As some may have noticed, I have not made a post since the March 15 election of officers for the Louisiana Democratic Party. It was a bitterly disappointing day. Not just because my candidate for party chair lost, but also because of the manner in which the meeting was conducted.
In short, it is clear that the people who currently run the Louisiana Democratic Party are people who believe that elections are charades to be tolerated on the path to pre-determined outcomes.
On at least three occasions since that meeting I decided to leave the party because I did not feel it was worth the effort of working to save it from its own bad instincts. I talked myself out of it the first time. Friends talked me out of it on the other two occasions.
A factor in the process of deciding to stay was the matter of what I would do if I did stay. I decided I would not stay if I did not believe I could continue to work to change the party.
Despite all the anger I felt after the March 15th LDP meeting, the basic fact is that there is a core group of people on the state central committee and in the parish executive committees who are committed to the longer fight of transforming this party. I decided that my desire to be part of that effort was stronger than the revulsion I felt as a result of the lies, betrayal, and opportunism displayed by people I once respected.
So, I've decided to say and fight.
Let's get at it!
Showing posts with label Donald Cravins Sr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Donald Cravins Sr.. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Whittington proves he is unfit to serve
Chris Whittington has resorted to subterfuge in a desperate attempt to hold on to his job as chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party (LDP).
He must be stopped.
Whittington's subterfuge became apparent only on Tuesday of this week, four days before the election for party officers. On that day, the Louisiana Democratic Party released a list of appointments made by Whittington to fill 27 of the 41 vacancies on the DSCC.
Whittington's defenders say that he did not try to "pack" those slots with people favorable only to him.
I don't believe that. One person personally told me that she was offered a seat on the DSCC if she would support Whittington's re-election. The offer came from a sitting member of the LDP executive committee who lives in the same House district as this woman. I don't believe this offer has been the exception; I believe it has been the rule.
The "not packing" argument also misses the point by a mile.
The point is that for the past four months, as Whittington has been assembling this list of hand-picked potential DSCC members, he and his camp have been the only parties to the LDP election that have access to the names on that list. Other candidates for chair (as well as other offices) were denied access to that pool of voters.
These are not the acts of a person interested in conducting a fair election. These are the acts of a person determined to use any means necessary -- legitimate or otherwise -- in order to hold power. One can only wish he'd used as much imagination and creativity against Republicans last year that he's using against fellow Democrats in this race.
This goes to the heart of the ability of the LDP to conduct an open and fair election. The 27 people Whittington wants to appoint constitute a captive constituency who have not been exposed to or heard from the other candidates for chairman in the race. Those people constitute almost 16 percent of the total of the DSCC and, if allowed to vote, would constitute almost 14 percent of all votes cast.
This is more than enough votes to change the outcome of this closely contested election.
BACKGROUND
To understand what Whittington is attempting, one must go back to December of 2007 when Democrats across the state filed to run for seats on the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). Theoretically, the DSCC is governing body of the LDP. It has 210 seats (two for every House district in the Louisiana Legislature; one seat for a male, one seat for a female).
When qualifying ended in December, there were 41 seats for which no one had submitted qualifying papers and fees.
With the party coming off a disastrous round of state elections in which we lost the governor's office, the secretary of state, the commissioner of insurance, and the commissioner of agriculture and forestry, dissatisfaction with Whittington's performance was running high (and still does).
The race for chairman has turned into a hotly contested six-candidate field, with Whittington trying to fend off challenges from Paul Aucoin (running with the support of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, Congressman Charles Melancon, and Lt. Gov. Mitchell Landrieu), Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins Sr., Larry Ferdinand, William Sumlin, and Dr. Steve Kirkikis. I've endorsed Mayor Cravins.
It is widely believed within the party that Aucoin and Cravins have the votes to force a run-off that might not include Whittington. That belief, though, is based on the idea that there are 169 eligible voters who will cast their ballots when the DSCC meets this Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Questions arose about how those 41 vacancies would be filled shortly after the end of the December qualifying period. One party officer assured me personally and others publicly that, according to the state party by-laws, the vacancies could not be filled until after the election of the new slate of officers.
That view is based on Article I, Section 9 of the Party By-laws, which reads:
Under this rule, only the DSCC members who qualified for office but were unopposed or who won election to the DSCC in the February 9 election could vote on the new slate of officers, including the chairman.
But, Whittington and his coterie of lawyers cite Article I, Section 4 of the by-laws that call for the chairman to fill vacancies as soon as possible after they occur. That section reads:
FAIRNESS & TRANSPARENCY DENIED
The issue is that Whittington has concealed the list of appointments and, thus, denied his competitors access to voters who will decide his own fate as party chair. He has denied his competitors — and the party — the benefit of a fairly contested election.
The official response of Whittington and his backers is that "everyone who's been on the committee for a while knows that this is how we handle these matters." Whittington's supporters like to portray him as something of a reformer in the party. But, replacing one club with the members of another club is not reform. It is a coup.
What this party needs is open and transparent processes, which generate trust and confidence among its members. Whittington's attempt to manipulate this election ignore that need and, in fact, will do great damage to the members' confidence in the party and its leaders.
His acts fail the test of transparency and fairness necessary to bestow legitimacy on the results of any election.
If these heretofore-secret DSCC members are allowed to vote, the outcome will be tainted because of the way Whittington restricted access to this pool of potential voters. Imagine being a candidate for a district office and finding out four days before the election that the district boundaries have been expanded by your opponent to increase the size of the district by 16 percent.
This tactic would not pass the standards that international election observers use in second and third world countries where they certify the fairness of elections there. It should not be good enough for the LDP.
By this brazen attempt to steal the election of LDP offices, Chris Whittington has proven that he is not worthy to hold the seat he so desperately wants to keep. It is a clear demonstration that he does not care about the fate of the party; that his sole concern is his own grip on power.
Does he really believe he would have a chairmanship worth having -- one considered legitimate in the eyes of party members -- if he goes through with his plan to manipulate this election?
CONTEMPTIBLE
Whittington's ploy demonstrates wide-ranging contempt for the our party, its members and its traditions.
Whittington shows contempt for Democratic National Committee, which in every national election deploys a phalanx of attorneys as part of its election integrity project to ensure that elections are carried out in a fair and transparent manner across the country.
Whittington's brazen attempt to manipulate this election would not pass the DNC's basic test for fairness. To hear him talk about his commitment to "seeing through to completion" projects started by the DNC and then to try to subvert this election is nauseating.
Chris Whittington has demonstrated contempt for the state party at multiple levels. He has demonstrated contempt for:
ETHICALLY UNFIT TO SERVE
On an earlier occasion, I said that my opposition to Whittington was not personal, that it was based on the quality of leadership he had not provided the party during his tenure. This changes that.
It is personal now.
Chris Whittington's attempt to steal this election provides conclusive proof that he is not ethically fit to serve as chairman of this party.
He must be stopped.
Whittington's subterfuge became apparent only on Tuesday of this week, four days before the election for party officers. On that day, the Louisiana Democratic Party released a list of appointments made by Whittington to fill 27 of the 41 vacancies on the DSCC.
Whittington's defenders say that he did not try to "pack" those slots with people favorable only to him.
I don't believe that. One person personally told me that she was offered a seat on the DSCC if she would support Whittington's re-election. The offer came from a sitting member of the LDP executive committee who lives in the same House district as this woman. I don't believe this offer has been the exception; I believe it has been the rule.
The "not packing" argument also misses the point by a mile.
The point is that for the past four months, as Whittington has been assembling this list of hand-picked potential DSCC members, he and his camp have been the only parties to the LDP election that have access to the names on that list. Other candidates for chair (as well as other offices) were denied access to that pool of voters.
These are not the acts of a person interested in conducting a fair election. These are the acts of a person determined to use any means necessary -- legitimate or otherwise -- in order to hold power. One can only wish he'd used as much imagination and creativity against Republicans last year that he's using against fellow Democrats in this race.
This goes to the heart of the ability of the LDP to conduct an open and fair election. The 27 people Whittington wants to appoint constitute a captive constituency who have not been exposed to or heard from the other candidates for chairman in the race. Those people constitute almost 16 percent of the total of the DSCC and, if allowed to vote, would constitute almost 14 percent of all votes cast.
