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John Wisniewski, what's your plan?

by: Rosi Efthim

Wed Jan 20, 2010 at 12:00:00 PM EST

John Wisniewski's people trumpeted the news yesterday that he has secured the endorsement of all 21 Democratic County Chairs. We bit. We wrote about it - because it's interesting, and people want to know.

But what I want to know, is where Wisniewski wants to take us, and how. I'm less interested in the personalities of who leads the state party than in what - specifically - they're doing to change party infrastructure and methods. Transparency. Platform. Outreach.

I'll tell you a story of something I got very wrong, before I got it right. I host Hunterdon DFA, and I'm one of the people who organized the state DFA-NJ. It would have killed Howard Dean if the surging grass/netroots organizing that grew up behind his campaign came to a dead stop after he stopped running, as Democratic organizing so often peters out behind unsuccessful candidates. So Democracy for America was born. And in the early days of it, some of us got a call: What did we think of Howard Dean running for DNC Chair? Well. I was against it - a solid no. I wanted Dean to re-emerge as candidate for president, again.

But when I took the question to Hunterdon DFA, they set me straight: If we don't have somebody who can fix the party infrastructure, who can change everything, we won't win anything - not the White House, or the House, or the Senate.

Lightbulb. Really, sometimes I can be so slow.

When Howard Dean ran for DNC Chair, he ran on a clear organizing principle: Reform Democratic spending and focus; less to hidebound inside-Beltway consultants, and more to training and underwriting energetic organizers to fan out and work locally (thank you). End the focus on "target" races only; concede no voter, no District, no state.

He told everybody what he was running on. It was out on the table. And he was right. So, John Wisniewski, I want to know your plan.

Taking my lesson from Hunterdon DFA, the challenge NJ Dems face is every bit as critical as the Bush White House that Dean stared down. The vectors aren't ours right now. NJGOP has a reason to live for the first time in a decade of looking stupid. They're high on life, and we are not. We face a GOP executive riding high. And the rootin'-tootin' corruption shooter Chris Christie is our boots 'n spurs tough-talking George W. Bush. The wind isn't going to shift in our direction without change from within. I think we're owed hearing how Wisniewski is going to be New Jersey's Howard Dean.

This is in no way an indictment of Joe Cryan, who I like a great deal. And I was in the room for this meeting too, and I agree about the man Wisniewski is. This isn't personal.

The NJDSC will have a Vice-Chair, too. I'm told in confidence it's likely to be someone I know. I hope she comes forward with her proposals, too, and I hope I never see anything like this happen again. And Steve Sweeney, with the awesome party power of his office, will I hope also be public about how he can and will change the party's paradigm.

Assemblyman, that's what I want to know.

Blue Jersey, what do you want to know?

Rosi Efthim :: John Wisniewski, what's your plan?

Tags: Howard Dean, DFA, NJDSC, John Wisniewski, featured, (All Tags)

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John Wisniewski, what's your plan? | 9 comments

I think it's obvious (4.00 / 2)

Wisniewski is running on the platform of, "Well, the County Chairs want me to have the position. Rank and file need not be heard from. Just endorse the ideas from those of us up here who know better."

So what I want to know is: What did he promise EACH of the county chairs for their endorsement (because this ain't hopscotch and you don't get any freebies this side of the grave)?

by: Thurman Hart @ Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 00:45:17 AM UTC

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Sometimes I Wonder If There Are Any.... (0.00 / 0)

...NJ office holders (outside of Loretta Weinberg and a handful of like minded folk) who are actually honest servants of the public interests; period.

Are they totally consumed with politics in the worst sense of the word? Do any of them actually give a real crap about the real needs of real people?

There's gotta be something better than this. (Someone could write a nice parody using this number http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... and injecting politicians as "the girls". Heck, it almost fits perfectly just as is! LOL)

Sadly, the reality is that there are large cadres of people/interests that are feeding well off of the status quo...and it is this caste that has access to the money and the power to buy all manner of "PR" to keep the people befuddled and divided and distracted.

I ain't giving up, mind you....but we really are in deep goollash.

by: Nick Lento @ Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 02:34:24 AM UTC

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The answer to your question (0.00 / 0)

is "No, there are no NJ office holders (outside of Loretta Weinberg and a handful of like minded folk) who are actually honest servants of the public interest."

by: Thurman Hart @ Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 20:47:29 PM UTC

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Politicians (4.00 / 1)

I understand the anger and distrust of politicians - I do - especially this month. But speaking just for myself here, I didn't write this as any kind of wholesale open season on how crappy politicians can be. I wrote it because I don't want to be complaining later without at least paying the respect of saying exactly what I expect of the Democrats - and providing space for other people to weigh in just the same. Just thought I should say that, for myself.

It's not a particularly snappy signature, but here's what I think we need in the next NJ Democratic State Chair.

by: Rosi Efthim @ Thu Jan 21, 2010 at 21:33:30 PM UTC

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why leave it in Wisniewski's hands? (0.00 / 0)

In your manifesto, which is linked to your signature is the basic blueprint about how the Democratic Party should operate. Rather than wait and hope that Wisniewski et al follow your blueprint, why not implement it yourself?

As much as I would like to believe that someone who was an early supporter of Howard Dean's in 2003 is going to lead the NJDSC in the way that we would like him to, I also understand that the NJDSC has never been driven by the vision of its chair as much as the power brokers within the Democratic Party. The Chair and Co-chair are the faces and voices of the party, but they are not its brain nor its heart. Recognizing this, I think that we have a much better chance of forcing the NJDSC to be what we want it to be if we can establish a competing vision (yours is as good as any) within the party.

With respect to this, I propose that your blueprint be used to create a New Jersey Progressive Democratic State Committee and 21 County Progressive Democratic Committees. The NJPDSC and CPDCs do not have to be wholly adversarial entities to the NJDSC and CDCs, but in the same way that the public option was perceived to be a competitive entity that would keep private insurance companies honest, I believe that a competing political entity within the Democratic Party would make the party as a whole stronger.

by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 01:40:45 AM UTC

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Better yet.... (4.00 / 2)

why doesn't everyone run for County Committee in their towns and counties so we can take the party over from the bottom up?

Start picking up those petitions.

by: Matthew Jordan @ Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 06:56:42 AM UTC

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not mutually exclusive per se, but... (0.00 / 0)

...what you propose has been discussed for years, has not been put into practice to any meaningful degree, and even if it were done, would take many years to achieve our goals. A competing entity within the Democratic Party, possessing the progressive brand, could get much more activity and visibility than an incremental attack at the grassroots level on its own.

Even if we were successful at getting a large number of people to run for and win county committee seats over the next two years (most, if not all, counties elect their county committeepersons for two-year terms, but some hold these elections during even years and others during odd years), we couldn't have an impact until 2012 at the earliest, and it is essential that our voice is heard in the form of primary challenges by 2011 at the latest.

by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Fri Jan 22, 2010 at 20:27:33 PM UTC

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