• November 18, 2004| 3:09 p.m. ET
Lutefisk and the Dems (Joe Trippi)
Five or six months ago, not even thinking that November 5th would be just a few days after our elections, I agreed to a couple of meetings and talks in Europe about how to get more people engaged in the political process— both in terms of campaigns but also in terms of governance.
When I landed in Oslo, Norway I promised myself that I would not try the Lutefisk, a Norwegian delicacy that consists of dried fish, remoistened by soaking it in lye, and then extracting the lye so you are not poisoned when you eat the fish. I let my guard down and tried the Lutefisk and imagine I had the same look on my face as the average Norwegian had when I was asked, “What happened in your elections? How did Bush win?”
The questions were the same everywhere I went.
But now I am back and I haven’t eaten any Lutefisk in over a week, but the news these days is like Lutefisk only the lye hasn’t been leached out of it.
It turns out John Kerry has $15 million dollars left in his campaing coffers. No way that money would have made a difference in Ohio! What were they thinking? Were they saving the money to buy new drapes for the Oval Office?
Many of you will remember that it was the Republicans in 1994 who (in an effort to clean up the House) instituted the rule that required anyone in the House Leadership to step down when charged with a felony. Now that it appears that one of their leaders (Tom DeLay) may be on his way to a felony indictment the Republicans have changed that rule. How does the saying go? Oh yeah…. "Power corrupts."
The interesting thing is how the Republicans defend their change of heart saying, “Any District Attorney can for political reasons indict a leader in the House and he would have to step down”. While this is true— it is also true that for 10 years since the rule was passed no such District Attorney has done any such thing. Tom DeLay on the other hand may now be charged with a felony and still serve in the House Leadership— so much for Republican promises to clean up the House.
Finally the Democratic Party seems to be in complete denial that it needs to reform itself from the bottom-up. Forget about putting anyone in the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee who is carrying water for any of the potential 2008 nominees. Forget about putting anyone in as Chair of the Party who is a figurehead, a symbol, or a placeholder. What the Party needs is someone who is committed to building a vibrant, energized party from the grassroots up to make gains in the House and Senate in 2006, and who will continue to build a party of ideas so that whoever wins the 2008 nomination is leading a modernized Party that can win the Presidency.
In other words— stop the gamesmanship, and the politics as usual— and put some outside the box thinking in place to build a new party from within.
Why do the Norwegians take a perfectly good and moist fish, dry it, and then soak it in lye to moisten it again— then leach the lye out so you can eat something that even the Norwegians admit you have to acquire a taste for?
And why has the Democratic Party taken on the definition of insanity— doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?
Both remain a mystery to me.
What I know is that now is the time to embrace real reform within the Democratic Party, and now is the time for grassroots Democrats to demand that reform.
Hey, let me know what you think. E-mail me at JTrippi@msnbc.com JTrippi@msnbc.com