- Show
Up Everywhere
- Strengthen
State Parties and the Grassroots
- Focus
On Our Core Values
- Take
Advantage of Cutting-Edge Technologies
- Train
Tomorrow's Leaders
Get
the details and endorse it:
www.democrats.org/plan
|
You run this party.
On Saturday, I was honored when your representatives on the Democratic
National Committee elected me Chairman. And I can't wait to get started. But
when they voted, it wasn't about me -- they were voting for a plan for the
future of our party.
That plan came from people like you -- from conversations I had with ordinary
Democrats across the country. When those 447 people voted in Washington this
weekend, they united around that plan.
Now I'm asking you to do the same. Those 447 people were a good start, but
make no mistake -- I know that this is also your party. And our plan to reform
the party can only become a reality with your endorsement.
Please read our plan -- and commit to making it a reality:
http://www.democrats.org/plan
Your representatives in the DNC mandated bottom-up reform -- growing the
Democratic Party in your neighborhood and every other community in America. They
voted to compete in every state for every level of office. And they demanded a
Democratic Party that stands up for itself and for an agenda that reflects our
values.
They didn't elect me because they think I can accomplish these things. They
elected me because I believe that only you can.
Every single one of us must take responsibility for building our party. It's
not enough to simply vote for Democrats -- in order to win, every one of us must
deliver our message and values into our own community.
That means changing the way we do business, and that's what this plan is
about:
http://www.democrats.org/plan
The Republicans' biggest victory has been to convince many Democrats that we
can only win by abandoning our values and doing what they say.
It's one of their favorite tactics -- just watch how right-wing pundits talk
endlessly about the internal politics of our party. They try to divide Democrats
by ideology just as they divide all Americans by race or gender or faith.
But there is no crisis of ideology in the Democratic Party, only a crisis of
confidence. Bill Clinton once described the Democratic Party's problems in the
era of George W. Bush, saying that in uncertain times people would rather have a
leader who is strong and wrong than weak and right.
He's exactly right. And we become both weak and wrong when we abandon our
core values for short-term political gain. But when we Democrats talk straight
and stand up for ourselves, we have a huge advantage: We are both strong and
right.
We will only turn that advantage into victory if we make a concrete plan and
work hard to execute it. Declare your support and offer feedback now on the plan
to build an organization that will help us win everywhere, and win with pride:
http://www.democrats.org/plan
Millions of Americans became Democrats last year. They sensed that they live
in a society where ordinary people's problems and interests don't matter to our
government. They chose the Democratic Party because we represent commonsense
reform.
And millions more will become Democrats this year as we protect the
Democratic Party's greatest achievement. We will not allow George Bush to phase
out Social Security -- a Democratic policy that cured an epidemic of poverty
among seniors and provides the guarantee of retirement with dignity.
Most importantly, millions of Democrats have become true stakeholders in our
party. With grassroots action and small-dollar donations, you have taken our
party's future into your own hands.
The stakes are too high to wait for others to lead. Every one of us has a
personal responsibility for the future of our party -- and the future of our
country.
This isn't my chairmanship -- it is ours. So let's get to work together.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Chairman, Democratic National Committee