Quote of the Week -- from JM Bell

Bell does it again. Takes something I wanted to say, and says it better:

See, when you run for, and serve in, an elected office – of any kind – I get to make fun of you, especially if I think you’re an asshat. You volunteered to commented upon by the public. And, what’s more, it’s my opinion and it’s protected by the Constitution.

Pretty cool, huh?

God bless America!

And, I'd like to add that it's a duty to question our elected leaders.

If a Tree Falls In the Woods.....

Six Months ago, I had a little rant about the Utah Democratic Party. It was a response to an anonymous comment to another post.

Well, here's another couple of things on use of new media. The first is a video on new media included in a must-read post from JM Bell.



The second is from Republican U.S. Senate Candidate Cherilyn Eagar. While she is near the bottom of my list of candidates to support, she has a point. Ignore the messenger, and pretend that this was coming from 455 S 300 E:

We're running a fast-paced campaign to contact and to get out to meet all the delegates around the state. We're raising money during a time when funding nationally is way down and the dog days of summer are still upon us, but we're doing it.

We are running an assertive media campaign, consistently sending out news releases on important issues such as the Wyden-Bennett health care bill and recently a statement to oppose our incumbent Senator's vote for cloture to appoint animal rights and gun control activist Cass Sunstein. Did you read about it in any of our major papers? Have you heard me on any major local talk radio recently?

Probably not. One major radio station announcer explained on air that the station had made a decision that it would only cover the top two contenders in this race. I emailed the producer and said, "Since I beat our incumbent Senator in a straw poll recently, does that put me in the top two?" :-) No response.

And you most likely will not get any response, at least not for a while. [...]

But there is an answer to a calculated absence of what we call "earned" media. It's called "new media." You will get the story here and online on Twitter and on blogs that you will not get in the mainstream media. We have no option but to surround them, as Glenn Beck says. So tell your friends to get connected to Facebook today. Learn how to use Twitter and to blog. Connect with the right people online that will get the message far and wide. This is a grassroots campaign and we will gather and unite the grassroots!

Yes, much of social media is preaching to the choir. However, the choir is not being preached to now. And, some members of the choir can be influenced by other preachers. Furthermore, many Utahns need the choir (their friends and neighbors) to further emphasize what is coming from the preacher (the State Party and elected officials). It's people's friends and neighbors who are (most likely)) going to convert them, not slick advertising. It works in religion the same as it works for politics.

Yet, what we have in this state is a weekly liberal radio show (Jeff Bell's Left of the Dial, Saturdays 4-5 PM, KSL 1160AM/102.7FM, on hiatus during football season) and a weekly Alternative newspaper (City Weekly) which can't get an interview with Utah's lone Democratic "Representative" or State Party Chair. Even a Republican running against RepINO Matheson will sit down with the CW.

If a Democrat speaks in Utah, will anyone hear it?

-Bob

Old and Busted vs New Hotness

Basically, the choice Democratic delegates have tomorrow is simple:

Go with the current plan, or a plan of substance.

And, with the current plan, based on current growth, we'll have a majority in 2026. Assuming we don't blow this anti-gerrymandering thing.

And this is despite being in agreement with a majority of Utahns when it comes to many, many issues.

Change needs to come to Utah. To do this, Change needs to come to the Democratic Party of Utah.

The currents Chairman's position is like his campaign web site: plain, simple, and not very effective. Go ahead, look. Try to follow the contactlink. Stay a while. Oh, you're done? See. Nothing there.

Now, take a look at Jeff Bell's web site. Look around, watch the videos.

Which messaging arm do you want to lead this party?

-Bob

(and, let's ignore the fact that Jeff's site cost a fraction of what Chairman Holland paid The Summit Group for his.)

Jeff Bell on the issues

I've had people tell me that Jeff Bell has no substance on the issues.

I beg to differ.

The following are samples from his web site of just two issues:

Education / Vouchers

The party botched the after messaging from the incredible victory against the Republican Voucher fiasco and the Wal-Mart Academies Plan.

The anti-voucher fight could not have been won without Democrats and the Democratic Party and yet, when the dust settled and the back patting begun, the state party took two steps back and let everyone else claim credit - to the exclusion of Democrats - taking away the value of the voucher fiasco as a powerful campaign issue in the future.

In addition - why is it that every "education reform" bill offered by the Republican Legislature is a teacher penalties bill? Why aren't Democrats breaking down the info and distributing the truth in the most effective way possible?

LGBT Equality / Common Cause

The State Party's silence on this issue is embarrassing.

When I called the State Party last year to ask about messaging plans and strategy, imagine my surprise when I heard that the party had no plan.

"You can't talk about it when you're a Democrat in Utah," was what I was told by former Party Vice Chair Rob Miller. The silence from the party clearly illustrated that this was an official stance.

More reasons I am proud to endorse Jeff for State Party Chair.

From The SideTrack

Endorsement: Jeff Bell for Democratic Party Chair

The party that I see today is bold, innovative and adaptive. -Peter Corroon, endorsing Wayne Holland

While I love Peter Corroon, I couldn't disagree more with this statement.

Bold? Some definitions:

1. not hesitating or fearful in the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring: a bold hero.
2. not hesitating to break the rules of propriety; forward; impudent: He apologized for being so bold as to speak to the emperor.
3. necessitating courage and daring; challenging: a bold adventure.
4. beyond the usual limits of conventional thought or action; imaginative: Einstein was a bold mathematician. a difficult problem needing a bold answer.
5. striking or conspicuous to the eye; flashy; showy: a bold pattern.
6. steep; abrupt: a bold promontory.

None of these are attributes I give to the Utah Democratic Party. If anything, they try too hard to NOT rock the boat.

Innovative? Having a web site for the sake of having a web site is so 2002. (in fact, the first campaign to utilize the internet effectively was Jesse Ventura in 1998.) Knocking on doors to win campaigns is a great idea, as Patrice Arent showed. However doing things that have been done before, and a decade earlier, is not innovative. (and, I'm sure Sen Arent didn't invent door knocking.)

Granted, the "run a candidate three times to win" thing is innovative, but not very expedient. And what successes there have been belie that strategy.

However, bold, innovative, and adaptive ARE words I'd use to describe Jeff Bell.

One need only look at the video Jeff created in reaction to Holland's "Bold in Utah" Campaign Web site.

Now, can you imagine that level of communication and counter punch, immediately after a dumb statement from Our Republican friends (Gary Herbert, Orrin Hatch, Jason Chaffetz, Gayle Buttars)?

That is the future. The Future can be now, if you join with me in voting for Jeff Bell for Utah Democratic Party Chair.

-Bob Aagard
Former state party employee
blogger, TheWorldAccordingToMe.us
Founder, Mormons for Obama, Mormons for Dean
Candidate, Salt Lake County Secretary 2005.

UPDATE: I'm going to be posting several posts about this race today and tomorrow. I'll include links below for you:

Jeff Bell on the issues

From The SideTrack