This is more than enough votes to change the outcome of this closely contested election.
BACKGROUND
To understand what Whittington is attempting, one must go back to December of 2007 when Democrats across the state filed to run for seats on the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC). Theoretically, the DSCC is governing body of the LDP. It has 210 seats (two for every House district in the Louisiana Legislature; one seat for a male, one seat for a female).
When qualifying ended in December, there were 41 seats for which no one had submitted qualifying papers and fees.
With the party coming off a disastrous round of state elections in which we lost the governor's office, the secretary of state, the commissioner of insurance, and the commissioner of agriculture and forestry, dissatisfaction with Whittington's performance was running high (and still does).
The race for chairman has turned into a hotly contested six-candidate field, with Whittington trying to fend off challenges from Paul Aucoin (running with the support of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, Congressman Charles Melancon, and Lt. Gov. Mitchell Landrieu), Opelousas Mayor Donald Cravins Sr., Larry Ferdinand, William Sumlin, and Dr. Steve Kirkikis. I've endorsed Mayor Cravins.
It is widely believed within the party that Aucoin and Cravins have the votes to force a run-off that might not include Whittington. That belief, though, is based on the idea that there are 169 eligible voters who will cast their ballots when the DSCC meets this Saturday in Baton Rouge.
Questions arose about how those 41 vacancies would be filled shortly after the end of the December qualifying period. One party officer assured me personally and others publicly that, according to the state party by-laws, the vacancies could not be filled until after the election of the new slate of officers.
That view is based on Article I, Section 9 of the Party By-laws, which reads:
Section 9 - Election of Officers
At the first meeting following the election of new members of the Democratic State Central Committee, the newly-elected members shall elect officers for the Party in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code and the Louisiana Democratic Party Constitution. (Emphasis added.)
Under this rule, only the DSCC members who qualified for office but were unopposed or who won election to the DSCC in the February 9 election could vote on the new slate of officers, including the chairman.
But, Whittington and his coterie of lawyers cite Article I, Section 4 of the by-laws that call for the chairman to fill vacancies as soon as possible after they occur. That section reads:
Section 4 - VacanciesThese two sections provide some ambiguity as to the proper course for seating new members, but for Whittington to act unilaterally and with such stealth are what call his motives into question and raise questions about his suitability for office.
A. A vacancy occurs in the membership of the Democratic State Central Committee when a member dies, resigns, no longer meets the qualifications for membership on the Committee, or no one qualifies and is elected to succeed a member whose four-year term has expired.
B. In the case of a vacancy on the Democratic State Central Committee, the Chairperson of the Democratic State Central Committee shall appoint a member to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term subject to the approval of a majority of the membership of the Democratic State Central Committee in attendance at a legally constituted meeting. The person(s) appointed must meet the guidelines provided in the Louisiana Democratic Party Constitution for membership on the Democratic State Central Committee and shall be required to pay a filing fee equal to the Party fee assessed by the Parish Clerk of Court as set forth in La. Rev. Stat. Title 18:464. Such filing fee shall be shared equally between the Democratic State Central Committee and the Parish Executive Committee from where the appointed member resides. All persons appointed may serve as temporary members until ratified at the first order of business by a majority vote of the Democratic State Central Committee.
FAIRNESS & TRANSPARENCY DENIED
The issue is that Whittington has concealed the list of appointments and, thus, denied his competitors access to voters who will decide his own fate as party chair. He has denied his competitors — and the party — the benefit of a fairly contested election.
The official response of Whittington and his backers is that "everyone who's been on the committee for a while knows that this is how we handle these matters." Whittington's supporters like to portray him as something of a reformer in the party. But, replacing one club with the members of another club is not reform. It is a coup.
What this party needs is open and transparent processes, which generate trust and confidence among its members. Whittington's attempt to manipulate this election ignore that need and, in fact, will do great damage to the members' confidence in the party and its leaders.
His acts fail the test of transparency and fairness necessary to bestow legitimacy on the results of any election.
If these heretofore-secret DSCC members are allowed to vote, the outcome will be tainted because of the way Whittington restricted access to this pool of potential voters. Imagine being a candidate for a district office and finding out four days before the election that the district boundaries have been expanded by your opponent to increase the size of the district by 16 percent.
