President George W. Bush resorted to a recess appointment in October 2006 to anoint Richard Stickler as the nation's mine safety czar after it became clear he could not receive enough support even in a GOP-controlled Senate.

And in a heartbreaking turn of events, three more miners died yesterday while trying to rescue the six trapped miners in the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah. The rescuers had been heroically digging for more than a week to reach their comrades.

McConnell filed legislation for three years, starting in 1998, to curb the mandatory annual raise in wages of legal immigrant farmworkers under the government's H2A program. By 2001, the wage in Kentucky was $6.60 an hour, which struck some agricultural businesses as too high. (Agribusinesses have given McConnell more than $1 million for his campaigns--out of $21 million from all donors over 22 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.) But the bills kept failing.

In 2001, Chao ordered an indefinite delay in the release of an annual Labor Department wage report that triggered the farmworker raise. It was an insider move, not noticed by most Americans, but praised by McConnell's Republican congressional colleagues and business groups in letters obtained from Chao's office.

There’s a lot more where that came from. Read the article here.

A UMWA spokesman said the union's thoughts and prayers are with the trapped miners and their families.

The Genwal mine, about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City, is a nonunion mine. CNN reported today that the mine has a history of dangerous work conditions:

The mine was cited at least 300 times total in the past three years--with 118 of those citations for violations serious enough to cause death, records show.

Today mine owner Bob Murray shouted at news helicopters, "There's no emergency here!" during a press conference. Huffington Post has the clip.

The Lexington Herald-Leader has a story on the connections between Bob Murray, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and mine safety--or the lack thereof. Read the story here.

State parties will publish their delegate selection rules and clearly explain how to participate in the summer of 2007.

Utah Democratic Party
455 South 300 East Ste 301
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
801-328-1212
801-328-1238 (fax)

District-Level Delegates: 15
At-Large Delegates: 5
Pledged Party Leader & Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates: 3
Unpledged Delegates: 6
TOTAL Number of Delegates: 29

Alternates: 4

TOTAL DELEGATION SIZE: 33

System type: Primary

State convention page: None available.
State plan: Plan Available (PDF)
State filing form: Not available online. Please contact the state party to receive a copy.

** This information is prepared by the DNC's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection and may be subject to change. For more information, please call 202-863-8000.

Democrats Discover New Political Frontier
By Carl Hulse
New York Times
November 1, 2006

"...Despite a Republican edge in registration, Democrats are discovering the Mountain West - and Colorado in particular - to be a new political frontier as the party benefits from a potent mix of changing demographics, anger over the war in Iraq, resentment toward conservative social initiatives and millions of dollars' worth of advocacy advertising.

"...If that trend holds, Democrats could be in for a big day next Tuesday. The Democratic candidate for governor, Bill Ritter, is leading in his race against Bob Beauprez, a Republican congressman. If Democrats can retain control of the State House and Senate, which they gained in the 2004 elections, they would have total control of the state government for the first time since the early 1960s.

"...In neighboring states, Democrats are seen as having a good chance of capturing a Senate seat in Montana, are battling in what should be safe Republican House seats in Idaho and Wyoming, and have their eyes on Republican seats in Arizona and New Mexico. The increasingly blue tinge of the formerly red region - some say it gives new meaning to the phrase 'purple mountains' - has the national party seriously considering holding its 2008 presidential convention here at the foot of the Rockies. ..."

To read the entire article, please click here.

Democrats push for gains in Mountain West, look to '08
Billings Gazette (Montana)
By Noelle Straub
October 28, 2006

"Democrats' hopes for a political resurgence in the Mountain West have soared nearly as high as the region's snow-capped peaks recently. Party officials want not only to increase their tally of governors and members of Congress next month, but to put some Western states in their column come the 2008 presidential election.

"...They are trying to build on a number of recent successes. Four Western states, including Montana and Wyoming, that all had GOP governors have elected Democrats since 2002. In Colorado in 2004, Democrats won control of both houses of the state Legislature for the first time in 40 years, and the Salazar brothers won U.S. House and Senate seats that had been Republican. The state may elect a Democratic governor Nov. 7. ...Democrats control at least one house in half the Mountain West state legislatures. They have a chance to pick up U.S. House seats in Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. Even in Idaho, which went 68 percent for President Bush in 2004, Democrats have a shot at picking up the governorship and a congressional seat.

