Democratic Party Dinner a Triumph
It was a grand night at The Grand for America's oldest continuous political party and their Floyd County adherents. A happier bunch I've never seen as everyone involved seemed to be on the same page.
Baron Hill, our member of Congress until this year, made it very clear that he intends to reclaim that seat for the Democrats. Few House seats generate $4 million in outside funding, but the GOP elected to pour that much into the Ninth District to help take the seat away from the Democratic Party. Hill reports that, somewhat to his surprise, the Democrats aren't disillusioned by the loss, but energized, and that the party will reclaim its rightful stewardship of the Congressional office.
In his first real public exposure, county chairman Randy Stumler was appealing, even endearing, in what turned out to be a highly motivating lovefest.
With the national Republican party imploding and the local Republican party still rudderless, there is great cause for optimism as we approach the 2006 national and local county elections.
CM Donnie Blevins was his usual taciturn self, joining two groups of Hurricane Katrina evacuees at Mayor James Garner's front row table.
For the record, this observer noted not one moment of discord or dispute, even among intraparty opponents. The celebration of the legacy of FDR was the centerpiece, and the party was one in reasserting its principles. Thanks go out to Judge Joe Weber for his masterful recap of the Roosevelt philosophy.
Perhaps embarrassed to show their faces after their performance during 2005, the Gang of Four, all putative Democrats, elected to show their back ends to a party that's more than ready to leave them behind. Go ahead and make that party switch, guys. I'm sure there's nothing Franklin Delano Roosevelt can teach you. After all, "we've nothing to fear but fear itself" is a slogan completely at odds with your style of politics.
CM Jack Messer and his lovely wife were a big hit, drawing praise from all quarters for his fearless stance against the obstructionist Gang of Four during the past 12 months. County Council President Ted Heavrin exhibited an esprit de corps seldom seen and spent most of the evening with a smile on his face. And the ever gracious New Albany Township Trustee added to the spirit of the evening.
The new party central committee pulled off a great event, mixing new blood with all the active stalwarts Floyd County has come to know and love.
Great job, Randy, Marcey, Tony, Adam and all the organizing committee. You put together a stirring program that bodes well for the future of the party.
And we would be remiss if we did not give kudos to Steve and Bill Lohmeier for their inspiring rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," modified to represent the true spirit of Guthrie.
Baron Hill, our member of Congress until this year, made it very clear that he intends to reclaim that seat for the Democrats. Few House seats generate $4 million in outside funding, but the GOP elected to pour that much into the Ninth District to help take the seat away from the Democratic Party. Hill reports that, somewhat to his surprise, the Democrats aren't disillusioned by the loss, but energized, and that the party will reclaim its rightful stewardship of the Congressional office.
In his first real public exposure, county chairman Randy Stumler was appealing, even endearing, in what turned out to be a highly motivating lovefest.
With the national Republican party imploding and the local Republican party still rudderless, there is great cause for optimism as we approach the 2006 national and local county elections.
CM Donnie Blevins was his usual taciturn self, joining two groups of Hurricane Katrina evacuees at Mayor James Garner's front row table.
For the record, this observer noted not one moment of discord or dispute, even among intraparty opponents. The celebration of the legacy of FDR was the centerpiece, and the party was one in reasserting its principles. Thanks go out to Judge Joe Weber for his masterful recap of the Roosevelt philosophy.
Perhaps embarrassed to show their faces after their performance during 2005, the Gang of Four, all putative Democrats, elected to show their back ends to a party that's more than ready to leave them behind. Go ahead and make that party switch, guys. I'm sure there's nothing Franklin Delano Roosevelt can teach you. After all, "we've nothing to fear but fear itself" is a slogan completely at odds with your style of politics.
CM Jack Messer and his lovely wife were a big hit, drawing praise from all quarters for his fearless stance against the obstructionist Gang of Four during the past 12 months. County Council President Ted Heavrin exhibited an esprit de corps seldom seen and spent most of the evening with a smile on his face. And the ever gracious New Albany Township Trustee added to the spirit of the evening.
The new party central committee pulled off a great event, mixing new blood with all the active stalwarts Floyd County has come to know and love.
Great job, Randy, Marcey, Tony, Adam and all the organizing committee. You put together a stirring program that bodes well for the future of the party.
And we would be remiss if we did not give kudos to Steve and Bill Lohmeier for their inspiring rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," modified to represent the true spirit of Guthrie.
posted by All4Word at 12:07 AM
8 Comments:
Puke away! I was there. Where were you? Let's examine Baron's voting record - progressive or not? Since you weren't there, tell me who was and who wasn't there.
Last nights dinner was a huge success, and to Old Mrs. Smith, if the four horsemen of the apocalypse had shown with their posse there would have been no place for them to sit. The Grand was SRO for this event.
This was my first time attending such an event, the wife and I enjoyed the company at our table. The food was very good, and speakers were even better. Randy Stumler did a fine job of emceeing, and the key note speaker was very energetic. I to, was impressed by the party uniformity, the direction of the party as well as the challenges it faces in up coming elections.
Jim and Roger, after hearing Baron Hill speak; I may just have to change my mind about him. I have a year to make up my mind.
Rick, I didn't mean to give you a hard time about the Hill anecdote you shared. Votes are all about conscience, and each of us have one (a vote, and a conscience).
I, too, was impressed by the people who were there.
And heartened by those who were not.
Old Mrs. Smith said:
My party is fine, sir; you, sir, are not.
