My DNC Testimony: Creating an “Open Politics” platform that proposes Progressive & Democratic Values for our Leadership not just our Public Policy fwdprogress Follow Jun 19, 2016 · 3 min read

On June 18th, I proposed via demconvention.com that the Democratic Party Platform do more than create a document to call upon America to live by our Progressive Principles and Democratic Values as defined by a series of policy positions but also for Party Members and Committees mustcommit themselves to “Progressive” forms of innovation and reform as well as “Democratic” ideals of empowerment and inclusiveness for our leadership structure from the top-down and the bottom up.

That is because, as Author George Lakoff might say, we must “live our values” within our communities if we are to successfully espouse these values for America’s government and voters. Beyond the added credibility of ideological consistency, it would seem logical that our ideas on what will make America more successful at providing Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for all its citizens should be drawn from the same foundation as our ideas on what will make the Democratic Party thrive in protecting and advancing our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness through our electoral and legislative accomplishments.

Or put simply, we need to advocate for a Democratic Movement not just a Platform.

So, for example, if it is “Progressive” and “Democratic” to call for a $15 Minimum Wage to help American workers, then we must do the same for Democratic workers, including paid compensation for our interns. Because a living wage isn’t just good for the U.S. Economy, it is good for the Democratic Party by attracting a better and more diverse talent pool that won’t or can’t work for the poverty-level income of most campaign jobs without even overtime or benefits.

We must also be more “Progressive” in terms of the innovation within our communities. Drawing from the lessons of the rising Millennial-driven Silicon Valley-style culture in the business community, we must use a service-focused mentality with our supporters to increase long-term engagement via an Open Politics vision.

Every organization should include a Grassroots Liaison to solicit feedback, share best practices, facilitate customized messaging and community outreach online and offline through network-focused web platforms and social events.

This means gatherings ranging from a convention to a precinct house meeting be paired with more ways to foster connecting and collaborating. That could including name tags and other icebreakers but also an app to help attendees Communicate, Aggregate and Navigate to get more involved as we once did with My.BarackObama.com.

And we should be more “Democratic” in terms of making these events about more than delegates, fundraising and candidate speeches.

To build on this Open Politics vision, we need to foster safer and wider public participation while creating forums for discussion and education on the strategies and tactics that work.

This means an emphasis on open primaries, the secret ballot with easier split ticket voting at conventions, scholarships for young and low-income event attendees, more active use of social media to promote ALL party initiatives in advance and workshops on how to lead, manage and organize.

Despite all the recent talk about policy disagreements, when i see the results of the 2014 election and the dismantling of the “50-State” Strategy, I don’t see as much of a Democratic Platform policy failure, I think we need to start by recognizing our defeats at their core reflect a failure for “weaponizing” our Democratic and Progressive values with a relatable messaging approach and comprehensive Movement-based ground game to defeat supporter apathy and disengagement by emphasizing two-way relationships over last-minute cold pitches for money and votes.

These ideas might sound familiar to many activists but we need to double down on this approach with more proactive and wide-spread measures in order to succeed in the world of 21st Century Movement-building. I have seen too many examples of self-inflicted wounds that fail to attract the Young and Low-Income voters that are the key to Democratic Party success in 2016 and beyond.

It is time for a DNC Platform that is fully committed to Open Politics….to build on the well-proven philosophy that Yes We Can respect, empower and include to WIN.