This tactic would not pass the standards that international election observers use in second and third world countries where they certify the fairness of elections there. It should not be good enough for the LDP.
By this brazen attempt to steal the election of LDP offices, Chris Whittington has proven that he is not worthy to hold the seat he so desperately wants to keep. It is a clear demonstration that he does not care about the fate of the party; that his sole concern is his own grip on power.
Does he really believe he would have a chairmanship worth having -- one considered legitimate in the eyes of party members -- if he goes through with his plan to manipulate this election?
CONTEMPTIBLE
Whittington's ploy demonstrates wide-ranging contempt for the our party, its members and its traditions.
Whittington shows contempt for Democratic National Committee, which in every national election deploys a phalanx of attorneys as part of its election integrity project to ensure that elections are carried out in a fair and transparent manner across the country.
Whittington's brazen attempt to manipulate this election would not pass the DNC's basic test for fairness. To hear him talk about his commitment to "seeing through to completion" projects started by the DNC and then to try to subvert this election is nauseating.
Chris Whittington has demonstrated contempt for the state party at multiple levels. He has demonstrated contempt for:
- the state party election process by denying a level playing field for all candidates;
- the members of the DSCC by not providing them a clear set of rules as to how those vacancies will be filled and how this election will be conducted; and
- all Democrats who took part in the party elections in February in the belief that they were taking part in a meaningful process that could produce a more vibrant party.
ETHICALLY UNFIT TO SERVE
On an earlier occasion, I said that my opposition to Whittington was not personal, that it was based on the quality of leadership he had not provided the party during his tenure. This changes that.
It is personal now.
Chris Whittington's attempt to steal this election provides conclusive proof that he is not ethically fit to serve as chairman of this party.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Donald Cravins, Sr., for LDP Chair
In order to be able to seize an opportunity, one must first recognize it.
The Louisiana Democratic Party, just a few months away from a pretty dismal showing in statewide elections, has before it the opportunity to re-invent and re-invigorate itself this year thanks to developments in national party politics to which Louisiana Democrats have already contributed significantly.
The opportunity is not only to re-elect our senior United States Senator and retain our two congressional seats, but to take at least two more congressional seats away from Republicans and place Louisiana firmly back in the Democratic column where it belongs.
In order to seize those opportunities, we cannot play defense. Democrats must be on the offensive, using what will likely be a highly energized party base — with Barack Obama as the national party standard bearer — to re-establish Democratic control of our congressional delegation and to lay the ground work for retaking control of state government in the elections of 2011.
Why We Have Fallen
Louisiana Democrats don't need another voter registration program. What we need is a party and candidates that address and respond effectively to the needs of our core coalition. That coalition is the historic Democratic coalition of African Americans, women and wage earners that dominated Louisiana politics in the last half of the 20th Century.
We must become again the party that stands up for the interests of the men and women who, as Bill Clinton famously put it, "get up every day, go to work and play by the rules." Too often in recent years, Democratic candidates have tried to pass themselves off as "Republican-lite," running campaigns calculated to make them look like Republicans. That might have worked during the open primary days, but the days of that system have already ended in federal elections and are probably numbered at the state level as well.
Party matters. Principle matters. Stand for something or fall for anything. Too often of late, Democrats have been unwilling or unable to say what it is they stand for. "Winning elections" is not an answer to that question; in fact, as we've seen, if this is the answer given the likelihood of actually winning goes down.
Democrats believe that there must be social justice if there is to be social peace.
We believe in the right to a decent living in exchange for work. We believe in the fundamental dignity of our fellow citizens; that every American and every Louisianan has rights and duties as citizens and that it is the availability of those rights and our acceptance of those duties that constitutes the fundamental exchange upon which our success as a country has been and must be built.
We believe that every citizen has the right to a good education that will enable each of us to fully develop the talents that we have inherent in us.
We believe that every citizen has the right to affordable healthcare regardless of their ability to pay.
We believe that we are stewards of this earth and that a fair measure of the value of that stewardship is the quality of the world we turn over to our children and future generations. That means we must care for the environment, but also take care that our social and civic institutions, our communities, and our government nourish and enrich our culture so that the better angels of our being can be called forth to meet the challenges of the day.
