Committment, Persistence & Determination

Commitment, persistence and determination are key words for change.

When elected officials pit themselves against rank and file democratic delegates, at a state convention, you have to wonder if it would be better to have republicans in those seats. At least we would know where they stood.

The Tulsa World stated that “some democrats stalled convention proceedings by insisting on a quorum call late in the afternoon”. I would say elected officials were very effective in orchestrating that outcome. The delegates present seemed outraged by the very idea that our elected officials would think more about their own reelection than listening to the outcry in the room. Resolutions define us. Without a debate and passage of resolutions we have no identity. Pandering to a republican like constituency for the purposes of re-election is not my idea of serving the Democratic Party.

Sure, we have differences among us on many issues, but we must define our common ground and stand firm. In a conversation with one elected official, they stated to me that their “yes” vote for parental control was a good way to compromise - “at least we still have choice”, they said. Those kinds of compromises erode our principles and may ultimately lead to restrictive legislation on choice and other issues. Compromise is important but we don’t need to sell our souls to the devil.

On the issue of abortion, why not talk about being pro-life and pro choice. Making abortions rare is something we can all agree on. Being pro-choice does not make us pro-abortion. Being for the separation of church and state does not mean we must disavow our faith. We must stop allowing our challengers to demonize us but to do that we must understand our own issues and learn to frame them in a way that the majority can identify with.

As John Edwards stated in his keynote speech, “we have to stand up and push back”. We must find “moral clarity” and the strength of character to stand up for equality, justice and human rights.

We must be committed to our goals. We must persist and not leave the fight to others because we are frustrated with the moment. Delegates to a convention should be required, by their commitment to themselves and to those who voted for them, to stay for the entire convention. We must be determined to define our issues and stand up to the pressures, inside and outside our party. We must not become republican like in our words, actions and deeds. In the truest sense of the word, we must be Democrats.

Comments

[Gary Allison]

Great Post. The stalling by our public officials to prevent a vote on the resolutions confirmed the fears raised at the Progressive Revival Retreat (Dec. 11, 2004) that powerful forces within the Party want to make it Oklahoma's second Conservative Party. Do any of you Just Progress delegates have a copy of Rep. Danny Morgan's letter, asking all of us to reject the resolutions because none of the Democratic officeholders could get re-elected on the platform they would represent? This letter needs to be widely circulated and remembered. Danny Morgan needs to have a primary opponent.

I was very proud of the Progressive delegates at the end of the convention for forcing a delay in adjournment in an attempt to get a vote on the resolutions and to elect the state wide affirmative action members to the State Central Committee. The negative vote against the first adjournment motion indicated to me that nearly all of the Progressive delegates remained in the room. They were still there when Sen. J. Paul Gum tried to end the meeting with a quorem call. We had just enough persons present to continue forward for awhile.

Now, the resolutions, the constitutional amendments, and the election of a second female affirmative action representative on the State Central Committee will be decided by the State Central Committee. I've been told that our new chair, Lisa Pryor, has promised to give us all adequate notice of when the State Central Committee will take up these issues. We need to get our opinions on these matters to the State Central Committee members as soon as possible and plan to send representatives to the relevant meetings.

[Susan Dergoul]

Regarding a copy of Rep. Danny Morgan's letter asking all of us to reject the resolutions because none of the Democratic officeholders could get re-elected on the platform they would represent...Kathy Tibbits, coming from CD2, do you have a copy of this? I heard this was discussed quite a bit among the CD2 delegates. Could you get ahold of this letter and post on the site?

I'm also very pleased to see input from our fellow progressives in the other districts.

[Ysolde]

So many people that I talked to were not happy that we didn't get "the party business" done. All we did was hold elections. That's not a convention. If the problem was the resolutions, then that should have been discussed first.

Also, in discussions with my father (an old-timer from long ago), he remembers conventions lasting into the wee hours because of contentious resolutions. How have we come to a point where we don't discuss the resolutions at all? And, why have a convention that must be done by a certain time? That limits debate and discussion and allows people to plan to leave instead of staying to the bitter end.

I know I'm a newbie, but I don't think we should allow a Central Committe to decide these things. I will do what I can to help and attend any meetings they may have.

Sherri

[Debbie Saunders]

As to the "legislative thwarting", I feel we may have to extend our convention to another 1/2 day in order to include the resolutions and assure fair vote counts with the continuation of the county roll call process! Perhaps we should have a "resolutions only" time slot. This was my first convention (thanks to the Proporional Representation victory), but I can imagine voting by district, while time efficient, might lend itself to inproprieties in vote counting.

I don't know how we can prevent "stallers" but if we could devolop a solution to expedite fair voting procedures, stallers would have to become more and more creative. Thwarters or no, most of us felt we had had the life sucked out of us by the time we got to the Affimative Action elections. We need to speed up the process or extend the convention to another half day.

[Tiffany]

This has not been the first time that a state convention has adjourned without resolutions having been voted on. This is however, the first time it has happened in awhile, especially given how contentious resolutions were expected to be.

The best way to shorten these proceedings would be to limit the number of speeches. There is a need for at least a few speeches, to allow for the Credentials Committee to compile a report. But there is not the need for as many speeches as there were. Just like at the Tulsa Convention, the Credentials Committee had a report long before speakers were finished.

That could have shaved off at least an hour from the proceedings. Or it could have given us the extra hour to begin the process of resolutions. Then we would at least have elected all of the affirmative action positions.

[Grant Tucker]

If you don't have a copy of the letter from Danny Morgan, I do. Maybe we should post it somewhere. Also, I called Lisa Pryor's office today to find out if we could reconvene the delegates to complete unfinished business. At the time I called I was told they were in a meeting discussing that very thing. We'll see. If not I suggest a petition drive of the delegates.

[Devin Venable]

On the issue of Choice, I'm Pro Choice but not Pro Abortion. I'm also for a Culture of Life rather than a Culture of Death. And on that note, here's a bumper sticker slogan proposal:

CHOOSE LIFE
NOT WAR

(Think it will short any circuits?)

[Susan Dergoul]

Grant, Please post the letter from Rep. Danny Morgan. I think we are all interested in reading that. thank you! Susan

[Gary Allison]

I believe Danny Morgan needs to hear from each of us. His contact information is:

Morgan, Danny
Telephone: (405) 557-7368
Room: 314
Email: dannymorgan@okhouse.gov

[Gordon Holmes]

Here is a copy of the e-mail I sent to Rep Morgan.

Rep. Morgan,

As a delegate to the state democratic convention, I was required to watch a real "train wreck" unfold before my eyes. Were you a part of that, or just a spectator? Either choice, I would hope, requires some soul-searching on your part.

You are in a great position to do some good for the party, and I don't mean you have to "fall on your sword" either. That was a great opportunity to show leadership. Did you?

My friends and I spent many hours last summer going door to door, calling voters, raising money, getting out signs, and doing what was necessary to get our candidates elected. Had the DNC not written off Oklahoma, I believe we would have done much better in the local elections. There will be future elections, with workers like myself taking the battle to the street. Are you one of us?

Gordon Holmes
Chair, Precinct 407, Tulsa County
State Delegate, Just Progress

[Susan Dergoul]

My letter to Senator Gumm, RE: State Convention

Senator Jay Paul Gumm,

I would like you to know how disgusted I am by your behaviour at the state
convention. When you kept calling for a quorum call, you proved to all the
delegates what a conservative you truly are.

You may believe Oklahoma is a thoroughly red state, but I'm here to tell you it
is not! I am one of many progressive activists who will be working to find and
fund LIBERAL candidates to represent us in the Oklahoma legislature.

You should be ashamed of yourself. How can you purport to represent Democratic
values and then try to stop the discussion at convention? Do you not realize
that this convention was comprised of the very people who organize and raise
funds for you candidates? We walk the precincts, we make the endless calls, we
put out the yard signs and make sure you candidates have the ground support you
need to win elections. Are you ignorant to the fact that the majority of
activists are progressive and are trying to stop our party from being swallowed
by the Republican-Lite? Why do you think a truely conservative voter would
vote for Republican-Lite when they can get the real deal? All you people are
doing is disenfranchising your base.

I realize I am being harsh, but you must realize what you have done and how we
delegates felt when you pulled that stunt. It was disgraceful and I hope you
reflect upon your actions and realize that one conservative party in this state
is enough.

We Democrats have a long, proud history and we should not walk away from our
values of inclusion and tolerance. That is what makes us Democrats. Please do
not walk away from your Democratic roots. There are plenty of us who will
support the TRUE Democratic office holder and candidate.

Sincerely,
Susan Dergoul
Precinct Chair 134
Tulsa County