THE PROMISE OF A NEW START

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

(Arlington County Democratic Committee)

Report from the Chairman

Peter Rousselot

As we prepare to greet the New Year, we should all take pride in the promise of a new start--for our country, for our Democratic Party, for ourselves.

Our new Democratic President, Barack Obama, is moving swiftly and decisively to assemble a wonderful leadership team to address the incredible array of daunting challenges this country confronts. If ever there was a time that we should be questioning old ways of doing things, this is it! The economic crisis that the Bush administration is leaving behind offers an unprecedented opportunity to accelerate "change we can believe in." With his political capital at its peak, President Obama must be bold. He should cast aside pleas for gradualism, and present an inter-related program to address the economy, health care reform, and climate change all at the same time. He should renew his challenge to all Americans to commit to a cause greater than their own personal ambitions.

As I write this, it remains to be seen how Obama's Presidential campaign innovations will be integrated into the efforts of the Democratic National Committee and state and local Democratic committees. But, those innovations were so successful, and so appealing, that I am confident that the Obama campaign leadership will incorporate lessons learned in his campaign into the ways in which the Democratic National Committee and these other committees do their work.

Here in Virginia, we have a wonderful opportunity to continue to build upon the Democratic successes of the last 7 years--years in which we took over the Governorship, both U.S. Senate seats, control of our U.S .Congressional delegation, and control of the VA State Senate. In 2009, Virginia Democrats need to build on this record by winning the races for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, and taking back control of the Virginia House of Delegates. Let’s go from Blue to Deep Blue!

In Arlington, we are fortunate to have outstanding, progressive Democratic leaders in charge of our County Board, School Board, Richmond delegation, and our U.S. Congressional representative. In 2009, our Democratic leaders on the County and School Board will be facing some extremely difficult budget choices, and we should help them with advice and suggestions to arrive at the fairest possible results. Moreover, we should be actively looking for opportunities to volunteer to help other non-profit groups serving the least fortunate in our community since the impacts of our distressed economy will fall disproportionately on them.

It is never wise to rest on one's laurels, and we local Democrats certainly should not do so. At ACDC, we are planning a retreat in the early part of the New Year to examine a number of critical issues that we face, and to identify various ways in which we can do even better. It’s always a good idea to do this periodically, but I have to say that I was even more inspired to do it after taking a call from Delegate Bob Brink the morning after the November 4 election--an election in which Barack Obama got 72% of the Arlington vote, Barbara Favola 75%, and Mark Warner 76%. In that call, Bob asked, "Well, Peter, how are you going to top this?"

I believe the best way to "top this" is continuously to question the ways in which we do what we do, even when what we do appears to be characterized by extraordinary success. The pace of technological change alone demands that we re-examine what we do in order to continue to be leaders in Democratic activism. New tools for communicating electronically among ourselves, with voters, and with other interested parties can be integrated into the more traditional ways in which we communicate to produce even more effective results. We want to set the pace, not trail it. With your help, we will!

PETER ROUSSELOT