I have a call in to the DCCC, trying to get an explanation for why I would have been treated this way. This is serious to me, it is uncalled for, and I will tell you why I say that.
In 2003 we were greatly disillusioned by our party, we knew things were wrong, we just had not figured out what yet.
When we became active in the Dean campaign, and I became more active on line….I began to be more aware of how the party had been taken over by the groups such as the DLC/PPI. Things began to fall into place in our minds.
I have noticed that we as women are going to be used as scapegoats this time so that the party can attract more of the ones on the right, more Republicans. Not just abortion rights, but birth control as well. Maybe other privacy rights I am not aware of as yet. I have no objection to welcoming others….I just don’t want it done at my expense.
I started out being nice, though it was the 3rd call from this Telefund group in two days. I was nice at first, and I have people to attest to that who were here with me. I tried to explain that we were already donating to the DNC regularly and generously, and to the DFA as well.
I informed her we were active on the ground in our area with the DEC and with DFA. We stand in malls to get petitions signed, we stand with peace groups. We attend meetings and take part in activities of all kinds.
I finally got out the words, carefully I thought, that I was afraid the DCCC and the DSCC were too willing to run candidates to just win, even though they did not support the rights of women.
I got what I call the full treatment, just like what is going on at another site. She was absolutely furious with me, how dare I not want to win. How dare I expect to win when all these “issues” were getting in the way. She said no group was willing to give an inch, and I said how about standing up for all of them.
OMG, that set her off. I was lectured and she raised her voice, and I raised mine. She did not seem to think what we did mattered unless we donated to the DCCC and Campaign for the 21st Century, or the DSCC. She kept using the word progressive as though I were the antithesis to it.
I felt bad for her, but I felt worse for me. The ladies who were cleaning today were ready to go, but signaled they would stay if I needed them…as I was crying by then. I motioned them to go.
I doubt I will hear back from the DCCC. The worst part is being told that donating to the DNC and DFA do not count as much as giving to the DCCC and DSCC.
I told her what Schumer did about Casey, how he called Rendell and they talked. Schumer knew Casey was anti-choice, anti-birth control, but he said we could no longer worry about that. He said the party could not afford to ask candidates to sign off on issues. There is a post at MyDD about this with audio. She told me I was being too (something)…I missed it, said repeat, and I was very upset. She could not believe I was upset over that.
She did not let me tell her in detail all we did for the party, she simply kept raising her voice so that I could not finish. I raised my voice as well, after she said she did not want to hear what I had to say, she had to call others who cared about the party. I told her she called my home, and that she should let me finish. She hung up.
I am sort of sick inside, sort of shaking. Is this what is coming down the road? This anger…where did it come from? Why is it not enough right now that we give to the DNC and DFA? Why is it not enough that we are active locally?
I hope it is ok to post this. In an ideal world, everyone could donate to all those groups. This is not an ideal world at all. We chose two groups to which to donate for now. I think we are good Democrats in every way, and this event has shaken me to my toes.
She was way out of line, and I hope she is fired. These are the sort of attitudes that are losing support for the Democratic party by the moment. To be completely honest, it is THESE attitudes and not progressives that have sunk the Dems to where they are now (the only exception in recent years being Bill Clinton, and that being due to his exceptional intelligence and political skills, not some stupid DLC blueprint). Clinton was bad in that theze bozos gained a veneer of credibility based on his own personal merits.
Floridagirl,
Try not to be upset about an abusive person who is charged with shaking you down for as much money as possible. You’ve had enough to worry about with the hurricanes in your area. Forget this troll for now. If she calls back, tell her you are busy, like the rest of America, voting for something meaningful, like American Idol.
Second, if it’s getting to the point where you are stressing over making choices, then close your pocketbook and bank account to them until these various factions can get their message straight. And if you don’t like the message, don’t give them squat.
Please mail Dr. Dean about this, and send a copy to Jim Dean at DFA. Note the date, time and, if you have it, name of the fundraiser. Include the link to this diary.
Susan & Booman, if you read this diary, PLEASE FRONT PAGE IT.
I’m so sorry you were treated this way, ESPECIALLY after all the hard work you’ve done. This woman, though, is a symptom of an entrenched party that thinks it can only win by mirroring the behavior and methods of our opponents. A party that engages in top-down, patriarchical and frankly bullying behavior from many of the party leaders on down. That asshole Schumer wants so badly to be the 21st Century Richard Daley you can smell it.
Oh, I’m so fucking angry to read this.
