This Pew / PBS survey of twelve questions scored me as “very liberal.” I could have predicted that my score would categorize me as liberal, but I’m a little surprised that I am scored as very liberal. According to Pew, only 23% of Americans say they are liberal, while 39% of Americans claim to be conservative and 37% say they are moderate. Being liberal, according to the criteria of the Pew survey, means to agree with statements that, to me, seem like an expression of common sense:

• “There need to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment”,
• “The government should help more needy people even if it means going deeper in debt”
• “Labor unions are necessary to protect the working person.”

Liberals need a winning issue to champion — an issue that transcends the usual labels. None of the twelve questions on the Pew survey seem sufficiently compelling to become the driving force behind a successful political movement.

The big question that is missing on the Pew survey is one like this:  “Americans now have a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” But if asked to choose whether they “completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree or completely disagree,” with such a statement, most everyone — right and left — would disagree. The statement, therefore, would not work to divide participants into categories, and the point of the Pew survey is to formulate questions that will help separate respondents into a left / right scale.

As their first priority, Liberals should emphasize the need to vitalize our democracy. If we had a government of the people — if most of the people could be informed and engaged — it would be a liberal government. Our democracy is endangered and in need of vitalization, and more and more citizens are becoming alarmed. The time is right for a grass roots democracy movement.

The place for liberals to start a democracy movement is within the Democratic Party itself. My aggravation with our local party organization, The Montgomery County Democratic Party, is the fact that if it actually represented county Democrats — if it acted as the “party of the people” — in fact, it would be energetic and effective in promoting liberal ideas and in electing liberal candidates. I am disappointed with the MCDP, not because I heartily disagree with many of its actions — such as its imprudent endorsement of Nan Whaley for mayor of Dayton — it is because the process of decision making in the local party is rigged, undemocratic — starting with the fact that “the deciders” in the party owe their positions to a rigged selection system. See: Only 47% Of Montgomery County Dems Will Be Represented At The MCDP Reorganization Meeting

In order for liberals to help the MCDP be an effective advocate for liberal ideas and liberal candidates, we need to do the hard work needed to make the MCDP more democratic. There are over 35,000 Dems in Montgomery County who faithfully vote in Democratic Primaries, yet the leadership of the party, by design, have failed to meaningfully engage that group. It’s hard not to conclude that for the downtown crowd running the show — mostly those with patronage jobs and those who are elected county officials — an inundation of suburban Democrats into shared governance is resisted, not welcomed.

For liberals, the best way to advance liberal ideas and liberal candidates is to greatly expand the number of Democrats who are active in the local party. The most important liberal idea we can advance is the idea that we must make our democracy work — and if, in fact, this results in grassroots Democrats forming a consensus around ideas and candidates more conservative than I might like, that would be OK with me.

As part of the process for preparing for the MCDP reorganization meeting, liberals and every Democrat concerned about the state of our democracy need to brainstorm and come to consensus on an action plan that can be presented to the reorganization delegates for consideration.

The quadrennial “reorganization” meeting of the Montgomery County Democratic Party scheduled for this June is a big opportunity for county Democrats to plan for the future. On MCDP’s To Do list — goals to accomplish before the next such meeting in 2018 — I’d like to see MCDP commit to working on and accomplishing “big picture” goals, like:

1. Connect Democrats together at the grass roots level and create opportunities for grass roots leadership and service.
2. Inspire and nurture Montgomery County young people to be engaged in the local party organization and to seek to become public servants via elected office.
3. Educate the public about the historical perspective of current public policy issues and give citizens the information they need to analyze these issues.
4. Hold the Republican Assembly and Republican Governor accountable by illuminating and making transparent how their actions impact the general good.

Big goals are seldom discussed and accomplishing such goals are never attempted by the MCDP. The reason? Working to accomplish big goals would require commitment and effort by county Democrats at a level far greater than any level of effort evidenced in recent memory. MCDP lacks the motivated workers needed to accomplish serious and important goals. For an organization is to be successful it must inspire motivation — “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something” — in its members. But, the MCDP is failing to do this.

Organizations commonly use elaborate systems of rewards and punishments as a means of “motivating” their members. Schools, for example, use grades and diplomas to push students. But, although extrinsic motivation works to accomplish minimum levels of compliance, it is the motivation that comes from within — intrinsic motivation arising from one’s values, character, and experiences — that brings the highest achievements. Volunteer organizations who support and empower the intrinsic motivation of their members are more likely to be successful than those who do not.

The power of the traditional political boss system to reward and punish is now much smaller than in previous times. Before progressive reforms, political parties controlled lots and lots of government jobs that today are non-partisan civil service jobs. The hope of getting or keeping those patronage jobs inspired many Democrats to work for the party. Also, political parties at one time had much bigger budgets than now. Today, much of the money previously allocated to political parties goes to Political Action Committees or to individual election campaigns. Resources controlled by the local party organization are relatively meager.

Political party organizations, such as the MCDP, still cling to a top-down system, and, though the group is much diminished compared to a previous age, many of the most active members of the party still hold patronage jobs.  But, it is obvious, to be successful the MCDP needs to greatly expand the membership of its active community. It needs to engage more volunteers. There is a whole group of county Democrats who are waiting to be invited into meaningful action. The current MCDP system is failing to do so.

Volunteer organizations, such as political parties, must find ways to attract volunteers and to inspire, engage and empower volunteers. In Montgomery County, there are about 35,000 Democrats who vote in every Democratic Primary, but only a tiny number of these Democrats are active within the party. If only 10% of these Democrats could become productively involved in their local party, the results would be transformative. The June reorganization meeting is a big opportunity for Montgomery County Democrats to plan for the future. If the MCDP is to become stronger and more effective, delegates at the reorganization meeting must agree on policies, goals, and restructuring that will address this key question: How Can the MCDP motivate more Democrats to make the needed effort?