strategy is."  Tom Perez, the new chair of the DNC, was recently interviewed by Dan Balz of the Washington Post.  (You can see the interview by clicking on this link:  wapo.st/202perez).  I was happy to hear Perez say that he knows that people felt that the Democrats were not listening to them. (not that I am happy about that - I am just happy that they realize it.)

Perez said that the DNC needs to make "house calls", and needs to have an every zip code strategy.  He also said that we need to build an economy for the 21st century.  The country needs to invest in basic infrastructure, not to help Wall St., but to help every person in the country.

I was finally able to speak to someone at the Ohio Democratic Party.  She told me about a few initiatives that are being taken in the Buckeye state (where I grew up).  One is the Main St. Initiative - a program to help Democrats run for office throughout Ohio.  This effort supports candidates through training, phone banks, canvassing operations, and direct mail.  In 2016, 38 new Democrats were elected to office.  A Democrat won back the mayorship in Toledo.

There are also programs to engage with ordinary citizens.  One is called C.A.N. meetings (concrete action now).  Another is called Kitchen Table Conversations.  The latter is for small groups of people.

I was not able to speak to anyone at the Wisconsin Democratic Party - I will try again next week - but I was glad to see that they have a meaningful statement of purpose.   "Giving every person and every community in our state a fair shot at success and the opportunity to achieve the American Dream is what Wisconsin Democrats stand for."