PDHblog
This is a place for members of Progressive Democrats of Hawai‘i to express their thoughts
and exasperations about political happenings. The opinions and views are not necessarily
those of PDH's steering committee or membership as a whole.

Last night at our monthly PDH meeting we went around the room and people reported the major issues that had come before the different Convention Committees. To summarize, there seemed to be different dynamics operating in the different committees. In some (e.g. National/International), much work was done “behind the scenes” so the battle in committee was cordial and no fight made it to the floor of the convention. In some (e.g. platform, health), there was significant debate within the committee that resulted in removal of some “progressive” language that was then added back in via floor debate the next day. In at least one (rules) there was major debate within the committee, which resulted in preventing a few changes that may have caused an uproar on the floor of the convention. It is one of those battles that I want to expand on here.

A rule change was proposed that would have implemented mandatory dues for all Democratic Party of Hawai‘i members. The logic behind this proposal was: The Party has been struggling financially for many years, sometimes unable to pay rent or perform simple tasks that people take for granted. In order to continue operating, the Party has relied on large contributions by a few of the elected officials (e.g. Inouye). From the point of view of some “electeds,” they are tired of bailing the Party out. From the point of view of some activists, relying on large donations from a few may give those few large influence in Party operations. Everyone seemed to agree that the Party was in dire need of funds and something had to be done… the fight came down to how it should be done. On one side: mandatory dues for all members. On the other side (the side I was advocating for): a commitment to do a better job of reaching out to members for donations including compromise language calling for “voluntary dues” that had been added in at one of the pre-convention committee meetings. The final vote was a tie, which means that the change didn’t pass. Result, no mandatory dues.

In my view this was a victory and a challenge. A victory in that we would not have to face a huge public relations disaster. A victory that we wouldn’t potentially be offending and alienating a large number of new members. A challenge to reach out to Party members and ask for donations. To ask differently than we have before. To go beyond simple mail-outs asking for a check. More importantly, a challenge to make the Party relevant to its members so that they will want to donate.

When describing the debate that went on in the rules committee meetings to my family and a few friends, the response I got was “So, who cares if the Party has money? What does the Party need money for?” This is a fair response and I think it deserves a serious answer. My response was thus: What do you want the Party to be? Do you want it simply to be a group of politicians with D’s after their names? Or do you want it to be a group that outlines and advocates for certain principles, not only during elections, but all the time? If your answer is the latter, then the Party needs money. Money for an office, for staff and for materials.

People tend to donate to political candidates and have a vague idea that their money is, at least in part, going to help the Party. There also seems to be a general impression that the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i is rich and powerful, simply because Democrats have dominated Hawai‘i politics for so long. In reality, Senator Inouye (and others) have a lot of money and have a lot of power in the Democratic Party because the Party depends on them for money. If people are cynical about how the Party operates in Hawai‘i, I challenge them to be a part of the change. That is what I am trying to do. The Party is us. The Party is what we make it. Sounds corny, I know, but there really is truth to it.

I went to the Party website today and made a small donation. If you want the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i to be influenced more by the grassroots than by the big boys, then put your money where your mouth is.