Newsletter #46 - January 22, 2023

First a message from Florida!

We adopted the Democratic Creed because it’s time to take back words like Freedom, Justice, Equality, and Opportunity. The other guys have subverted and perverted the meaning of those words and crafted an emotional appeal that sounds patriotic when it’s anything but.

And let’s be clear: politics is emotional. A calm presentation of the facts isn’t going to end the divisiveness that affects our politics, friendships, and families. How many people have you tried to persuade with facts? How’d that go?

But emotions…emotions can change they way people think about something. And that’s what needs to happen now, all across the US. Democrats need to challenge the Republican misuse of the words of our Founding Fathers.

The Creed does exactly that by clarifying the real—the true—meaning of these words. We can’t wait to start sharing this message with the people of Charlotte County.

Dawn Mann

Chair, Charlotte County Democratic Executive Committee

And now a message from Ohio!

How We Changed the Vote

There are 35,000 registered voters in Huron County, Ohio. 20,000 are unaffiliated, and it’s getting worse. Vitriol .. the constant barrage of phone calls and texts and direct mail that filled 2020 .. drove away more than 3,000 of those Democrats, right into the ranks of the unaffiliated.

And then there’s 2023. Democrats comprise just 9.4% of the registered voters, yet last November, 44% of all registered voters in the county voted Yes for Issue One, Ohio’s protection for Reproductive Rights. That happened because everyone worked together, tirelessly. But most of all, this victory happened because the special election was about basic rights, about the kind of core values that are held by most Americans, the kind they recognize and care deeply about.

Our Huron County Democratic Party Activists used the basic values in the Democratic Creed – Freedom, Justice, and Opportunity – to express how important passage was to preserving these values.  We talked about the fact that the issue was about the Freedom to make very personal decisions without the interference of politicians. We talked about how Justice would be compromised, and how the Opportunity for fair and equal access would be denied if the amendment failed.

These things helped us reach common ground with the unaffiliated and disaffected voters, to talk about our shared values. We were then able to have meaningful conversations about other issues they felt were important.  We were able to convince these voters that we shared their concerns and that together we can make great strides toward a better community.

Did we discuss policy and politics? Absolutely. But first we had to connect. First we had to bridge that terrible divide that the Republican Party has concocted. We had to help these voters understand that Democrats are not the enemy, that we are not the radicals the Republicans make us out to be, that we want the same things they do.  Most importantly, we share the same values. The Democratic Creed states these values in a clear, unequivocal manner that is as accessible to independents as it is to Democrats. It is the starting point for change.

We need these unaffiliated voters and the disillusioned Republicans to help save our democracy. To reach them we need to start with common ground. We must demonstrate we share the same values if we want them to go on and vote Democrat.  Our actions and repeated use of the Democratic Creed accomplishes this. It changes our identity back to who we are – the protectors of our American values, the protectors of our democracy. 

Karen Prelipp

Chair, Huron County Democratic Party, Ohio