She told me her mother was pretty active in the party, and I tried to tell her we were as well.
I did not start the anger, but it happened twice. Once when I mentioned who we donate to, and again when I mentioned women’s rights. I did get angry, I wish I had not, but I did.
Hubby just got home, said to wait and see what comes of it.
seriously, I wouldn’t wait. Write Dr. Dean and his brother. You are a member of the party, and you should not be treated like that.
I’m sure Dr. Dean would be outraged by this.
It is just something we have to work through.
I don’t remember hearing her saying. In fact I know she did not. When I called the DCCC I explained as best I could, but it sounded unreal when I tried to explain it.
That is the problem. It did seem unreal. It is the same feeling I get watching the GOP in action, this administration in action. I realize they are dangerous, I know that. We only have a facade of being a real country anymore…we are already what Bush said would be good for him. You know that dictatorship that he said would be nice. It appears we have that now in many ways.
They have such awesome power now. And when someone tries to tell me I am hurting our party, I want to scream at them, say who got us to this point? Not me.
I want to yell out how will making the rights of women unimportant help us beat them now? It is kind of like a bad dream. I really felt it today for the first time, that they are going to be very hard-nosed about winning. We don’t matter except as an issue which it is better to dismiss right now.
I felt so insulted, and all afternoon I blamed myself. I felt like I had done something wrong. I am sort of getting over that now, and the anger is returning. She called my home wanting my money, I gave her my views. It angered her to hear them. She made me feel guilt for those views about women’s rights. She yelled over me when I tried to express our role in the party, and she hung up.
My husband sort of helped me see what I was doing, taking the guilt on myself. This was a serious thing. I almost did not post about it, but it goes to the very heart of what is going on in the party now. I am not sorry I posted it.
you aren’t to blame. THEY WORK FOR YOU, FOR US!!
Please, write Dr. Dean. Write Jim. This is a cancer on the party. The hard, and necessary, “50 state strategy” is NOT going to succeed if the party treats the roots the way you were treated.
This is a serious problem, and you were treated terribly. Fight back.
floridagal, I agree with Madman, write Dean,write Jim.
Many diehard, lifelong Democrats that I know would have left the party were it not for Howard Dean gaining the chairmanship of the DNC. There’s going to be one hellacious battle between the DLC gang and H Dean (and us) as we enter this next campaign cycle.
fg, please take pride in the fact that you have brought this to our attention. We’re just in the beginning skirmishes with the Neanderthals of the D party.
It is becoming obvious that there are a large number of Dems that seem to think that they can walk all over people with issues “THEY DON’T LIKE.”
Now it is almost entrenched as party policy in some parts.
(Shaking head)
Too bad for them! I don’t like their issues either. (Some of them, at least.)
You really should contact Dean, and your local group.
I am not saying that Dean is the perfect candidate since I disagree with a few of his ideas… But I lived in Vermont. He would have been a President I could back.
I think the grassroots should go ahead and draft Dean for the ticket, and tell the rest of those DLC types to go get their crack money elsewhere. Hey! They have to be smokin’ something to be this desperate for cash.
And that is what it’s all about. They are getting a lot of hangups and doors slammed in their faces. And they don’t like it.
Meanwhile Dean says to the grassroots:
“We need a million to seed some formerly ignored states. Do you think we can do it?”
Nope… They get two million instead.
(not the real #s, but you get my point)
Yep… They are all pissed.
And though it is about the cash right now, that is not the real issue. They know that all of these people holding back cash now might hold back votes for their candidates later.
Oh yeah… They are pissed. And worried.
If you have an issue and you feel it should be addressed? Good for you! If you are willing to trade off on an issue to win at all cost? Good for you too!
It’s all about choices. They make theirs, and you make yours.
I have made my choice. If the candidate is too far to the right, like a DLC type… They get nothing from me.
Hillary = Nada
Bayh = Zip
Kerry = Zilch
Etc., etc. …
That is my choice.
It’s your one vote and your bank account. You make your own choices. If they don’t like it? F***’em
I saw a cartoon once that reduced the Republican message to this one-liner: “More for us. Fuck you.”
Would anyone like to explain to me what makes the Dem establishment and the DLC and its fellow travelers any different?
This is pretty much the same message I got out of the pie fight and subsequent nastinesses at that other blog: You don’t matter. Do for us, and we’ll let you hang around, but we’ll never do anything for you.
I’d wish some evil on their arrogant little heads, but they’ll get that anyway — with that approach, they’ll keep losing elections.