We believe in the audacity of hope.
This Great Struggle
We are all participants in a great struggle between freedom and oppression, fear and hope, generosity and greed that is taking place across the planet. The struggle is not new. It has been going on for as long as people have been on this earth.
It is, perhaps, more sharply drawn on the national level where a string of Democratic candidates for president have articulated platforms and programs that have had the unifying trait of being fundamentally optimistic and appealing to America's steadfast hope for the future.
That hope has trickled down into Louisiana. It inspired record turnout in the February presidential preference primary. And that hope is coiling like a might spring waiting to be unleashed to send America bounding on a new course and the challenge facing Louisiana Democrats today is to capture the energy that has been unleashed here, yes, to win elections — but not only just to win elections!
The opportunity that Louisiana Democrats have today is to capture that coiled energy that is fired by candidates at the national level and focus enough of it inward into Louisiana so that we can remake our party and, in the process, our state.
Louisiana Democrats lose elections when they don't give voters compelling reasons to vote for them; when they don't inspire voters; when they don't draw sharp enough distinctions between themselves and their Republican opposition.
If Louisiana Democrats are going to tap the energy that these national campaigns have injected into our core constituencies, our party must align itself with the issues, interests, and themes that have fired that energy and hope.
We must return to being the party of the people. We must regain the understanding that well-financed campaigns devoid of principles produce candidates who don't stir the base and who don't inspire voter loyalty.
I'm not saying that money is not important. Money is essential to successful campaigns. But, what this historic moment fired by inspirational candidates focused on messages of change presents Louisiana Democrats, is the opportunity to remake our party in the image of the most successful of these campaigns — a tech-savvy party built on the passion of grassroots activists, fueled by small but steady donors and by heavy hitting contributors.
This is the model Howard Dean's campaign created in 2004. It's the model he's taken to the Democratic National Committee. It's the model that Democrats across the country used to win 'un-winnable' congressional elections in 2006. And, it's the model upon which the Obama and John Edwards campaigns employed successfully this election cycle.
The Leader We Need
Louisiana Democrats need a leader who is a match for the times; who recognizes the historic opportunity before us; and who is up to the challenge that we now confront.
The 2007 statewide elections marked the end of several political eras in Louisiana with the retirement (forced and otherwise) of a number of long-time Democratic leaders. A new generation of Democratic leaders is set to emerge; leaders unburdened by the past failures (perceived or real) of previous Democratic leaders. These new leaders deserve — and will need — a new Democratic Party that can work with them to advance the Democratic agenda.
In order to do this, the party needs new leadership, committed to a new business model for the party. One that will operate it as a party and not a club. A party open to activists and donors alike. The party needs a leader committed to bringing the activist base and the big donor base — "the streets" and "the suites" — together into a single, unified, powerful organization.
We need a leader with the experience and insight to see the big picture and grasp the significant detail. We need a leader who is both tough and smart who sees the potential of this party and who is committed to turning that potential into reality.
I believe we need Donald Cravins, Sr., to be the chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Why Donald Cravins Sr.?
Donald Cravins, Sr., is nobody's fool.
He's served in the Legislature in both the House and the Senate, and is now serving his first term as mayor of the City of Opelousas. He was in the insurance business for a number of years, running agencies that bore his name in Opelousas and Lafayette. His son Donald Jr. now serves in the Louisiana Senate.
Throughout his career, Donald Cravins has always run grassroots campaigns. He has built campaigns from the bottom up and, in the process, cultivated new leaders who have now emerged onto the scene in St. Landry and Lafayette parishes.
He's a fighter who doesn't like to lose. He's got a keen sense for strategy and tactics.
He knows Louisiana politics from a position that only a few do — as a candidate and as an officeholder.
Donald Cravins was not looking to run for this seat. The opportunity came to him.
I had lunch with his brother Charles several weeks ago in Opelousas. I had requested the meeting because I felt that there was something missing the conversations then taking place about the chairmanship. What was missing were the voices of Louisiana's African American political leaders. I got to know Charles a bit during my 2006 congressional race.
At that lunch meeting in Opelousas, I explained to Charles what — to me — appeared to be missing in the conversation about the chairmanship. We discussed the just-passed presidential primary, the coming federal elections and the possibilities that the fall election presented to Democrats.