"...Between 30 and 40 full-time staffers are on the ground in the West, according to DNC officials. State parties make the hiring selection and supervise the staff, who work to mobilize voters and get the national party's message out. ..."

To read the entire article, please click here.

I wanted to take a few moments to let you know how the 50-State Strategy is working as applied in Utah. I would not be running for office if it were not for Utah Democratic Party Chairman Wayne Holland and the UT Dems 29-County Strategy application of the DNC's 50 State Strategy.

As a result of the UT Dems 29-County application of the 50-State Strategy, Republicans are defending and spending money in places they’ve thought were safe. This is turning out to be a "death by a thousand cuts" insurgency, particularly in Southern Utah.

Example:

Today's Utah Policy Daily reports Utah Republicans are planning a "Big Red Whistle Stop Tour" of Iron and Washington Counties "to energize the Republican base..." Participants will include the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and 2nd Congressional District candidate LaVar Christensen….

One can't help but wonder if this has as much to do with a reenergized Democratic Party in Iron and Washington Counties as with a less than enthusiastic Republican base. For the first time in perhaps decades, both Iron and Washington County feature a full slate of Democratic candidates. It appears participants in the "Big Red Whistle Stop Tour" will be seeing a lot more blue faces than they are used to.

During the UT Legislature’s Special Session on Tuesday, my opponent the incumbent I am in the race with, voted with the Democrats in favor of the education set aside and against the tax cut.

Several legislators told me he would never have voted that way, but he is scared. In fact, I've heard that he is scared from local movers-and-shakers, political insiders, and from lobbyists that he has called, frantically, searching for money.

A 14-year incumbent that has never faced a Democrat opponent in a district that went 82% Bush just two years ago, is scared. Several other Republicans voted with the Democrats for the same reason.

In my county, at the most local level, we’ve only had 2 Democrtas run for office in the past 20 years. Now, because of the support we get from our State Party which now has full-time, year-round staffers working to provide us with the resources, we have 4 candidates on the ballot, and our precinct caucuses have grown 300%.

Democratic registration in my county increased 25% in a single year. Plus, for the first time anyone can remember that we filled all of our slots at the state party convention.

All of this is because of Governor Dean, Chairman Wayne and the 50-State Strategy.

Juneteenth recognizes the day Texas slaves were told they were freed by President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in rebelling states beginning Jan. 1, 1863. It did not affect slaves in Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, Delaware and parts of Virginia and Louisiana that were under federal control at the time. But slaves in Galveston, Texas, didn't know they were freed until June 19, 1865, about two months after the Civil War ended. That day has become known as Juneteenth Day.

"I applaud [Hansen] for doing it. We most certainly will get behind it and lobby for its passage," said Jeanetta Williams, president of Salt Lake branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Mayor Rocky Anderson came out swinging today at an anti-war protest in Salt Lake City -- demanding President Bush tell the truth about the war in Iraq.

Thousands of people gathered outside the City-County Building this afternoon as the controversial mayor gave an animated speech in protest of the war and President Bush. Anderson called the war in Iraq -- quote-- "illegal and immoral."

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Rocky Anderson cast himself in the role of truth-teller Wednesday, and Salt Lake City's mayor delivered a bravura performance.

Anderson's stage was the anti-Bush protest at Washington Square. He leveled a blistering attack on the Bush administration's dubious reasons for going to war in Iraq (Anderson called them lies), its disrespect for the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions, its arrogance, its greed, its secrecy and its multifaceted incompetence. In the main, his indictments rang true, though one could quibble with details.

Anderson's theme was the administration's prevarications, and his antidote, which he developed into a chant for the crowd, was "Give us the truth! Give us the truth!"

The news media, including this newspaper, did not escape the Democratic mayor's righteous wrath. He accused news organizations of "acting like nothing more than a bulletin board for the lies and propaganda of a manipulative, dishonest federal government." In doing so, he said, the news media have not lived up to their "sacred responsibility to ascertain and report the truth."

This latter statement appears to be the only one on which Anderson and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld might agree, given the secretary's lambasting of the press a day earlier at the American Legion convention.

