Friday, October 07, 2005

OK, so what's shaking for 2006?

One might presume that since the SCDP has wandered in out of the Fields, it can move forward. I already talked below about how they need to shore up their finances, now we need to discuss something else: candidates.

No, I'm not talking about Harold the Younger, as the latest Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll shows that Ed Bryant is kicking his ass, 51-40. I'm not talking about the Republican scheisskopf masquerading as a Democrat, Phil Bredesen, who will be re-elected with Republican votes.

I am talking about the county races, since many people actually believe that the clerk races matter.

Let's look at it, shall we? As long as AC Wharton continues to breathe, he will have no trouble being re-elected as County Mayor; he's still the most beloved figure in the County.

Are there any Democrats looking at taking on Sheriff Mark Luttrell? If so, I've not heard of it, and frankly, if they're not out talking to people and raising money NOW, they really don't have a prayer in hell of winning.

Now, here's where I'm kind of pissed; HAVE WE NO DEMOCRATIC LAWYERS THAT HAVE THE GUTS TO RUN AGAINST BILL GIBBONS??? For crying out loud, HE CAN BE TAKEN! Is it that no one wants to have to clean up after him? I do not get this; I firmly believe that if we had a real solid candidate against him, Wharton would NOT have endorsed him.

OK, what's left? County Clerk? Janis Fullilove, if you ARE running for this office, get out there now and start campaigning, girlfriend, you have a chance here. Why? Because it appears that Marilyn Loeffel is going to challenge Jayne Creson's personal choice for a successor, Debbie Stamson (wife of Steve, the JC clerk) in the GOP primary, potentially resulting in a bloodbath where they all hate each other afterwards.

The other races? Well, if A) you have money, and B) you can convince Shelby County taxpayers that the incumbent is a mismanaging idiot that's wasting their hard-earned tax dollars, you MIGHT have a chance to win. Also, C), you are going to have to go door-to-door and campaign hard in EVERY sector of the county. Even, then, due to the power of incumbency, that may not be enough.

So, SCDP, y'all need to be out looking for people who meet that criteria. You also need to talk people who DO NOT meet that criteria out of running. Some folks run every time and get their ass kicked; the voters have spoken, get over it.

OK, that's what I have, what say you?

1 comment:

David Holt said...

I am having a disagreement with my computer when I try to post this on the message that I want to post it to (two posts ago), so I'll try here.

You’re right Cracker. We need to seriously get to work.
1. We need people like you who have been working with the bylaws for years to tear into them.
2. If we are going to be passing resolutions in support of issues such as the living wage and Democracy Project, we need to make sure they mean something. The 1500 signatures we gathered for each are a great start, but we need to do more. There will be a rally and press conference at 3:00 Tuesday at city hall for the living wage. We need to get as many people as possible there. We also need to make sure that if the party officially supports something that we are heard loud and clear by elected officials, election commissioners, the press, and the public.
3. Myself and everyone else are always complaining that we don’t have any funds. I’m as guilty as anyone else of not doing much about it. We need the automatic contribution system, but we need more too. We also need to have quarterly fundraisers at the headquarters. We’re paying for it, we may as well use it. We could have people bring potluck and pay $25 a pop or so. It may not be mega bucks, but it’s cheap, it involves people, and it improves our finances. A lot of small events can be as good or better than any large event. I’m sure there are better ideas then that. I’m no fundraising guru. Most of you out there are a lot smarter than me when it comes to politics. Let’s here your ideas.
4. Be bold. My own personality tends to be somewhat hesitant at times. I’m the sort who doesn’t like to offend people and likes to make sure of all consequences before I take any action. The party suffers from a bit of this as well. While we don’t need to act without thinking, we don’t need to be so concerned about what might not work or what might not look good that we don’t accomplish anything.
5. Chill out. Have we made mistakes? Of course. We’re human. We’ll f-up a lot more before things are over. We need to learn from our mistakes and not repeat them. We’re very skilled at tearing into each other, and that is good in a way. Manufactured unity and marching in lock step are sure ways to lead us astray. At the same time, however, when all is said and done, we’re all Democrats. Let’s settle contentions and move on. Frankly, I’d much rather admit I messed up and get back to trashing Republicans than spend my time disagreeing with other Democrats.