We must never be complacent

As anyone who belongs to the Washington State Democratic Party knows, the central office (headed by Dwight Pelz) has never been shy about asking for money.

Every few months, a new direct mail appeal is sent out to party members requesting financial support. Since NPI staff make an effort to individually involve ourselves in our local Democratic organizations (county and or legislative district), we are on the list, and so we regularly receive copies of these letters.

There's usually nothing in these multiple page solicitations that we would find blogworthy, but one of the passages in the most recent letter caught my attention, because it reminded me of my post election analysis from last November. The paragraphs I'm talking about are as follows:

Without a strong Democratic Party we risk defeat. You need only look back to the Governor's first election, three and a half years ago, to realize how close we came to electing a loyalist of George W. Bush as our governor.

Thankfully, the Democratic Party learned from our mistakes in Florida during the dark days that followed the 2000 election. We were prepared to fight for every last vote for Christine Gregoire. While she trailed in the early returns on Election Day, when every legitimate vote was counted, she was declared the winner.

This is still a strong message for anyone who feels that because we are the majority party today in Washington that we can relax. We must never be complacent. We must be prepared to fight for every vote this November.

We agree - but why weren't we prepared to fight for every vote in the last election?

In the late hours of November 7th, I wrote a post which I titled "Complacency the main culprit behind a disappointing election night", which received widespread attention and praise. It was featured by the Washington State Labor Council on their website, it was mentioned by the Spokesman-Review, and it generated a significant number of compliments from readers and fellow writers. In it, I analyzed the reasons behind the lousy results from the 2007 elections, concluding:

So...what happened? Why couldn't Democrats and progressives capitalize on last year's momentum? While there are many possible reasons, here's my take on what happened, boiled down to a single word:

Complacency.

You can't help but notice it's a theme tying together so many of the campaigns that came up short (or likely will come up short).

[...]

State party leaders and prominent Democratic elected officials seem focused on the future, not the present.

Speeches lately contain endless references to 2008, caucus preparations and the presidential race are dominating discussions at meetings, and the Gregoire reelection effort has been at the forefront of the state party's agenda for months.

[...]

In the weeks and days leading up to last night, our party has held event after event to raise money for next year.

For example, the Eastside Dinner...which featured Darcy Burner, the Magnuson Awards...which featured Hillary Clinton (and brought in a record haul for the state party), or the KCDCCC Honors Banquet...which featured Governor Gregoire.

Why were all these events in October? The Maggies are usually in August...the 2006 King County Honors Banquet was held in the winter.

It's like this whole season our party and its leadership has been joyously looking forward, celebrating the past (2006) and anticipating a great future (2008), instead of getting down to business and working to win in the present: 2007.

It's easy to get excited about the presidential race. It's satisfying to hear friends and neighbors express their disgust with the Bush administration and its failed right wing agenda. It's refreshing that our candidates are more compelling and more diverse than the crowd of white guys who make up the Republican field. But, as the letter cautions, we can't take the White House for granted.

We can't take anything for granted.

2008 is not guaranteed to be a great Democratic year. It has the potential to be, but we have to tap that potential.

Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and elected Democrats in Congress need to stop cowering to George W. Bush and give the American people a real taste of the progressive change they can expect if they vote Democratic this autumn.

Activists need to reject apathy, embrace the motto "more and better Democrats", and seek out authentic, inspiring candidates like Darcy Burner who are worthy of our valuable time, talents, and treasure.

Those who are involved with the building of progressive infrastructure, whether within the netroots community or alongside it, need to be cheerful, optimistic, and industrious in the coming months, organizing for the future and mobilizing for the election that is just on the horizon.

Party leaders need to listen to the base, and spend resources as wisely as possible, providing county and legislative district organizations with the tools they need to meet or surpass the goals set by the state office.

We owe it to ourselves and future generations not to make the mistake of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory again. We must be vigiliant and energetic in our efforts to reclaim our democracy. We must never be complacent.