New Democrat Update - August 1996
Presidential Visit
President Clinton delivered a resounding "New Democrat" message in his visit to Denver on July 22. His call for welfare reform, greater personal responsibility and tougher child support collection from "deadbeat dads" is right on target.
For copies of the Blueprint, call the national DLC at 800-546-0027.
Making an Impact
In 1991, New Democrats, led by then-DLC Chairman Bill Clinton, adopted a series of resolutions entitled: The New American Choice: Opportunity, Responsibility, Community. This specific public policy agenda, rooted in mainstream values, offered a new course for Democrats by focusing on equal opportunity instead of equal outcomes; responsibility instead of entitlement; and community instead of interest-group solidarity.
The work of the DLC continues to change the Democratic Party for the better. Earlier this week, the national Democratic Party's platform released its report that to quote the Washington Post, "charts the party's journey to the center." The Post article also mentioned that "the document reflected the striking ideological transformation that the Democratic Party has undergone in recent years."
The platform says, "Today's Democratic Party is determined to renew America's most basic bargain: Opportunity to every American, and responsibility from every American. And today's Democratic Party is determined to reawaken the great sense of American community."
Our goal now must be to make this important transformation happen across the country. In many states, including here in Colorado, traditional activists are still very successful at resisting new approaches to issues like teen pregnancy, free trade, and making government work.
Ironically, Democrats, especially in the West and South, had to "run away" from the national Party's platform in the 1970s and 1980s. The challenge for Colorado's New Democrats today is much closer to home.
Leadership Training Series
There is still time to sign up for the DLC's leadership training session on August 26-29 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The program does a great job of presenting our agenda of progressive ideas, mainstream values and innovative, non-bureaucratic approaches to governing.
If you would like more information, call the DLC at 1-800-546-0027.
In the Media
A commentary on charter schools was aired last month on KUVO Radio. A copy is included for your review.
Thanks for the Feedback
DLC leader Robert Duncan of the law firm, Duncan, Ostlander & Dingess, has shared some great ideas on improving the "New Democrat Update." In the very near future, we will be improving its format, with an eye to making it easier to read and more "user-friendly."
His other suggestion is to include information on how to easily contact and access the various services of the DLC. For your information, check out the national DLC's web site and e-mail the Colorado DLC.
CHARTERING CHANGE
To improve the quality of public education, the dynamics of choice, competition and innovation must be introduced into the system. Under the leadership of Governor Roy Romer and Colorado House Minority Leader Peggy Kerns of Aurora, the state legislature passed a charter school initiative in 1993 that offers the best hope for public education in years.
Charter schools allow entrepreneurial people - including parents, teachers, other educators and community leaders - to start new, performance-based public schools anywhere, under contract with the local school board. Organizing groups first apply to the local board but if denied can appeal to the State Board of Education. The group operates the school with total control of budgeting, staffing, curriculum and teaching methods.
Outcome-based performance goals are specified and minimum state standards are met. In return, the school is exempted from nearly all state and local regulations. Effectively, charter schools trade regulations for results, bureaucracy for accountability.
By discarding one-size-fits-all education, the system becomes much more flexible and responsive to the needs of families. People are not assembly-line products, cut from the same mold. They are unique individuals who need education programs tailored to their needs.
Charter schools also recognize a basic principle now being applied in progressive organizations. Those closest to the front-line - in this case parents, teachers, other educators and community leaders - can make the best decisions for kids.
The personal ownership that everyone feels for their schools dramatically increases. When parents pick or even start a school, ownership in that decision and the likelihood of educational success skyrockets.
In addition, teachers feel much more empowered to be innovative because they will be treated like professionals. In an environment focused on results, educators discover that the more accountable they are, the more autonomous they become. More exciting career opportunities offering professional growth become available.
Charter schools are good for public education. The benefits are twofold - better individual schools are created and existing schools are motivated to perform better. Nothing could be more important.
This is Jim Gibson of the Colorado Democratic Leadership Council for Leading Voices.