Anderson, the lame-duck mayor of a rogue capital city in the most pro-President Bush state in the union, did not mince words.

"Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism. A patriot does
not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.

"That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience - a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular."

We have criticized the mayor more than once in the past for his blunt style and self-righteousness, even on occasions when we have agreed with him in principle.

But the debate on the Iraq war would be better focused, and the nation's policies would be better conceived, if more Americans were, like Anderson, willing to speak truth to power and demand accountability.

Read the Mayor's remarks, below the fold.

Submitted by:
Wayne Holland, Jr., Chair, Utah
Karen Hale, Vice Chair, Utah
Bill Orton, Utah
Helen Langan, Utah

A Resolution Honoring the Life and Career of James L. Humlicek

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek served as a member of the Democratic National Committee from 1996 until 2004, a member of the Executive Committee and staff to the Utah State Democratic Party, and through appointments served the citizens of Utah and this nation by devoting most of his life to government and public service; and

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek was motivated to engage in political action by his faith and his belief that each of us has a specific responsibility of pursuing social justice in civil society and that before God, all people are equal and must treat each other with respect; and

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek served President Bill Clinton and our nation as the Utah Director for the Farm Service Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek served President Jimmy Carter and our nation in the Bureau of the Census at the United States Department of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek worked as the Executive Director of the Virginia Democratic Party, for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and on presidential campaigns for George McGovern, Walter Mondale, John Glenn, Richard Gephardt, Bill Clinton and John Kerry, campaigns for Bob Kerry and Jim Exon in his native state of Nebraska, and many, many campaigns in Utah and throughout the Intermountain West; and

WHEREAS, James L. Humlicek brought a quiet dignity and wise counsel to all who sought his advice;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) honor James L. Humlicek with this resolution celebrating his life and contributions to the Democratic Party and to the citizens of Utah and our nation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC extends its thanks to his wife, Wendy Lewis, his sons, Patrick and Quinn, and their entire family for sharing him with the public and recommits itself to continuing his efforts to extend social justice in a civil society.

To find out where to vote contact your local board of elections office.

Dear Fellow Democrat,

We're in the middle of our campaign to explain the 50-state strategy and answer its questions about its purpose. So far you've heard from me, but this week you're going to hear straight from the people on the ground about the work we're doing to build a truly national party.

We are at a crucial moment in our party's history, and it's up to us to show that the 50-state strategy has the financial backing of ordinary Democrats across the country. We're doing that in a new way, too: we're counting the number of people donating on our web site, and we'll reveal the amount at the end. Less than halfway through this drive we hit the goal of 5,000 people.

As a result, we've set a new one and we're going to keep going, because this is about getting the word out: the 50-state strategy is right for our party, and the people who support it will stand up and be counted. Make your donation to support the 50-state strategy now:

http://www.democrats.org/peoplecount

Today I'm passing along a note from the state party chair in Utah -- not a place many would expect the national party to be focusing its resources. But as you will see our work is already paying off.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Dear Fellow Democrat,

I want to let you know what the 50-state strategy has meant in my state.

When we leave the Republicans unopposed in places like Utah, it frees them up to concentrate on making inroads in marginal districts. Members of Congress in tough places deserve support, too. Representative Jim Matheson here in Utah, Representative Stephanie Herseth in South Dakota and even a potential pick-up like Congressional candidate Gary Trauner in Wyoming need a healthy, functioning Democratic Party in their states in order to survive. The 50-state strategy is making that happen.

"Win for today" is not a long-term strategy by itself, and it has left millions of Americans and vast areas of the country without a healthy political dialogue. When we don't show up for tough fights, they only get tougher the next time around.

We're changing that now. The April 29th canvass put a clear Democratic message and a call to volunteer on the doorsteps of 15,000 registered Democrats here.

That has never happened before.

A whole generation of Utahns have never seen a representative from the Democratic Party except on TV. Democrats had become outsiders who do things to us, not insiders who do things for us. The 50-state strategy has turned that around.

"Even in Utah" there are thoughtful Democrats elected to office like Congressman Matheson, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon. The DNC's investment here will make sure that they retain their seats. I expect the 50-state strategy efforts will help Mayor Corroon get a majority of Democrats to support his policies on the Salt Lake County Council. That will show Utahns for the first time in a decade that we have the ability to govern effectively.

The national party has starved places like Utah for a long time. Consequently, Utahns are starving for new leadership. But we are already on our way. Not only is the 50-state strategy laying the groundwork for long-term change in Utah, we have already seen the results.

Already, 2006 marks our best candidate recruitment in over 15 years. We have recruited candidates for every single State Senate race, and we have challengers running in ten State House races that went unopposed in 2004. The recruitment efforts, led by new staff deployed as part of the 50-state strategy, include not only life-long Democrats but also six Republicans who have switched parties.

The 50-state strategy is the future of our party here in Utah. With your support it can be the future of our party everywhere.

Thank you.

Wayne Holland, Jr.
Chairman
Utah Democratic Party

The fifty state strategy is more than the boom and bust operation that sets up shop several months out of every four years in the same swing states courted during presidential elections. It's about electing Democrats from the top of the ticket all the way to the bottom in those very swing states, but also places Democrats have not competed in decades like Alabama, Idaho, and Utah. Yes, Utah.

2005 has been a year of Democratic revival in the land of Orrin Hatch. At the top of the ticket, Pete Ashdown is running against Hatch and has waged a spirited campaign focused on organization, both online and off. But the good news doesn't stop there... In fact, the news gets better as we start to discuss the impact of the Utah Democratic Party in conjunction with the organizers paid for by the Democratic National Committee.

The 2006 election cycle marks the best candidate recruitment for the state party in over fifteen years. There are more Democratic candidates running and more races filled than at any point during that time period. And it's not only life-long Democrats stepping up to the plate and challenging entrenched Republican incumbents, there are a total of six, yes six, registered Republican delegates who decided the Grand Old Party has lost touch with mainstream values in Utah and have switched sides to run as Democrats. In a conversation I had with the Utah Democratic Party's Communications Director, Jeff Bell, he told me that it's been the work of the state's new organizers, along with the party, that has resulted in a smooth candidate recruitment process. Bell said that there is something different about 2006. In the past, it was duty of the party to go out and recruit people to fill as many seats as possible. This year, people are coming to the state party with the realization that it's time for change, and they want to step up and be a part of that change.

But it doesn't stop with candidate recruitment. Bell also shared a story about the statewide caucus that took place late last year. He estimates that Utah County alone, 130 Democrats turned out to participate in the process -- that's compared to a little more than a dozen that showed up the year before. Indeed, because of the great work by the state party, the trend began even before the first organizer stepped foot inside Utah. Bell shared with me some of the 2004 election numbers that showed the best Democratic turnout in decades. There is reason for optimism in places like Utah. Here are some more numbers from inside the state:

- Democrats have filed in all State Senate races
- Democrats are offering challenges to 10 State House races that went unopposed in 2004
- Davis and Washington County have filed candidates in all state legislative races. The last time that happened was 1998.

Your investment in the fifty state strategy, and the committment of the state parties along with the new DNC-hired organizers is getting the job done.

What Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said about Saddam Hussein’s relationship with al-Qaeda on Saturday:

Nobody denies that [Saddam Hussein] was supporting al-Qaeda ... Well, I shouldn't say nobody. Nobody with brains.

What the bi-partisan 9-11 commission said about Saddam Hussein’s relationship with al-Qaeda:

The Sept. 11 commission reported yesterday that it has found no "collaborative relationship" between Iraq and al Qaeda, challenging one of the Bush administration's main justifications for the war in Iraq.

Hatch made his remarks at an invitation-only luncheon. They’ve only been reported in a small Utah paper, The St. George Daily Spectrum.

Democrat Pete Ashdown is running an innovative and inspirational campaign to unseat Senator Hatch in November.

(Utah Democratic Party)Legislature tries to grab more power
Proposed laws: Several bills being considered give state lawmakers more say
By Glen Warchol
The Salt Lake Tribune

The Utah Legislature should be having one of the best years in its history.
Tax revenues are booming, with all-time high revenue surplus projections estimated to be over $1 billion.
That means the Legislature can splurge on schools, highways and economic development initiatives and even have some left over to give voters a tax break in a year when all House members and half the senators are facing re-election.
It doesn't get much better.
Then why is the Legislature awash in bills aimed at taking political power from citizens, cities, school boards, the courts, the governor and even U.S. senators and concentrating it on the Hill?
It's enough to make even the usually deferential Huntsman administration come out swinging.
"This is a naked power grab," says Huntsman spokesman Mike Mower of HB352, a bill that would take away the governor's most powerful weapon in forcing the Legislature to compromise on a budget.
Meanwhile, a Senate bill (SB70) would erode Huntsman's ability to block waste disposal sites, instead giving the Legislature the final say. Both bills are briskly moving through the Legislature.
Another Senate measure is billed as a "soft repeal" of the 17th Amendment that transferred the selection of U.S. senators from the state legislatures to a popular vote.
Sponsored by Sen. Howard Stephenson, SB156 would give the Legislature's majority party caucuses control over the selection of senate candidates. In Republican-dominated Utah, that would be the equivalent of choosing senators.
Other bills would undercut local government powers to tax, zone, raise redevelopment money and select ambulance services. Sen. Al Mansell's SB170, for instance, would shift control over local zoning to the state.
Other legislators want to tell schools how to teach biology (with warnings that evolution is a disputed theory), restrict teachers' roles in advising parents about students' need for counseling or medication and decide what video games are safe for kids.
Senate President John Valentine caught the public's attention during the 17th Amendment debate when he said lawmakers don't know better than the voters, but "We know more than the voters do."
The Senate Republican Caucus spokesman just dug the hole deeper when he clarified Valentine's statement on The Salt Lake Tribune's legislative blog: "No one over here said legislators are smarter than the rest of the state. He just said the Legislature tends to be closer to more information and the minutia of policymaking. It's true."
Paul Mero, president of the conservative Sutherland Institute, supports many of the issues the Legislature is trying to deal with, but is troubled by an approach this year that smacks of arrogance.
"There seems to be this attitude that the Legislature knows what's best for everybody," Mero says. "The best power is at the local level where leaders are most accountable to the people."
Lawmakers' near obsession this year with expanding their power may be because times are so good, says one political scientist. In crisis, power tends to flow to the executive branch, which can react quickly and decisively.
"Relatively calm times is when the legislative branch will reassert itself and try to take back authority," says Quin Monson, director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. "If we have a fiscal crisis, the Legislature may give up power to the executive branch. They might allow the governor to set budget priorities."
Such power-grab gambits may be more common in Utah because a single party controls state politics. Republicans outnumber Democrats three to one in the Legislature.
"It's partly a function of a Legislature that does not see a lot of opposition," Monson says. "One check on this would be that you have a competitive two-party system. They might restrain themselves from some of these things if there were electoral consequences."
Matthew Burbank, a political scientist at the University of Utah, says legislators' chronic power envy is partly ego-driven.
"Legislatures often feel like they don't have enough control and they should be more important in the process," Burbank says.
Unlike governors, U.S. senators and even mayors, he says, "The Legislature comes and goes into session (45 days annually). They are going to feel they have less power."
The attempt to reassert the legislative power that existed before the 17th Amendment is particularly misplaced, Burbank says. "There is a huge difference between the nature of colonial America and the nature of politics and culture today. Anyone who wants to be well-informed can be equal to members of the state Legislature in choosing senators," he says. "It's perfectly reasonable to have in place a system that is more democratic and more participatory."
Stephenson, who sponsored the bill, says his intention is not a power quest, but a yearning to return to the Founding Fathers' intentions.
"It has to do with constitutional checks and balances," he says. "The Legislature's powers have been restricted [by the 17th Amendment]."
The 93-year-old amendment's corrosion of states' rights, Stephenson contends, has resulted in federal abuses such as unfunded mandates, onerous oversight of highway construction and draconian federal environmental measures.
The Legislature hamstrung itself in 1990 when it gave the governor the final say on commercial waste siting, he adds. Returning to the Legislature the power to override the governor's decision with a


