Change the Democratic Party

Dear Friends,

As a Democrat, I am determined to change the Democratic Party so that it reflects the values on which it was founded.  Starting around the time of Bill Clinton's presidency we moved away from focusing on helping those who lacked the power to help themselves, those who lacked the privilege to have an equal opportunity and those who were shunned by society.  In order to find our way back home, we need to change the leadership of the party.  One step in that direction is to support the candidacy of Keith Ellison to be the next chair of the DNC.

Keith was the first Muslim member of Congress and one of the few members of Congress to support Bernie Sanders.  He is a grassroots organizer and has been devoted to getting the vote out.  Keith has always espoused a strong economic populist message combined with progressive social stances.  Since he has always combined these positions, he is the perfect person to bring the party together. Here is a link to his website.

The Democratic establishment is against Keith's candidacy and have put forward current Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez.  The Obama White House is particularly pushing for Secretary Perez.  During the Obama presidency, Democrats have suffered unusually high losses in Congress and state legislatures.  From the Wall Street Journal (here):

But what’s distinctive about Mr. Obama’s presidency in this regard has been the magnitude of his party’s congressional losses. Democrats emerged from the 2008 elections with 256 House seats and 57 Senate seats. After this month’s elections, the Democrats are likely to have 188 House seats and 44 Senate seats (not including the two independents that caucus with Senate Democrats), according to Kyle Kondit, managing editor of Larry J. Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Altogether, that would represent a loss for Democrats of 68 House seats and 13 Senate seats since 2008. After six years in office, no other president in the past half-century has seen his party lose more than 50 House seats or more than a dozen Senate seats.

And this from The Hill (here):

The results cement a dubious legacy of Republican gains in state legislatures during President Obama’s tenure. Republicans gained more than 700 seats in the 2010 midterm elections and nearly 300 in the 2014 midterms as Obama’s approval ratings suffered. Democrats clawed back more than 100 seats in 2012, when Obama won reelection.
In total, Republicans control nearly 1,000 more legislative seats than they did when Obama took office. The Republican share of state legislative seats has grown from just under 44 percent in 2009 to 56 percent after Tuesday’s election.
After the latest losses, Democrats will hold just 42 percent of legislative seats in the nation.
Beginning next year, Republicans will control 67 of the 98 partisan legislative chambers, after winning new majorities in the Kentucky House, the Iowa Senate and the Minnesota Senate. Democrats picked up control of both the state Assembly and Senate in Nevada, and the New Mexico state House.
Since Obama took office, Republicans have captured control of 27 state legislative chambers Democrats held after the 2008 elections. The GOP now controls the most legislative seats it has held since the founding of the party.

During the Obama presidency, the leadership of the Democratic Party has utterly failed in its major responsibility - winning elections.  Why would we want to continue with a leadership and a strategy that has failed so miserably?  The establishment of the Democratic Party has destroyed the Democratic Party and has let down our country and our world.  Please write your Democratic Representatives and Senators as well as other party leaders and demand change and the election of Keith Ellison as the next chair of the DNC.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal