Want the Democratic Party to Change?

[MineralMan]

47. While that's true at that political level, it's not for

local, county and state offices. That's where I operate for the most part. We have state legislators who are teachers, auto mechanics and other things. We have city officials who have been students when first elected. A few of those may eventually go on to run for Congress, but damned few of them. Local politics also includes school board members, people who sit on advisory committees and other elected offices. Each is an important person who affects our lives as we live them on a daily basis.

The Congresswoman for our district was a school teacher when she was elected for the first time to our state legislature. Now, she's a 6-term House member. I do not know her net worth, frankly. I do know that she votes progressively, is approachable, and does a great job in Congress in representing her district.

What you say is generally true for national-level offices. They have a good deal of power and it takes a strong, expensive effort to run for those offices. That's not surprising, really. Some are millionaires, to be sure. Perhaps most. It's definitely costly to run for Congress. I'm interested in congressional elections, but only in my own district, and the local party has a great deal of power in choosing who will be running. Much more than you'd think. Our Congresswoman paid her dues by serving in our state legislature and serving her district well and truly. Pretty much as long as she runs for Congress, she'll get elected in this district with at least 60% of the vote. She's earned that.

But, my primary concern is for local and state offices. That's what matters most to me, because that's where I have the most impact. And that impact is measurable. So, I keep working at this. You may choose to do something else. I'm just saying that if you want to change the party, the best way to do that as an individual is to get involved with local Democratic politics. If you really want, you can work your way up to higher levels in the party. That doesn't really interest me. I'm happy with my current role.