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two-thirds majority is consistent with the Constitution, he says.
But Mower says bringing hazardous waste into the state is such a "tremendous decision" that citizens want a system that allows it to be blocked at five levels, including the Legislature and, finally, the governor.
Mower argues Dayton's budget bill - which she says is only meant to ensure the state a budget, even if the Legislature and governor are deadlocked - would fix a problem that has never come up. But it could lead to unintended consequences, including allowing one legislative chamber to freeze a budget in place.
"No one is ever completely happy with a compromise. This could do away with the necessity of compromising. It would be government by stalemate," says Mower.
As for the Legislature's downward swipes at local power, Stephenson points out that local governments, including school boards, constitutionally are "creatures" of the Legislature. "They hate being called our 'creatures,' " he adds.
The truth is, he says, the Legislature is closer to citizens than many local governments and because of its extensive checks and balances, is less likely to infringe on individual rights.
"City governments have greater potential for taking liberty and property rights away from people," Stephenson says. "The obligation of the Legislature is to protect the liberties of the people."
Salt Lake County Councilman Joe Hatch shakes his head at that sentiment.
"I am always amazed that officials at any level, from presidential to the state level to school boards, always think they are the most enlightened and that only they have the true view of the citizen," said Hatch. "The balance of power in the state has been pretty good [between local and state governments.] But the state Legislature has begun to go too far."
Burbank says the assumption that lawmakers know better than citizens might be more easily swallowed in Utah. "Utah's culture has a willingness to have the state government be more directive. You would not see the same debates going on in Nevada, Montana or Arizona. They would lean more to the personal liberty side."
Even in Utah, some of this year's bills may have crossed the line.
"From the beginning this was going to run afoul of other people's views of how politics are supposed to operate. It's becoming clear these bills are stepping on other people's toes," said Burbank,
Mansell has already throttled back his zoning assault on local government, acknowledging his original bill went "over the top."
And Stephenson's "soft repeal" of the 17th Amendment triggered some phone calls from Utah's U.S. senators. It since has been stripped of its nominating provision and some co-sponsors are bailing out. And it hasn't even reached the full Senate.
"These kind of bills often start off with a big bang," Burbank says. "Apparently, a lot of other people thought this wasn't such a good idea."
gwarchol@sltrib.com



Bills that would put the Legislature in charge

l HB352 The "stick-it-to-the-governor bill," as gubernatorial staffers call it, would diminish the chief executive's ability to veto the state budget.

l SB70 Would take away the governor's final say-so over siting of hazardous, radioactive and other waste sites.

l SB156 The so-called "soft repeal" of the 17th amendment has been watered down from its original version, which would have turned over selection of U.S. Senate candidates to the Legislature.

l SB170 Would strip local governments of much of their authority over zoning and land use regulation.

l HB132 Would prohibit counties and municipalities from withholding approval of a land use application for reasons not specified in a statute or ordinance.

l HB135 Would require annual legislative audits of the most populous cities and counties

l HB206 Would require large cities and counties to operate under a council-manager form of government.

l SB97 Is intended to ban gay student support clubs in schools.

l SB96 Would require teachers to label evolution a theory not endorsed by the state and disputed among scientists.

l HB299 The so-called Ritalin bill would prohibit school employees from making medication recommendations to students.

l HB257 Would make it a crime to sell or give excessively violent video games to children.

For the past few days, those organizers from Utah, Alaska, Indiana, and New Hampshire have been in the building participating in their introductory training sessions. The sessions include information on everything from organizing techniques to incorporating a strategy for Internet-based communication in their daily activities. For me personally, it was the first of these sessions I was able to sit in on since arriving at the DNC. To see the looks of enthusiasm and optimism on the faces of the organizers was inspiring. Inspiring because these are the people, with YOUR help, that are going to help win races, at all levels on the ballot, in places Democrats have not competed in a long time. Even as the Internet portion of the presentation began near the end of the day, they were asking tons of questions about blogs, email, and websites – after a full day - they were still completely engaged.

One of the organizers, Jonathan, documented his experience as part of the team on our website:

Hello from Alaska! My name is Jonathan Teeters and I am working with the Alaska Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee to give Alaskans back their voices! For years, Alaska has been a tough place to be a Democrat. This tide is beginning to turn though, as evidenced by our outstanding success just a few nights ago.

November 15th was a big night for all of us in Alaska as we took part in the National Organizing Kickoff Parties that took place all over the country. Alaskans all across the state came together as Democrats, hosting nearly 20 parties, to resoundingly state that we are tired of politics as usual.

Here’s one of the photos from a tremendous event that took place in Alaska on the evening of the National Organizing Kick-Off.