I explained my view that I believed the party was faced with a poor choice for chairmanship because the major candidates were essentially a replay of the election that took place two years ago. In my view, that re-run quality ignored the work that many Democratic activists have done in and for the party since that earlier election.
Charles asked me if I was interested in the job. I told him that some people had discussed it with me but that I was a realist and recognized that a successful candidate would have to have more standing in the party than I have.
He then asked me, "Is this a job that you think Donald could do?"
And it hit me. Not only is this a job that Donald Cravins could do — he is the ideal person for the job!
Charles talked with the mayor about the job and told me later that day that Donald was willing to have his name mentioned as a potential candidate.
The response has been both as I expected and surprising. It has been as I expected in that I sensed from conversations that the re-run of the race two years ago is not a race for chairman that has inspired much passion or excitement. The surprising part has been the truly enthusiastic response so many people have given when we've discussed the idea.
Hope and Fear
As a Democrat, my hope has been that our state party would eventually recognize the need to return to its principles and to change its business model in order to capture the energy and passion that grassroots activists have brought to Democratic campaigns in other parts of the country and to the national party itself.
I believe that Donald Cravins, Sr., is the person who can lead this transformation now. He will bring to the chairmanship the necessary sense of urgency that can enable Louisiana Democrats to tap the energy that the national campaign has and this can turn what could have been a long and arduous process into a speedy transformation.
He is the right man for the job at this moment in our party's history.
I know that there are Democrats out there who are scared by the idea of Donald Cravins becoming the head of the party. They need not be. The party is in desperate need of Donald's bluntness, knowledge and political skill right now. Those are the skills that will be needed to orchestrate what can be the highest turnout election in Louisiana since the Edwards/Duke race into Democratic victories for Senator Landrieu, Congressmen Melancon and Jefferson, as well as new victories in the Fourth, Sixth, and possibly other districts in our state.
I predict that in the next few weeks the fears of those Democrats will dissipate as they see the impact Donald's leadership will have on the party.
I predict, however, that in the next few months a new group will come to fear Donald's leadership. These people are Republicans. They will fear Donald's leadership because they will recognize that their days of being the only truly organized political party in Louisiana are over.
The election of no other candidate for party chair can inspire even the mildest discomfort among Republicans.
Our party leadership should reflect the party's make up. African American voters constitute 46 percent of registered Democrats in this state and they usually constitute a higher percentage of Democratic votes than that. They are the core constituency of this party. White Democrats need to get comfortable with that fact and get comfortable with the fact that the party's leadership must do more than just pay lip service at election time to that constituency.
We are approaching a historic moment in American politics. If we are smart enough and tough enough, Louisiana Democrats can be part of that historic moment and write some history of our own.
The opportunity is there. Donald Cravins recognizes. He is up to the task. The question for the rest of Louisiana Democrats is this: Are we up to it?
If we are, then Donald Cravins is the man to lead us.
The Louisiana Democratic Party, just a few months away from a pretty dismal showing in statewide elections, has before it the opportunity to re-invent and re-invigorate itself this year thanks to developments in national party politics to which Louisiana Democrats have already contributed significantly.
The opportunity is not only to re-elect our senior United States Senator and retain our two congressional seats, but to take at least two more congressional seats away from Republicans and place Louisiana firmly back in the Democratic column where it belongs.
In order to seize those opportunities, we cannot play defense. Democrats must be on the offensive, using what will likely be a highly energized party base — with Barack Obama as the national party standard bearer — to re-establish Democratic control of our congressional delegation and to lay the ground work for retaking control of state government in the elections of 2011.
Why We Have Fallen
Louisiana Democrats don't need another voter registration program. What we need is a party and candidates that address and respond effectively to the needs of our core coalition. That coalition is the historic Democratic coalition of African Americans, women and wage earners that dominated Louisiana politics in the last half of the 20th Century.
We must become again the party that stands up for the interests of the men and women who, as Bill Clinton famously put it, "get up every day, go to work and play by the rules." Too often in recent years, Democratic candidates have tried to pass themselves off as "Republican-lite," running campaigns calculated to make them look like Republicans. That might have worked during the open primary days, but the days of that system have already ended in federal elections and are probably numbered at the state level as well.
