Dear Friends,
Last fall, Dr. Andy McGuire, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP), approached me to discuss how to build a bridge to progressives and other disaffected voters who’d left the IDP. A few weeks later we met over lunch at Hoq Restaurant, where Dr. McGuire offered to convene a statewide meeting to hear the concerns of these voters. We stayed in touch and agreed to move forward with the idea after the Caucuses.
On February 1st, the Iowa Caucuses saw a virtual tie between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, followed by a slew of complaints about cramped venues, long lines and other glitches. That led to a clamor across Iowa and beyond to examine what went wrong and institute reforms. The IDP announced a task force. I told Dr. McGuire on two occasions I was willing to serve on it, and received encouraging responses that she would get back to me.
Well, she didn’t get back to me. A caucus review panel was indeed established, and its membership announced last Saturday.
Disaffected voters are nowhere in the mix. Of the committee’s 25 members, nearly every appointee is an IDP insider.
And the goal of the committee? As quoted in the Des Moines Register (April 2): “{P}arty officials — including those now serving on the committee — have all but ruled out major changes to the Democratic caucus process.”
That’s code for, “We’ll pretend to care, but let’s stack this committee to make sure nothing of substance gets done. And let’s minimize exposure by sending-out the press release on Friday — the slowest news day of the week.”
Like the Democratic National Committee and, presumably, state Democratic parties around the country, the IDP doesn’t get it. If Dr. McGuire was sincere about wanting to rebuild the Party and stem the hemorrhage of voters from its rolls, setting-up a rubber-stamp committee of insiders only digs the Party’s hole even deeper.
How deep is that hole?
– In Iowa in 2009, there were 111,000 more D’s than R’s.
– There are now 28,855 fewer D’s than R’s.
– “No Party” voters have solidified their spot as the largest voting block.
– Five of Iowa’s six congressional representatives are Republican.
– The Iowa House is solidly Republican.
– The Democratic majority in the Iowa Senate is razor thin.
– Four of six statewide elected offices are held by Republicans.
– Even my chickens have switched their affiliation to “No Party.”
If Party officials think they can woo back disgruntled former Dems with platitudes and rhetoric, they should think again. Want examples of what’s actually working?
– Bernie Sanders. Look at the enthusiasm and political revolution his candidacy has sparked! Though it makes the corporate element of the Democratic Party quake in its gucci boots, THIS — not your phony caucus review panel — is the future of politics in Iowa and America.
– Speak-truth-to-power grassroots organizations like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. These folks have a solid string of victories for the people Democrats say they represent, but too often don’t.
– New grassroots efforts like the Bold Alliance, which is building rural-urban coalitions to oppose Big Oil and the abuse of eminent domain while working for clean energy solutions.
On June 7th, I’ll vote in the Democratic Primary for Rob Hogg for U.S. Senate and Desmund Adams for Congress. On June 8th, I’ll switch my voter registration back to “No Party” . . . unless Party officials demonstrate that they’re prepared to change their ways.
I’m not holding my breath.
Listen to the Fallon Forum Mondays, broadcasting live from the Cultural and Culinary Cross-roads of America (a.k.a., Des Moines, Iowa) from 11:00-12:00 noon CST on La Reina KDLF 1260 AM and online. The number to call to add your voice to the conversation is (515) 528-8122. The program re-broadcasts Wednesday on KHOI 89.1 FM (Ames) at 4:00 p.m. and Monday at 6:00 a.m. on WHIV 102.3 FM (New Orleans). Check-out podcasts here.
Thanks! – Ed Fallon
the whole process of election is dishonest and ridge to benifit the party regulars We need to start over
The only reason I’m still registered as a dem is to vote for Bernie in the primary. Due to your above stated reasons plus the existence of Super Delegates I will change to independent the day after the primaries. I’m not a history expert but I have been reading up on G Washington. Washington was, I feel, the last true independent of parties, American leader. He was adamant that the party system would cause nothing but undemocratic problems.
He summed the party system well in his farewell address,
“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a PARTY, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.
However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion. “
Both parties corrupt to the core. I no longer contribute to anyone except Bernie Sanders because he has a long history of honesty. Period.
I have a friend on Facebook that knows someone that is on that Review Committee and he posted that he would welcome comments from anyone and share- except that when we went to comment, we found out his comments section was private and there was no way to do that. He finally changed that, but when strangers started piping in their criticism of the Iowa Caucuses as he asked, it was silence as I have always gotten from the IDP when I have raised issues about our caucus in Precinct 42 and the District Convention. Someone asked if the meetings proceeding to review this would be public, and of course they are not, so I am not surprised by your information here of insiders and more of the status quo from the IDP on doing nothing. I have been a registered Democrat since I was 18, and have never been so disgusted by our party until this year and the absolutely corruption and bias I’ve witnessed at our caucuses, convention, and in this election in general. I see Bernie Sanders as what the Democratic Party SHOULD be going, but this movement is falling on deaf ears and only alienating a large base of us. I am a disaffected Democrat. After the primaries in July, I am changing my voter registration to Independent after 20 years of being a Democrat.