For the Democratic Party to rise from the ashes of our 2024 electoral defeats, we must take a sober, and quite sobering, look at how we got to where we are.
In essence the DNC has failed Democratic voters, losing power to one of the most dangerous actors to ever appear on the American political scene. In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “These are not ordinary times.” And ordinary politics is an inadequate response to them.
As a small businesswoman, I come from outside politics. And I assure you, the results Democrats have been getting would not be tolerated in business or any other field of endeavor.
That’s why my plan is to transform the DNC, in order to achieve the goal we all agree must be met: to win for Democrats.
Political insiders running of DNC Chair are offering variations of the status quo. In certain cases, they represent an improvement on that status quo - but not a transformation of the basic paradigm that has led to such substantial loss.
I am offering something new: a DNC coordinated in mission, message, and in operations. A DNC that exudes the energy of an entirely new beginning. A DNC that is up to the task of taking on Donald Trump and the kind of governance he represents.
Here is my plan…
EVERY VOTER 365 DAYS A YEAR STRATEGY
1. Resource the States
We don’t win elections in Washington DC; we win them on the ground, where our voters live. Our state parties are currently understaffed, under resourced, and under the radar. With my leadership, an entirely new relationship will begin with state parties, including a fundamentally higher share of money and decision-making power with myself and the Executive Committee.
2. Invest BIG into new Democrat alternative media NOW
Our media outreach must begin immediately, telling a continuous, running story of what Democrats are doing all over the country to improve people’s lives. On every platform, wherever people are conversing.
This is a far better investment than spending hundreds of millions of dollars on ads three weeks before a Presidential election.
3. Localize
It is now well known that a handful of wealthy consultants win DNC contracts – making money even when Democrats are losing. Some of them even hold key decision-making positions within the organization.
With my leadership, these conflicts of interest will end. Except for central data and organizational infrastructure, we will localize our DNC contracts and add the Democratic party footprint to local economies.
DNC consultants do not represent the entire nation, and judging from their past product they lack a feel for the geographic, socio-economic, and cultural variety of our electorate. We will add to local economies by investing where voters are. If we can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on TV ads that don’t even work, we can spend money on the people in state parties that do.
4. BIGGER Media
Media is no longer simply television. It’s on our phones, podcasts, and streams. And it’s not just our modes of communication that need an upgrade; it’s our communication itself.
The Democratic Party used to be thought of as people who were the most creative, free thinking, and up with what’s going on in the culture. Sadly, that is no longer necessarily true. We need to revisit the history of our Party, and the history of our country – retelling both stories in modern terms. We need to reengage the American people – and reengage ourselves – in why the values at the core of the Democratic Party are worth promoting and protecting.
Long form dialogue and in-depth ideas – not slogans and soundbites – are now the order of the day. People will hear us at the level of deep thought and soulfulness only when we are speaking from those depths within ourselves.
Democrats must learn how to show up, be seen and be heard - in everywhere from churches to bars to gyms to neighborhood associations. Even in arenas where we are talking to people who disagree with us, we must learn to make our case with honor and respect. We must be patient with the process, yet certain of our goal: to remind the American people that it is Democrats and the Democratic Party that will improve their lives in big and important ways.
5. YOUTH Power
Democrats show too little respect for young voters, particularly those who if spoken to with greater respect and concern for their interests might otherwise be attracted to our goals. The unspoken message to young Democrats that “We’re the grown-ups and we know what we’re doing here” has proven not only off-putting, but blatantly incorrect.
We have shown insufficient involvement with new ideas in the culture, technologically and intellectually. Our lack of authenticity has had a devastating effect on our relationship with young voters.
Those who have been the primary decision-makers at the DNC appear to have no deeper understanding of the economic anxiety of America’s younger generation. With my leadership, that will change.
Put quite simply, young Americans – particularly young Democrats - will inherit a lot of the mess we made. Showing some humility is in order. Under my leadership, young people who know how ideas are best communicated today, and what issues are most pressing to them, will have my ear on a continual basis. As I said to one young DNC member, “You guys are Woodward and Bernstein. Think of me as a mix of Ben Bradlee and Katherine Graham.”
6. Local Pride
As a native Texan, I’m aware that too much WashingtonSpeak is rankling to many Americans. People are nervous they’re losing their regional identities, creating a sense of displacement that’s triggered when politicians seem to have no idea what someone’s culture even is.
DNC staff and volunteers throughout the country will receive media and communications training, in addition to traditional political organizing. Our goal is for people in local communities to feel Democrats are aware of their needs and feelings, especially their fears for the future. Staff will be educated in what Democrats at all levels of government are doing to assuage those fears. No longer will voters be uninformed of great things that Democrats are doing. I will personally be engaged, every day, telling our story and making sure people are aware of what Democrats are doing to improve their lives.
No longer will the DNC focus primarily on the Presidential election cycle. Accumulated effects of things happening locally, at even the smallest community level, add up to a larger sense in people’s minds of who we are and what we’re doing. Whether it’s a community newspaper or a City Council or School Board seat, it will matter to me as much as a federal election. Such things are interrelated in people’s minds and must be interrelated in how we function.
7. ORGANIZATIONAL Accountability
To earn back trust, it is universally accepted that the DNC needs to become an organization of transparency.
If I am DNC Chair, our budget and expenditures will no longer be opaque, we will require seasonal audits of services rendered, and there will no longer be a conflict-of-interest culture allowing a handful of companies to receive an outsize amount of money and exert an outsize amount of influence. We will practice our principles of diversity and inclusion to diversify our partnerships and collaborators.
Anyone with an idea for how to make America and the world a more beautiful place, will get a chance for an appropriate interface with my office. My highest marker for success will be someone saying, “I met with her, and I could feel she heard me.”
8. PROJECT 2028
While Republicans have plans to cut back Medicare, roll back regulations, desecrate an already wounded planet and give the country over to billionaires, we Democrats have plans of our own.
Under my leadership, the DNC will be a spectacular megaphone for our ideas. We will claim a better future for all Americans and reverse engineer from there.
Everyone will know our plans: For every American to have quality healthcare. For Social Security to be expanded and strengthened. For every American to work for a living wage. For public universities and tech schools to be tuition free, allowing American minds to flourish. For our economy to become clean and green, creating millions of good paying jobs. For the planet to be repaired. For peace creation at home and abroad.
Unlike Republicans, we won’t be covert about our plans. We will shout them from the rooftops.
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My plan for a renewed DNC will not be easy to effectuate and will require the efforts of many people to accomplish. In order to succeed, we need a leader who inspires both common vision as well as confidence that the work can be and is being done.
My forty-year career qualifies me to renew the spirit as well as the functioning of the DNC. I look forward to working in tandem with the extraordinary talents that lay within the membership and staff of the DNC, as well as in our partners and allies around the country. Millions of people believe in our vision and believe in our mission.
This is not the time for fear, or for surrender. It’s time to get going. The hour is now.
Many thanks,
Marianne
Marianne never gives up the fight for a better tomorrow!
The electoral college is the biggest obstacle. It favors the GOP, reduces interest in the masses, and discourages voters from participating in non-swing states.