HispanicVista Columnists
Chia pets and the Clapper
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By Steven J. Ybarra, JD/HispanicVista.com - December 7, 2005
- Notas por La Casa Politica
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- ©Steven J. Ybarra JD is a retired civil rights attorney who operates a consultant company in California. He is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a long time political activist. Contact Steven at: sjybarra@aol.com. This article is copyright by Steven J. Ybarra JD, originally published in www.Hispanicvista.com but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this entire credit paragraph is attached.
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I know it is Christmas time when I see the ads at Walgreen’s for the Chia Pet and the Clapper. The insanity of what we call Christmas has begun. It is supposed to be a time to remember how nice we should be to each other and instead it is usually sheer insanity.
I like nice. A few weeks ago I was in Dallas training Democrats on how to win elections. [I train democrats often and on my own without any organizational support; the folks who want to learn, pay me to do it. It is kind of exhausting, but the reward is hearing how much they learned.] I got on the plane to come home along with a bunch of soldiers. There was an empty seat in first class. I told the attendant she should put one of our American soldiers in first class. A bit later she came down to the first guy and told him to move up. He was a bit shy and reluctant until somebody said, “Move it troop!” It was nice of the airline to do and nice of the people on the plane to feel good about the kid getting moved up.
As we get ready to do the holiday thing, maybe we should figure out how to be nice to each other as we figure out how to get out of the Iraqi mess we are in.
A couple of weeks ago a well decorated Democrat called for us to get out now and a not so well decorated freshmen Congress member called him a coward. Anybody who has been shot at knows that somebody who has a bunch of war medals is not a coward. This Republican does not have a clue about people who fight for what they believe in. It seems to be an attribute that the Republicans share, clueless that is.
Clueless is not only a Republican problem, it is also a problem with some Democrats. This week we the members of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will be meeting in Phoenix to see the results of the work that the new Chair has done. Howard Dean is busy putting organizers into all the states to get ready for the next presidential election. This meeting will be about electing the other officers of the DNC who in the past held summits and meetings and went home to watch themselves on TV.
The question of the day is - What will the new leadership of the DNC look like and what will they present as a budget and a plan for the membership?
I believe it is going to be fun. Howard has always said, “You have the power!” Well, it is time to find out how much the DC bees are going to let us “wannas” have.
The reality is that in the last election the field part of the campaign was left out. There was no budget or plan to involve campaign experienced Latinos in the day-to-day winning of the election. Rookies were picked and put into positions with no resources, training or direction. At the outset, there was no money set aside for the Latino campaign. The “world” was black and white. And once again we (the Democrats) lost.
I have decided to run for Chair of the DNC Hispanic Caucus based upon a platform of training, campaign placement, and decision making at the highest levels. Being elected to the DNC myself, I have a bit of freedom to speak my mind. I do believe in following the Reagan rule of not speaking ill of other party members, but we Democrats are waiting for leadership. Oops, that is our responsibility. OK, so here it goes - let us get all the locals trained and ready for 2006-07 and then they will be ready for 2008. It is going to a tough row to hoe.
In the meantime, can we be nice to the people in New Orleans and Texas and get them home by Christmas so that they can plant their Chia pets and clap the lights out at night in their own beds.