OMS, my blog is fine, and your anonymity is not. See NA Confidential, and please comply with our comments policy if you intend to continue posting there.
Thanks.
Dear Mrs. S,
My great-great grandfather ran for the state legislature as a Democrat from New Albany. Perhaps you knew him? That would have been in the 1880’s, I believe.
My family has been around New Albany for 170 or so years and during that time various family members have been active in politics as both Democrats and Republicans, and oddly enough, an evidently short-lived local party called, if I remember correctly, the Calico party.
It is certainly true that I am new to being an activist and the dinner last night was the first Democratic Party function that I have ever attended.
One of the most striking things that I noticed last night was the age of the attendees. You think those of us who are pushing 50 are young! Old Mrs. Smith, your party is not fine. It looks a lot like a dying organization.
Unfortunately for you and your goals, the Democratic Party has some underlying values that are pertinent today and actually appeal to a progressive demographic. Some much-needed new blood seems to have been attracted to the organization. Looks like it could be the beginning of some renewed interest local politics.
Maybe your party is dying or maybe it is changing. Old Mrs. S, maybe you will live long enough to kill your party. Maybe you have already lost the reins to a new generation. And if you really want to make this an age thing, those who want positive change for New Albany will probably outlive you.
And one more thing, Old Mrs. S, I think you are correct that the Floyd County Democrats have acquired the reputation of being a bunch of drunks. You seem to be proud of that but it is really nothing to be proud of.
You can just call me Young Mrs. Smith
I'm still trying to figure out what there is to be learned from a group that's been largely unsuccessful for decades. After a year, I still have no idea what positive notions I'm supposed to glean from petty, ill-conceived and badly executed attacks on rationality. If anything, they've proven themselves to be informative as a sort of collective anachronism, a symbolic view into the darker past that created the conditions many are now working to reverse.
They aren't Rosa Parks. They're the bus.
There are any number of people who've done more to improve conditions in New Albany in a year or two than have any of the usual cast of malcontents in a lifetime.
To clarify, that statement isn't made to discourage or disenfranchise those in (or outside) the party who've dedicated years of honest work to New Albany's improvement. In fact, it should serve to bolster their spirits and provide inspiration for redoubled efforts.
The days of feigning happiness and forcing smiles when a Dan Coffey or Larry Kochert wins an election, purely out of a sense of loyalty to the party, are coming to a distasteful but inevitable end. As their public lives haven't afforded much respect for or understanding of the concepts of grace or dignity, neither should their political deaths be expected to engender such traits. Dead, however, is dead.
According to almost all the longtime party members with whom I spoke last night, the dinner was a success not only because of the notable and not-so-notable absences but also because the speakers enjoyed a view that included so many new faces.
Whether party leadership has the gumption to engage the minds behind those faces and harness their energy to further enable the work of those who are actually creating progress in the streets everyday remains to be seen. To the extent that they do, I'll support them.
Because after the aforementioned year (the timeframe of which not at all coincidentally dovetails with the opening of Destinations, the debut of NA Confidential, the continued strengthening of the East Spring Street and S. Ellen Jones neighborhood associations, the revival of the Downtown Merchants Association, the work of Mike Kopp, and the finalization of plans for Scribner Place), this is what I know:
There is a growing network of people and institutions that openly and enthusiastically invite positive change and progress to our city. It was evident when my wife and I began looking for a home here. It is evident in our own efforts to communicate our belief in the potential of New Albany to others.
Most people I've met in the past year are not only willing to put forth an invitation to new residents and businesses, but also to do the leg work necessary to nurture and sustain their presence here. And make no mistake, that sense of pride and potential is spreading exponentially.
I know people who've convinced families and businesses to move here. I know those families and businesses are extolling the benefits of their choice to others just like them. And I know those people aren't just from Jeffersonville, Clarksville or Louisville. They're from Rhode Island, New York, California, Florida and foreign countries. Even the natives are beginning to see what's so clearly evident to those from elsewhere: New Albany, with its pioneering, multicultural heritage and regionally unparalleled historic resources, if matched with even a modicum of modern sensibility and cooperative vision, can regain its long lost position of being a place that matters.
The fear that “foreign” proposition creates in some is an aberration, a minor annoyance along the path to progress and should be dealt with as such. It's simply no match for the determination and talent of those who can do, are doing, and will do, whether out of a duty to their ancestry or a love of possibilities.
This is evidenced by the fact that, when I have occasion to help facilitate or participate in increasingly popular public affairs symposiums, neighborhood gatherings, educational activities, and various other meetings with investors, bankers, property owners, academics, and real estate and cultural agents- all with the aim and often the resources to turn that potential into a tangible, concrete reality- the nay sayers are not present. Ever. Revitalization efforts are occurring in spite of them, not because of them.
And for that, I say to hell with them. They're irrelevant.
What is relevant is a continuing and increased cooperation between agencies and individuals, between money and ideas, and an overriding, pervasive DIY spirit. New Albany doesn't need heroes; it needs partnerships and at least one partner stares back at each of us in the mirror everyday.
If you have money to spend, spend it here. If you have an old pick up truck, help haul your neighbor's repair supplies. If you have a building department to rebuild, rebuild it straightaway.
The horn has been tooted, ladies and gentlemen. Now it's time to bring the instruments together to play a song.
Bluegill, good stuff.
I shall elevate your essay to the NAC marquee, assuming you have no objections.
If it gives a trog heartburn ... well, you know my mission ...
I agree. It has taken guts for you to speak openly, and a certain segment of the community will never give you credit for it.
However, I will.
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