Blog For Arizona

Peter's Wanderings

Our friend and fellow Dean supporter Peter Newton is taking a trip. He will be traveling through some of the mountain states and midwest on business. He will be taking some time along the way to contact Dean supporters. Hopefully Peter will be reporting back via a new feature on this Blog: Audio Blog Posts.

I hope we learn a lot about what's happening in the movement elsewhere in America from Peter's reflections. Here is his an email he sent on his return from the State Democratic Party Platform Convention in Flagstaff last weekend:

"I thought that the State Meeting on Saturday was pretty interesting. I learned a lot bout what's happening around the state, and Pima County isn't as well off as we would like to think, vis a vie the rest of the state. We've got our work cut out for us.

"As for Dean, we need to make our table have some more pizzazz. The Clark people had a power point presentation and VERY pushy people working the crowd. The Kerry folks got there early and placard the place with signs. The Edwards folks brought a big banner and snappy fliers. The Kucinich folks had videos, books, all matter of media to hawk (and their Flag people are far more humane than many of the Pima supporters). I couldn't tell how well any group did in convincing people. And I saw my first Lieberman, anything.

"If I weren't so tired and busy, I'd blog a bit about the experience [well, you just did, Peter- Michael]. I also have a bunch to blog about reading media sites along my planned trip route. Many of the NPR networks in the plains states are addressing some very interesting issues that ACTUALLY reflect the issues that face their listeners every day, and not just the ones the consultants throw at them. It should be an interesting learning experience, this trip. I'm interested to learn about my country again. Unfortunately, I won't have the chance that I'd like to have, chatting with folks, spending leisurely amounts of time sipping coffee in cafes and reading the paper, or simply gazing at the landscape, listening to the wind tell the stories that can't be found in the pretension of conversation. I hope that Dean will take that chance here soon.

"This trip is almost ALL business, but I will try to connect with a Dean group in Kansas City to see what they are up to. I am also planning a trip to St. Paul in Labor Day to join another Dean group at a Jim Hightower event. He will be signing copies of his new book, and Greg Palast is said to be speaking also. It should be good. I will also attend a Meetup in Mankato. Before I return, I will try to see if there are any events in Lincoln, Denver or Albuquerque.

"I will try to blog as I go, if Kinko's will let me [At this point Peter had not yet been informed of the phone in audio blog feature- Michael]. If not, I'll e-blast to Mike Bryan, and perhaps he can post it. I hope that there will be many interesting things to learn, much as I learned on Saturday. I only wish I had more time to network. Perhaps I will soon, traveling the state to learn more about what people are doing that is succeeding. We have a lot to learn down here about being "real" democrats. Pima County Democrats are more like Demagogues than Democrats, and in some cases, Demadogs. No individual one has the right answer, but each contain a piece of the puzzle that is the answer, and we must begin the building of that coalition to flesh out that puzzle.

"When I return, I have a few plans I want to put into place. One is to follow up on an earlier email that spoke about getting our Dean Teams active in the community. I hope to organize a Dean Team walk for our man Tom Volgy, so we can reach some of his people and try to make them ours too. I also plan to hold a happy hour for Young Democrats that will include a social with the campaigns, and no this happy hour will not be for students. I'm tired of everything going to the U of A or controlled by retirees. I love both, but we have a HUGE doughnut hole in the party that leave people ages 25-60 out in the cold. This must change, and I need to stop waiting for it to happen. Students, of course, are welcome.

"Anyway, I'm soapboxing, and I have to pack. I won't be able to check my email until Friday, so keep the emails to a minimum of high importance.

"Peter

"BTW, I love the way spell check changes Lieberman to Liberian."

Have fun, Peter. I hope your trip is a success.

posted by Michael Bryan @ 8/26/2003 01:43:00 PM