Steve Ybarra Reflects on DFA Grassroots Campaign Training

Steve Ybarra, elected Vice-Chair of the DNC Hispanic Caucus and Chair of the Pacific Region Hispanic Caucus, was one of the many experienced trainers at the DFA Grassroots Campaign Training in Charlottesville last weekend, which was attended by over 80 grassroots activists from around the Commonwealth.

In a recent column on HispanicVista.com, inspired by his visit to train grassroots Democratic activists in Virginia this weekend, Steve Ybarra writes:

One of the things that I learned during the Dean Campaign was that there are lots of Americans who want to be involved in the political process.  These are people who have jobs and work to feed their families and find out that the skills that they have are transferable. Washingtonian types are afraid of these folks because they do not follow the rules, including the one that all money must go into media campaign coffers.

These Americans want to talk to the people who live near them, and as neighbors, pray with them and play with them.  Ordinary Democrats have frustrations because they have no real outlet to get local state and county parties organized nor can they figure out how to run their local political lives.  Democracy is all about the basics.

So what is the answer?  Let us get on the road and get Democrats working to take over school boards, county commissions, city councils, and parks and recreation boards, and then we will get rid of these incompetent people at the top.

The entire article is reprinted with permission after the jump.

"It Is Raining Democrats in Virginia"

By Steven J. Ybarra, JD
HispanicVista.com

April 30, 2005

I love flying at midnight.  It is an unusual group of people who get on a plane to go someplace in the middle of the night.  There are professionals, vacationers, students and those in search of sleep.

This weekend, I got on a midnight flight to Dulles and then drove to Charlottesville, Virginia to help train Democrats in this important red state.  It is amazing to me that 90 folks will show up on a Saturday and Sunday to figure out how to become involved in the process of overthrowing a fascist regime.  OK, so not all Republicans are fascist, they are just mentally challenged.  Last week when I was in South Carolina the important issue to Republicans was whether it was the fault of women that they were getting beat by abusive husbands.

I am amazed that Americans are not paying attention to what is going on in Afghanistan!  We are seeing news every day on Iraq being bombed by dissidents and “insurgents”.  Hey, who does not remember the Whiskey rebellion?  America has a great history of insurgency.  We do the “bomb the other side” because they are schmucks and we do not like what they are doing to us.

The problem is that we are not mad about what Bush is doing to us.  So let us look at what is going on in America what Bush the lesser is so good at!  Bush the lesser has managed to divert the discussion about how America has become the biggest opium drug producer in the world to educating our kids in private schools.  Afghanistan is now sending more opium out to all of us than any other country in the world!  Talk about democracy in action!

Here is the question of the day - What are you doing to talk about our failure to attack the issue of drug production?

We have spent 200 billion dollars on a war to perfect drug production! If we are going to make sure that democracy works, we need to first deal with Afghanistan, after all they are the enemy!  It was Afghanistan where the war on terror started.  It was Afghanistan where ol’ sam ben layden trained his folks.  It was Afghanistan where women were property and still are.  It is Afghanistan that is our greatest failure in this war.

It is time to recognize that the reason why we have no money for schools, social security, health care, roads, water and sewer systems is because of George W. Bush and the evil triumvirate of Candy Rice, Cheney and Rumsfeld.  These people have no clue on how to run the government so they keep coming up with enemies we need to attack.  [Pogo was right.]

One of the things that I learned during the Dean Campaign was that there are lots of Americans who want to be involved in the political process.  These are people who have jobs and work to feed their families and find out that the skills that they have are transferable. Washingtonian types are afraid of these folks because they do not follow the rules, including the one that all money must go into media campaign coffers.

These Americans want to talk to the people who live near them, and as neighbors, pray with them and play with them.  Ordinary Democrats have frustrations because they have no real outlet to get local state and county parties organized nor can they figure out how to run their local political lives.  Democracy is all about the basics.

So what is the answer?  Let us get on the road and get Democrats working to take over school boards, county commissions, city councils, and parks and recreation boards, and then we will get rid of these incompetent people at the top.

All politics are in fact local.  So get on the midnight flyer and talk to America about democracy.