Party matters. Principle matters. Stand for something or fall for anything. Too often of late, Democrats have been unwilling or unable to say what it is they stand for. "Winning elections" is not an answer to that question; in fact, as we've seen, if this is the answer given the likelihood of actually winning goes down.
Democrats believe that there must be social justice if there is to be social peace.
We believe in the right to a decent living in exchange for work. We believe in the fundamental dignity of our fellow citizens; that every American and every Louisianan has rights and duties as citizens and that it is the availability of those rights and our acceptance of those duties that constitutes the fundamental exchange upon which our success as a country has been and must be built.
We believe that every citizen has the right to a good education that will enable each of us to fully develop the talents that we have inherent in us.
We believe that every citizen has the right to affordable healthcare regardless of their ability to pay.
We believe that we are stewards of this earth and that a fair measure of the value of that stewardship is the quality of the world we turn over to our children and future generations. That means we must care for the environment, but also take care that our social and civic institutions, our communities, and our government nourish and enrich our culture so that the better angels of our being can be called forth to meet the challenges of the day.
We believe in the audacity of hope.
This Great Struggle
We are all participants in a great struggle between freedom and oppression, fear and hope, generosity and greed that is taking place across the planet. The struggle is not new. It has been going on for as long as people have been on this earth.
It is, perhaps, more sharply drawn on the national level where a string of Democratic candidates for president have articulated platforms and programs that have had the unifying trait of being fundamentally optimistic and appealing to America's steadfast hope for the future.
That hope has trickled down into Louisiana. It inspired record turnout in the February presidential preference primary. And that hope is coiling like a might spring waiting to be unleashed to send America bounding on a new course and the challenge facing Louisiana Democrats today is to capture the energy that has been unleashed here, yes, to win elections — but not only just to win elections!
The opportunity that Louisiana Democrats have today is to capture that coiled energy that is fired by candidates at the national level and focus enough of it inward into Louisiana so that we can remake our party and, in the process, our state.
Louisiana Democrats lose elections when they don't give voters compelling reasons to vote for them; when they don't inspire voters; when they don't draw sharp enough distinctions between themselves and their Republican opposition.
If Louisiana Democrats are going to tap the energy that these national campaigns have injected into our core constituencies, our party must align itself with the issues, interests, and themes that have fired that energy and hope.
We must return to being the party of the people. We must regain the understanding that well-financed campaigns devoid of principles produce candidates who don't stir the base and who don't inspire voter loyalty.
I'm not saying that money is not important. Money is essential to successful campaigns. But, what this historic moment fired by inspirational candidates focused on messages of change presents Louisiana Democrats, is the opportunity to remake our party in the image of the most successful of these campaigns — a tech-savvy party built on the passion of grassroots activists, fueled by small but steady donors and by heavy hitting contributors.
This is the model Howard Dean's campaign created in 2004. It's the model he's taken to the Democratic National Committee. It's the model that Democrats across the country used to win 'un-winnable' congressional elections in 2006. And, it's the model upon which the Obama and John Edwards campaigns employed successfully this election cycle.
The Leader We Need
Louisiana Democrats need a leader who is a match for the times; who recognizes the historic opportunity before us; and who is up to the challenge that we now confront.
The 2007 statewide elections marked the end of several political eras in Louisiana with the retirement (forced and otherwise) of a number of long-time Democratic leaders. A new generation of Democratic leaders is set to emerge; leaders unburdened by the past failures (perceived or real) of previous Democratic leaders. These new leaders deserve — and will need — a new Democratic Party that can work with them to advance the Democratic agenda.
In order to do this, the party needs new leadership, committed to a new business model for the party. One that will operate it as a party and not a club. A party open to activists and donors alike. The party needs a leader committed to bringing the activist base and the big donor base — "the streets" and "the suites" — together into a single, unified, powerful organization.
We need a leader with the experience and insight to see the big picture and grasp the significant detail. We need a leader who is both tough and smart who sees the potential of this party and who is committed to turning that potential into reality.
I believe we need Donald Cravins, Sr., to be the chairman of the Louisiana Democratic Party.
