A note to some people who are finally calling for everyone to join together

[MineralMan]

37. I really, really like Keith Ellison.

He's the House representative from my neighboring city. Our rep is Betty McCollum, who often works closely with Ellison.

I would have zero problem with either of them as head of the DNC. However, if someone else is selected, I'm OK with that, too.

I will not, however, fall in behind people who constantly railed against the Democratic Party, but now think that they can rebuild that party in their own image. Not a freaking chance. I've spent about 50 year of my life working with our party in elections, both here in Minnesota and in California for 35 years prior to that.

While I am always encouraging people to get involved with their local party organization, and I welcome newcomers, I've seen many people join and then drop out when they discover that not everyone agrees with all of their ideas. The Democratic Party is, and should always be, a big tent. Those who want to come in, send everyone out of the tent and then let only those they like back in are not what the party needs.

Our party is different in every state, every county, and even every precinct. We work toward common goals, but goals are different in some ways in every location. We're unified, but only to the point that we support our nominees, who are all selected according to long-established, proven methods.

Those who stand outside and yell at the party are not likely to become the long-term hard workers the party needs to be and stay successful. They are often pretenders with very narrow viewpoints.