©Steven J. Ybarra JD is a retired civil rights attorney who operates a consultant company in California.  He is a member of the Democratic National Committee and a long time political activist.  Contact Steven at: [email protected].  This article is copyright by Steven J. Ybarra JD, originally published in http://www.hispanicvista.com/ but permission is granted for reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this entire credit paragraph is attached. 

Comments

[Anonymous]

for more info on House races go to virginia2005.blogspot.com

[Christian Grantham]

It's about 8:05 in the morning here at our campaign head quarters on Bull Run Mountain, and I'm barely finding the time to squeeze out this comment. Why? Because this past weekend was so amazing that it's made me realize there is a hell of a lot of work to done!

You guys did a superb job with the training. It was a valuable experience that will pay-off big time for our campaign to elect Bruce Roemmelt to the VA House of Delegates for the 13th District.

Now that we see the work ahead a little more clearly, we also see we need a lot of help. Even though we started late on fundraising (Feb. 2005), we still outraised our opponent ($30,000 - I know Steve hates those zeros, but time is a precious asset), and we're going to do it again this quarter, too. Now we have to also out do our opponent, one of VA's most radical, extreme and ineffective delegates, in the field. The 13th District deserves leadership and can do much better.

To do that, we need everyone's help. The one thing I'd ask anyone reading this to do right now is to simply visit our campaign's website at www.Bruce2005.org. Join our campaign! Sign up to recieve our updates. That's it.

I want to thank each of the DFA trainers for stepping up, giving their time and giving us the training we needed to win!

[Elaine in Roanoke]

Just as I'll never forget the first time I heard Howard Dean dare to tell truth to power, I'll never forget Steve Ybarra saying to us, "Why aren't there any 'Democrats for Gun Safety Clubs'?" and "Why don't Democrats make it safe and easy for parents to bring their children to organizing meetings?" and "You do know that you are not 'normal Americans,' don't you? Normal people aren't at an all-day political meeting on a Saturday."
He threw out so many logical, self-evident ideas that I'll have to return again and again to the notes I took during his presentations.
The whole weekend was extremely well-done and loaded with information to make all of us better grassroots organizers. Thanks to DFA, LFA, DFV, and all the people who participated. Now, all we have to do is reach out to all those "normal" people in our neighborhoods who were grilling steaks and watching TV while we enjoyed great company and excellent training.

[Sam Osborne]

Thanks to everyone at DFV, I am always amazed at the long term effect that Howard Dean had in bringing us all together and out of the wood work. I hear stories of people who left jobs to go and work for a real democracy not the sham that the Bushies would like us to believe.
Thanks again for the hospitality and the energy.

[Islewood, AKA Sam Osborne, A Voice]

We can greatly admire those from among us that step into harm’s way in defense of all of the rest of us.

We need not admire those that twist support for our brave troops to justify their questionable actions and judgment—particularly when what is proposed and excused mires our service men and women in a place of grave danger.

These magnificent members of our military stand and fight and do not hide behind anyone; the man that has sent them there should not try to hide behind them.

How long will George W. Bush try to conceal his misjudgment behind their valiant service? In his State of the Union, he claimed we cannot fail in Iraq. The fact is that Bush already has. His war in Iraq is a failure and the task we now face it to pick up the pieces as best we can.

The failure is not that of our troops; it is that of a man who has misused their valor, dedication to duty, and precious lives. The failure is also that of those that are still willing to tolerate his disgracefully incompetent leadership.

All distortions that attempt to mask the horror that is Iraq will not change what is obvious; we have an incredibly incompetent president backed by a straggling band of sycophants. This man can only lead sheep--may his dwindling flock of followers have a nice bah, bah, bah.

[Manuel]

Dear Mr. Ybarra,

Hillary Clinton deserves the Hispanic support. Ahora y siempre! Please consider this request seriously,

Thank you!

Manuel M. Rodriguez

[Manuel]

Dear Mr. Ybarra,

Hillary Clinton deserves the Hispanic support. Ahora y siempre! Please consider this request seriously,

Thank you!

Manuel M. Rodriguez

[Dave]

MR. YBARRA...
AT THIS TIME YOU MUST VACATE YOUR SEAT AND GET OUT. IT IS fXXXXXXX ILLEGAL TO SELL VOTES