Anyone who's signed up on the DNC website has probably gotten the email from Terry McCauliffe regarding feedback about the election to be sent to the party. But if not, here's the link
http://www.democrats.org/feedback/First of all, I vented about the primary system. That is, the system that allows a caucus and a tiny state to virtually choose the candidate, and then spends the general election trying to figure out how to win the states who were ignored during the primary. Yes, this is my hobby horse and, no, it has nothing to do second-guessing Kerry as the choice. He was a fine candidate and it may have been no different even if the swing/big electoral vote states were in it from the beginning. It does, however, have everything to do with basic logic - if you want to win OH, MI, PA, and FL you find out which candidate appeals to them. DUH! Giving the states that you NEED in the general a STAKE in the primaries energizes those states early. Plus, we need a shake-up, and there would be no greater shake-up than to change the stranglehold that the Iowa caucus and NH primary have on the choosing the candidate thing. We want attention and media? This would be a good way to start.
Second, I blasted my county and my state's (OH) Dem party. There's a reason why the Republican's have a virtual lock on all state offices, judges, etc., And the reason is the dysfunctional Dem Party (not all over the state, but my county - Portage - is the poster child for ineffectual. They did nothing - and I mean NOTHING to help, and mostly hindered. WE grassrooters, WE amateurs, WE newbies, won our county for Kerry, with absolutely, positively, NO help from the "official" Dem party. How many of the smaller, rural counties did not have this? Case in point - my precinct turnout was 89%. I repeat - 89%. How's that for GOTV?
Third, related to the above, I suggested that they take some of the $$$ they use for the theatrics of a nominating convention and use it for a grassrooters convention, devoid of marketing gurus, the DLC, party hacks (yeah, we got 'em too) and find out about what real people think. How many times have we been frustrated that the Dems couldn't see what was so obvious during the campaign? How many times have we felt that the power was vested in leaders that were totally unconnected with what we see every day? How many times have shoes been pitched at televisions by inept messages or messengers that were totally blowing it? It ain't enough for us to know what they were trying to say - we saw how it played when the same lame-o "spokespeople" were trotted out time after time.
Anyhoo, I gave 'em an e-mail-full, go ahead and give yours.
eileen from OH