| While the nation turned its political eye on the Democratic Party Rules and Bylaws Committee meetings in Washington, D.C. yesterday, two hours West here in W.Va. another form of participatory Democracy was in action.
I was fortunate to be invited to attend a local meeting of West Virginia Democratic Party Convention delegates. The local delegates are diligently preparing for the upcoming convention. Two major pieces of business were performed at yesterday's meeting--adoption of proposed modifications to the 2008 Democratic Party platform and the selection of the male and female national convention delegate candidate for the county.
What struck me even more than the business, as important it as was in this multi-hour meeting, is how meaningful it was that the meeting happened at all.
This is a triumph of Howard Dean's 50 state strategy. One of the two people running the meeting was a West Virginia Democratic Party Field organizer, a position funded by Dean's fifty state strategy. He provided very helpful practical information about what the convention process is like.
Many of the delegates in attendance are people new to Democratic party activities, motivated to this level of activism by the extended primary season and a contested West Virginia primary.
Meetings like this give me great hope for our state and our country. I witnessed sincere dedication to the political process. I heard many thoughtful suggestions and passionate concerns expressed for more progressive governance. I saw present and future leaders, willing to be an active part of the difficult process of a creating change for the better.
This is how we build a progressive majority, with one more voter, one more activist, one more precinct, one more county, and one more state at a time. While the national press flocked to the more dramatic event yesterday, meetings like I attended are much bigger story of this campaign season. |
