| By Clem Guttata
I don't know where to start with this post and I'm not sure where I'm going to end up either...
I thought I had all I had to say on the topic earlier this week when Carnacki and I called out Justin Marcum, (then) West Virginia Young Democrats chairman of the Labor Caucus and (still) president of Mingo County Young Democrats for what we felt was a non-apology apology.
On Monday, I wrote in a comment:
There are multiple activist organizations with formal ties to the Democratic National Committee. The Young Democrats organization is one. Because of their formal ties, they get automatic seats at conventions and other party benefits like that.
I believe if you are an officer in an organization affiliated with the DNC, you have a responsibility to support the Democratic President, to support the major tenets of the Democratic Party Platform, and to support party-building efforts. That does not mean you need to personally agree on every issue, but it does mean you have a responsibility not to actively aid those seeking to undermine the Democratic party.
A strength of the Democratic Party is our openness to diversity--we try to build a big tent. I would never tell anyone to leave the party over disagreements with President Obama or the Democratic party platform (there's plenty of issues where my views differ!). We'll never all agree on every issue (nor should we).
But, if someone is in a leadership position in the party, and they don't feel personally comfortable supporting major Democratic legislative and presidential initiatives, they just might want to reconsider if party leadership is the right place for them.
On Tuesday, I learned that Justin Marcum had resigned as West Virginia Young Democrats chairman of the Labor Caucus and I thought the entire matter closed.
Mingo young Democrats primed for change in state
I was quite surprised yesterday when I got multiple emails informing me about a newspaper article in the Charleston Daily Maily, Mingo young Democrats primed for change in state. I'm still kind of stunned by the article and have sat on it for over a day trying to sort through what to say.
(Among other things, I can't point to a single change in West Virginia that Justin Marcum called for.)
What went wrong
The article reads like a press release for Justin Marcum. It's the kind of fawning coverage someone running for office begs for. (Unfortunately for Justin Marcum, at this point I think it would only help him run for office as a Republican, not as a Democrat.)
As an example, the photo text reads, "Justin Marcum, a second-year law student and president of the Mingo County Young Democrats, is working with other students to inject some fresh blood into the Democratic party in southern West Virginia."
Now, hardly a day goes by without a newspaper in West Virginia publishing something I find insipid or inane. Mostly I just ignore them. But, here's what makes this article so concerning. A frequent reader of this website noted via email:
I read your post the other day regarding the labor caucus emails advertising the conservative event in Southern West Virginia. It sure sounds as if this guy is making a declarative statement against our sitting president on behalf of all young Democrats in the state.
I didn't read his quotes quite that way--I don't think Justin Marcum speaks for anyone other than himself--but I can see how easy it would be to get that impression.
In the article Justin Marcum claims he "hopes that the younger generation of Democrats will win back the Mountain State when it comes to the national elections." If he wants to help Obama win W.Va. in 2012, debunking rumors is a lot more helpful than repeating them.
If "the Mingo chapter ... is focused on what is best for the county" he should be using time in front of reporters to speak to the urgency of action on climate change legislation and health care reform, not undermining the agenda of the Democratic President and the Democratic Congress.
Standing up for workers
More than anything else, there's one more thing that really gets me angry about this article.
The West Virginia Young Democrats worked diligently this past year to (successfully) enact an official West Virginia Coal Miner's Appreciation Day. This action had the potential to build a broad coalition of interests to find common ground to honor coal miners, improve their working conditions, and to live up to our obligations to pensioners (widowers and survivors).
Instead, by introducing a discussion of climate change policy into the mix, Justin Marcum has overtly politicized the honoring of coal miners. Coal miners are real human beings--your neighbors and mine--not political pawns. For too many decades coal miners have fought--often with their lives--to be treated with dignity. They deserve better. |
