Score One For The Liberal Netroots!

by John Hawkins | May 18, 2006 9:54 am

It seems the Democratic netroots community has finally won an enormous victory and America will never be the same again! From Chris Bowers over at MyDD:[1]

Today, in just three divisions (precincts) available to me, Kevin and I pulled over 100 votes. With only 27-01, 27-02, and 27-23 reporting, we have reached roughly 110 votes. And that is only three divisions (precincts). We won, and we won huge. We accomplished exactly what I had hoped–win the election in our home precincts, with all outside assistance as frosting / margin for error. It is over. We won. I feel like crying. I honestly cannot believe this happened. I accepted Kevin’s offer to run less than eight days ago. I will now serve on the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. The city, the state, and the nation will change as a result. I promise everyone that.

The “city, the state, and the nation will change as a result” of his victory? Really? Pray tell, how is he going to accomplish that? After a bit of scouting around, I found the Bowers agenda[2], the one that will change this country forever:

I believe that in the event I am elected to state Democratic committee, I can bring a lot to the table to help both the Pennsylvania State Party and the progressive reform movement. If I am on the Pennsylvania state committee, I believe that no other state party committee in the nation would possess greater knowledge about the nature of online political activity. I could bring valuable insight and skills on how to build a strong local blog scene to transform local media, and how to tap into the deep well of political activism that is the netroots. At the same time, I believe I can serve as a truly progressive voice within what strikes me as the generally conservative Pennsylvania Democratic Party. I could also push for important reforms such as greater intra-party democracy, challenging every Republican held office in the state, and fewer party endorsements in primaries. Overall, I think I would serve as a vital link between the established state party and the newly energized progressive reform movement. I believe that both groups can be changed, both groups can be strengthened, and that ultimately both groups are better off when they can work together in a sustainable progressive ecosystem.

Translation of that mush: he’s going to suggest that all the Democratic politicos in PA be more liberal, read the Daily KOS, and he’ll try to convince them to sink resources into races that the Dems can’t possibly win in an attempt to emulate Howard Dean’s silly “50 state strategy.”

Well, with brilliant plans like that, it’s no wonder that he suspected the “darker forces” tried to rig the voting machines to stop him:

Let this also be a lesson to any Democratic establishment that does not care about making every vote count. At around 8:30 am today, I was ready to declare massive voter fraud in my campaign, because both of the machines in my district were not allowing write-in votes. Worried that darker forces had tried to keep Kevin and I from taking office by screwing with our machines, I spent much of the morning on the phone with the board of elections and with committee people in other divisions (precincts) in our ward. Eventually, it became apparent to me that the voting machine problems I was experiencing were not he result of foul play, but instead the result of an apathetic and incompetent election system in Philadelphia that really did not give a rat’s *ss whether. everyone had the right to vote or not.

I’m sure that right now there’s a Republican operative sitting in a dark office somewhere, twirling a long black mustache, and saying, “Curses! Our sinister plan has been foiled again and now that young house of fire, Chris Bowers, will get on the Democratic State Committee and change the “city, the state, and the nation…as a result.”…snicker.

Well, whatever the case may be, it would be ungracious not to congratulate Bowers on his victory. So, here’s to you, Chris! Let’s hope that you and lots of other liberal bloggers get into positions of power in the Democratic party, preferably ones that allow all of you to get lots and lots of mike time in front of the general public — so that you can “educate them” about impeachment, gay marriage, surrendering to terrorism in Iraq and other issues near and dear to the hearts of liberals.

Hat tip to Brainster’s Blog[3] for the story.