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Rural Democratic Party FAIL [1]
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Date: 2022-07-04
Cancelled
I am reporting from the field so to speak, completely fed up with what is known as The Central Committee, and its local counterparts, in Ohio. It has been one thing after another now this:
Dear Democrats,
Thanks to all of you who volunteered to help staff the fair booth this year! Unfortunately, the Fair Board has a new policy that requires liability insurance to be held by all participants this year, and it was just too cost prohibitive for us at this time. Therefore, an executive decision was made to forego a booth at the fair for 2022. We will be planning for this inevitability in the future and focusing on the 2022 [Name removed] Festival [held in Sept] going forward.
Thank you,
[Name Removed] County Ohio Democratic Officers
Some comments from me:
You may say, well “meh,” it is just a tiny fair. Who cares? But this is the death by 1000 cuts that the Democratic party can ill afford. Recent attendance figures (averaged over the last 5 years of the event) reflect 75,000 to 100,000+ attendees for this event.
Just as important is that this rural North Central Ohio county party “operates” within a city (and county) with a population of over 65,000. A population that is rapidly growing, diversifying, and electorally progressive due to its proximity to Columbus, Ohio. This is an enormous lost opportunity for visibility, voter registration, and rebuilding the Democratic voter rolls, of which I am told, are decimated. This too, is an area that has been, for decades, largely socially isolated with its pristine, white picket fences, racist and anti-LGBT city code, and Christian churches galore. Of course, social media is stealthily changing all of this.
Based on my observations and interactions, I would say this party unit has been co-opted by the Republican “Family Values, God, Guns, and Gender Policing” party. One key problem is the precinct level committee members are, by in large, AWOL, idle, and/or missing. To make matters worse, the current mayor ran/runs as a “D’ but is ideologically a MAGA Republican. He is also profoundly in control of the local Democratic Central Committee welding a variety of punishing strategies should someone step out of line. I have spoken with numerous people who have known the mayor going back decades, some at a very (cough) intimate level, and they vigorously confirm my conclusion about his white hood wearing tendencies and (cough) other preferences. Now he is running for state office as a Democrat.
To those who would tell me to get out and do something, I have been very active. I have also run for office and lost in a close race. The current area captain does nothing, zero, zip, nada, zilch.
I have I have already offered suggestions to remedy this specific situation but crickets.
Nan Whaley? Tim Ryan? Ohio Democratic party? Crickets.
To quote Senator Chris Murphy, “What are we doing here?”
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/4/2107740/-Rural-Democratic-Party-FAIL
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