New Democrat Update - October 1996
Politics '96 - A Big Hit
The national and Colorado DLC hosted a luncheon panel discussion on September 30 with Governor Roy Romer and Ed Kilgore, national Political Director. Both speakers focused on the opportunities and challenges now facing Democrats.
The Governor emphasized that voters are seeking a party that advocates pragmatic ideas rooted in mainstream values. The electorate wants real nonpartisan solutions that directly relate to their everyday lives.
Citing voter disenchantment with Democrats in the 1994 election, Ed Kilgore indicated that voters may be willing to give our party only one more last chance. History has taught us quite a bit about mid-term elections of a second-term presidency. Disaster might strike if a Democratically-controlled Congress repeats the errors similar to those in the first two years of the Clinton administration. Earlier in the day, Kilgore was a guest on Erin Hart's KTLK radio talk show.
In the morning, Jamie Daves, national Field Coordinator, presented the results from the Young Voter Project. The project is aimed at learning what makes young voters (18-30 years old) tick, and testing our own hypothesis that young voters share with others, in the growing ranks of the "politically homeless," a special openness to New Democratic approaches to governing.
The initial research says that young voters begin with widely varying political attitudes characterized by an especially large gender gap between women focused on family and community concerns and men drawn to the rhetoric of self-reliance. But the men and women come together decisively in support of a new vision of government that equips people with the tools they need to solve their own problems. This "empowerment" message is basic to New Democrats, in contrast to the old liberal appeal of protecting people from adversity and the current Republican call for abandonment of public responsibilities.
The day was wrapped up with an evening session on state legislative issues at the Governor's Mansion. Governor Romer and Ed Kilgore focused on those messages that will work and win in 1996 and beyond.
Special thanks to Governor Romer, Ed Kilgore and Jamie Daves for jobs well done.
Welfare Reform
Now that the rest of welfare reform is up to the states, Colorado Democrats should get behind the DLC's "Work First" model, which was embraced by President Clinton when incorporated into a U. S. Senate Democratic welfare reform bill last year. Our party should advocate this initiative in the upcoming legislative session as an alternative to likely Republican efforts to create a meaner and cheaper version of the status quo.
Practitioners on the front lines say that people learn their jobs on the job and not through an ineffective education and training bureaucracy. Education and training are more effective once recipients connect to the labor force and have a focus.
As a result, a successful welfare-to-work initiative in Colorado will require a clear focus on employment as a goal, coupled with strong job placement efforts offered competitively by nonprofit, for-profit and public sector organizations. These service providers offer a connection to the world of work and continue to deliver support services to recipients after placement. Service providers are paid only when a recipient gets and keeps a job - dollars follow results.
Finally, to go from welfare to work, adequate support services like child and health care will be needed, along with tough child support enforcement.
The Colorado DLC will be issuing a major position paper on welfare reform and conducting a number of public events related to the issues. Watch your fax machine or mailbox for more details.
Thanks for the Boost!
David Hunter, CEO of BI Industries in Boulder, recently became a member of the Colorado DLC's Board of Advisors. His cover letter to Jim Gibson reinforced why so many Coloradans are signing up to become part of the New Democrat movement. These words especially stood out:
"Both you and Governor Romer have assured me that the DLC is an organization for new Democrats.. people who believe that the same old sloganeering, partisan garbage of the past has no place in the future if indeed this nation is to get back on its feet. As a citizen who has become cynical toward the superficialities of business-as-usual government, I am heartened to know that the DLC represents this new breed of thinking. I'm in!"
David, thanks for both the moral and financial support. We promise to meet your expectations.