Looking for positive Democrats in Florida
The problem with the Democratic Party right now is that its primary mission seems to be demonizing Republicans. Its basic pitch has become, “Vote against the Republican candidate because he or she is evil,” not, “Support Democrats because we will give you better, more efficient government.” I see this problem at all levels, from national down to (Florida) state to (Manatee County) local party politics. I am at the point where I wonder if I wouldn’t do better registering as a Republican so I can vote against the worst candidates in primaries than staying registered as a Democrat in an area where there are often no Democratic candidates for important local offices, especially when local Democratic leaders seem to spend more time arguing with each other than coming up with forward-looking campaign strategies.
Example: I watched several members of the local Democratic Party Executive Committee accuse another committee member of hijacking the local party’s Web site. The problem with the site (it wouldn’t display at all for a while) was caused by the accusers’ own technical ineptness, not a domain name hijacking. The funny thing is, the accused committee member was even less technically ept than the Web site controllers. He wouldn’t have known how to hijack a domain name if he’d wanted to.
I was aware of this silliness only because I had volunteered to make the local party a better Web site than its current lame one, complete with discussion boards, which you would think a “democratic” party would want. But no, the people running the Web site didn’t want one with up-to-date news, information about policies and candidates, and public debate. They wanted to hold on to what they had created even though it was terrible, and reacted with suspicion and hostility to any attempts to make something better.
I found myself wondering, “Do I want these people running my government?
Answer: “Not really.”
On the other hand, when I see State Senator Mike “Road Rage” Bennett described in newspaper articles as “(R-Bradenton)” it makes me ashamed to have this guy “representing” me. Bennett is really “(R-Construction Industry)” or perhaps “(R-Greedheads).” This is a man who seems to believe “consumer protection” means protecting businesses against consumers. This is not a joke, by the way. One of Bennett’s first acts in office was to introduce a bill (which passed) that made it harder for cheated consumers to sue licensed building contractors in Florida, even though construction industry fraud is rampant here.
When Republicans back people like Bennett, it’s easy to demonize them, isn’t it? But this demonization is not fair to the many decent Republicans out there. Manatee county commisioner Joe McClash, for example, works hard to make this little corner of Florida a better place to live and work — and not just for rich white Christians, either. He’s been working to get more and better boat launch ramps here for people who enjoy the water but can’t afford Bennett-level kayak-swampers, and has truly distinguished himself working to help residents of the mostly-black Tallevast community obtain recompense for years of frightening pollution by a company now owned by Republican-beloved Lockheed Martin.
Where are the positive Democrats?
Floyd Winters, who ran unsuccesfully in the 2004 Democratic primary for the 13th Congressional District seat currently held by Katherine Harris (R-unearned wealth), has recently put out several sensible proposals on ways to fix problems with government and make it work better. Winters bears watching, although it would be smart for him to try to get into local office before making another run for Congress.
I’m sure there are other positive local Democrats, too. But if the 2004 campaign season was any indication, they’re doing a good job of hiding themselves. They need to come out of hiding; to make some noise; to present some good, workable plans for improved local government, and generally give us an idea of what they can do for us instead of concentrating on reasons to vote against their opponents.
This is the only way Democrats can have a strong political voice in this part of the country.
But it’s also possible that it’s time to write off both major political parties. In Florida, the number of voters who decline to state a party affiliation is growing faster than the number who align as either Democrats or Republicans. Disaffection with mainstream politics is rampant here.
I know that if a strong, positive, independent, centrist candidate came along, I would be inclined to support that person. So would plenty of others. I don’t know if there are enough independent votes to make independent or third-party candidates electable in the next election or two, but I suspect that a noticeable number of “outsider” candidates will start getting elected in 2010 or 2012 if the Democrats — and Republicans — don’t change their current behavior patterns.