Why Donald Cravins Sr.?
Donald Cravins, Sr., is nobody's fool.
He's served in the Legislature in both the House and the Senate, and is now serving his first term as mayor of the City of Opelousas. He was in the insurance business for a number of years, running agencies that bore his name in Opelousas and Lafayette. His son Donald Jr. now serves in the Louisiana Senate.
Throughout his career, Donald Cravins has always run grassroots campaigns. He has built campaigns from the bottom up and, in the process, cultivated new leaders who have now emerged onto the scene in St. Landry and Lafayette parishes.
He's a fighter who doesn't like to lose. He's got a keen sense for strategy and tactics.
He knows Louisiana politics from a position that only a few do — as a candidate and as an officeholder.
Donald Cravins was not looking to run for this seat. The opportunity came to him.
I had lunch with his brother Charles several weeks ago in Opelousas. I had requested the meeting because I felt that there was something missing the conversations then taking place about the chairmanship. What was missing were the voices of Louisiana's African American political leaders. I got to know Charles a bit during my 2006 congressional race.
At that lunch meeting in Opelousas, I explained to Charles what — to me — appeared to be missing in the conversation about the chairmanship. We discussed the just-passed presidential primary, the coming federal elections and the possibilities that the fall election presented to Democrats.
I explained my view that I believed the party was faced with a poor choice for chairmanship because the major candidates were essentially a replay of the election that took place two years ago. In my view, that re-run quality ignored the work that many Democratic activists have done in and for the party since that earlier election.
Charles asked me if I was interested in the job. I told him that some people had discussed it with me but that I was a realist and recognized that a successful candidate would have to have more standing in the party than I have.
He then asked me, "Is this a job that you think Donald could do?"
And it hit me. Not only is this a job that Donald Cravins could do — he is the ideal person for the job!
Charles talked with the mayor about the job and told me later that day that Donald was willing to have his name mentioned as a potential candidate.
The response has been both as I expected and surprising. It has been as I expected in that I sensed from conversations that the re-run of the race two years ago is not a race for chairman that has inspired much passion or excitement. The surprising part has been the truly enthusiastic response so many people have given when we've discussed the idea.
Hope and Fear
As a Democrat, my hope has been that our state party would eventually recognize the need to return to its principles and to change its business model in order to capture the energy and passion that grassroots activists have brought to Democratic campaigns in other parts of the country and to the national party itself.
I believe that Donald Cravins, Sr., is the person who can lead this transformation now. He will bring to the chairmanship the necessary sense of urgency that can enable Louisiana Democrats to tap the energy that the national campaign has and this can turn what could have been a long and arduous process into a speedy transformation.
He is the right man for the job at this moment in our party's history.
I know that there are Democrats out there who are scared by the idea of Donald Cravins becoming the head of the party. They need not be. The party is in desperate need of Donald's bluntness, knowledge and political skill right now. Those are the skills that will be needed to orchestrate what can be the highest turnout election in Louisiana since the Edwards/Duke race into Democratic victories for Senator Landrieu, Congressmen Melancon and Jefferson, as well as new victories in the Fourth, Sixth, and possibly other districts in our state.
I predict that in the next few weeks the fears of those Democrats will dissipate as they see the impact Donald's leadership will have on the party.
I predict, however, that in the next few months a new group will come to fear Donald's leadership. These people are Republicans. They will fear Donald's leadership because they will recognize that their days of being the only truly organized political party in Louisiana are over.
The election of no other candidate for party chair can inspire even the mildest discomfort among Republicans.
Our party leadership should reflect the party's make up. African American voters constitute 46 percent of registered Democrats in this state and they usually constitute a higher percentage of Democratic votes than that. They are the core constituency of this party. White Democrats need to get comfortable with that fact and get comfortable with the fact that the party's leadership must do more than just pay lip service at election time to that constituency.
We are approaching a historic moment in American politics. If we are smart enough and tough enough, Louisiana Democrats can be part of that historic moment and write some history of our own.
The opportunity is there. Donald Cravins recognizes. He is up to the task. The question for the rest of Louisiana Democrats is this: Are we up to it?
If we are, then Donald Cravins is the man to lead us.
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