I don't believe that censorship is a Democratic ideal. When I become State Chair, one of the first things I will institute is the re-establishment of an open Democratic blog on the NDP website.
I am certain that my detractors will bring the fact that I wrote this as "proof" of my heresies committed against our party, but I felt you all had a right to see it as it actually appeared, rather than hearing about it from a jaundiced viewpoint.
Just before I headed out for the Nebraska Democratic Party State Convention last Friday, Sweeper asked me if I would consider reporting on the proceedings from my personal perspective. Since Leavenworth Street is THE place on the web for discussions concerning Nebraska politics, I agreed.
The results of the elections, the nominations, the rules changes, platform modifications and generation of resolutions are, no doubt, well covered in other venues such as the Weird Harold, television, other blogs, etc. I won't bore you readers with repetitions of such things. Let's face it, you're here for the gossip.
The convention in Columbus was the third one I have attended since becoming active in the NDP. I am now more accustomed to all the hoopla, rumor mongering, and Machiavellian maneuvering that takes place there. In fact, I participated in some of it. That's what keeps it interesting, for me at least.
It's always fun to see the gears of the predetermined machinations, such as the "election" of the permanent convention officers. I really wonder why they bother to go through the motions. Then there are all the speeches, many of them too long and windy, but designed to wear down even the most stout-hearted delegates so that they are too exhausted to care by the time the actual work of the convention rolls around.
The purpose of the convention, other than the election of the various party officers, caucus chairs, and the filling of other positions on committees and such, is to generate or modify the rules that govern how the party is supposed to function and to construct a party platform. Seeing how those rules and principles are so universally ignored following a convention, maybe it would be best if we just concentrated on electing a Chair for the party, handing him/her dictatorial powers, then adjourning to go enjoy an adult beverage or three.
There were some things in the NDP Constitution and Bylaws that I felt deserved the attention of the delegates, but when I went to find them in my copy of the C&B, as provided in my packet, I found several pages, including those I was interested in, were missing. By the time I found a complete copy, someone had jumped to their feet and pulled the classic ruse to impede any kind of possible progress by shouting, "I move to adjourn," and all the delegates, worn to a frazzle by the long-winded speakers, assented.
The discussions concerning the Platform were predictably long, tedious, and a vision of what hell must be like. This the time that all those in love with their own voices have the opportunity to wax poetic. Never will anyone hear more 'whereases', and 'be it resolveds'. When a simple statement such as, "The Nebraska Democratic Party favors good, and abhors evil," could suffice, we end up, instead, with paragraph upon paragraph of narrowly defined verbiage to assuage the egos of the authors. If everyone's personally favored group or cause isn't mentioned, there comes a flood of amendments, motions, and comments for and against ad nauseum.
Since the Platform discussions take place early Sunday, while everyone is still fresh, they are alloted much more time than those dedicated to the the arguments over the Constitution and Bylaws on Saturday. Never-mind that the C&B are the rules that govern how the party is run, and delineates the authority granted the various officers, caucuses and committees; ignore the fact that the Platform, once adopted never sees the light of day until the following convention, since it is universally ignored by practically every candidate and elected official; it is the Platform that gets the lion's share of attention.
From a personal perspective, there were two or three highlights I would like to share. Perhaps the most irritating of them took place during the 3rd CD Caucus. Brent Hultine, a member of the NDP Rules Committee, someone you would think SHOULD know better, made a motion to donate $500 to each of the statewide candidates from the 3rd CD Organizations treasury. Now, let me explain that the CD Caucus and the CD Organization are two completely different groups, however comprised of some overlapping membership, and the CD Caucus has no treasury. I pointed out the idiocy of such a move to the Chair, Marion Bahensky, who basically told me that it was appropriate, since she is the Chair of both groups. Once the caucus finally realized that error, the Chair then basically said, "That's alright the CDO's Executive Committee can decide to give the money, totally disregarding the fact that the CDO's Bylaws only allow the EC to spend up to $50 without authorization by the group's convened body. I then told her that doing so would result in me filing a complaint with AG Bruning and somebody would be going to jail. Of course, many of the delegates decided that it was I who was the a** in the situation. Go figure! What can you do when surrounded by such idiots?
Sunday morning we were "blessed" by the presence of Sen. Nelson. As the Sweeper's regular readers will note, I consider Sen. Nelson to be nothing more than a Republican in Democratic clothing. He blathered on about a bunch of stuff he'd love to take credit for, and strategically ignored the sins against the Democratic Party that he has so recently committed. I confronted him in the hallway and told him he needed to do more to help the unemployed in our nation. He was more concerned with how the government could pay for that. I told him that getting us out of Iraq and Afghanistan would do it. I pointed out that Alexander the Great, the Mongol Hordes, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union had all failed there and that the U.S. faced the same debilitating results that bankrupted the USSR. I told him NOW was the time to cut our losses. His staff hustled him away from me. Nothing like having your representative turn a deaf ear on you. That'll sure make me want to bust my ass to re-elect him!
Finally, as everyone at Sunday's meeting wondered just what I was up to when I stepped to the microphone during the time for crafting resolutions (rumors I had spread that I would enter one censoring Sen. Nelson obviously had some of them nervous) were dumbfounded by what came out of my mouth. I declared that I wanted a resolution to state, "The Nebraska Democratic Party supports and promotes the legalization of medicinal marijuana." After the laughter died down, and Robin Quarles seconded the motion, I explained my reasoning. Anyone who ever watched a loved one die a lingering, painful death from cancer or some other debilitating disease would probably give them anything they could to alleviate the suffering. Marijuana is a God given herb that does just that. It does it better than most of the pain killers manufactured by corporate pharmaceutical companies. The resolution passed. Finally ... my faith in the NDP was somewhat restored.
Brian T. Osborn
NDP Alternate Delegate to the SCC - LD38
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