Democratic Meeting Sleepy Despite Election

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

I covered a political rally at the University of Miami for John Kerry too many years ago. I described the students squeezed into the rally as enthusiastically cheering and chanting for Kerry.

The passion that the partisan students showed for Kerry in 2004 didn’t translate into victory. 

Kerry lost Florida by almost 400,000 votes — 4 percentage points — and he lost the presidency, too.

 

John Kerry campaigns at the University of Miami, 2004

 

Enthusiasm doesn’t automatically convert into victory. So maybe the last general meeting of the Broward Democratic Party before the election isn’t indicative of the results in November.

The October meeting last week was both lightly attended and lifeless. Shockingly lifeless!  I’ve seen more life from Disney World’s robotic automatrons.

Mitch Ceasar, the former party chair, tried to light a fire under the audience as guest speaker. Known as a stemwinder who can get folks out of their chairs, Ceasar was unable to get any excitement out of the Democrats at Diecke Auditorium in Plantation. 

 

Mitch Ceasar, speaking to an earlier meeting of the party

 

“We need to do something. Walk door-to-door. If you can’t walk door-to-door, hold a sign. If you can’t hold a sign, phone bank. Everybody has a value. Everybody needs to do something,” Ceasar tried to rouse the crowd. “We can’t take this one for granted.” 

He was greeted with less excitement than a meeting of morticians.

Luckily for Democrats, the party organization is largely meaningless.  Candidates like Andrew Gillum build their own grass roots county-level organizations, largely cutting out the local party.

Gillum’s team and County Commissioner Dale Holness told the Democrats that the governor’s campaign is already fielding dozens of volunteers and paid staff from multiple Broward offices. Some of them are members of the local party organization, but they are working through Gillum.

There were only roughly 90 folks at the Democratic meeting this week, but that figure is deceptive. Many, if not most, were members of other campaigns and a smattering of elected officials. 

One reason for the disinterest in the Democratic Party meeting: Voters are less partisan and more inclined to be independents. 

There were 90 at the meeting this week. 

“I can’t believe that so few showed up a month before the election,” one Democrat said as he looked around. 

One caveat: The meeting day was changed because of a Jewish holiday, so that may have caused a number of Democrats may have stayed away.

“Many other such as myself weren’t there because they had already previous commitments that included signed up to do voter registration, phone banking, as well as other obligations,” Michael Emanuel Rajner wrote Browardbeat.com.

But still……

Ninety Democrats showed up on the eve of the most anticipated election in modern times. Ninety showed up just before an election that is the a referendum on perhaps the Democrats’ most hated opponent ever — Donald Trump. 

If 90 showed up before the election, how many will show up at a party meeting after the election when interest in politics drops off?

Maybe they can hold the Broward Democratic Party meeting after the election in a Volkswagen bug. 



5 Responses to “Democratic Meeting Sleepy Despite Election”

  1. City activist Robert Walsh says:

    Tell u one thing.Mayor Gillum is organized.From what i hear he is ahead of Disanti.However Gov.Scott is ahead of Sen.Nelson.Gillum needs to keep ” bring it home”.Love that slogan.Nelson needs to put. the petal to the metal and get moving.If things keep going as of right now Scott prevails…

  2. Former Democrat who said "Adios" says:

    Recently I had the displeasure of spending some time on Cape Cod. If you haven’t visited this vile place, it’s a mass of gray haired screaming, radical liberal women in L.L. Bean attire “advocating” for minorities, immigrants, anti-police etc. meeting over coffee reminiscing about how they marched back in 1968. These are the suburban spoiled brat baby boomers who were out in corporate America in the ’80’s, raking in six figure incomes and driving Volvo’s. With their fat retirement nest eggs, they bought homes on the Cape, an island, which is 97% white- and as far from urban problems as possible. Now reliving their youth, they, Pocahontas and David Hogg are about to “change the world. ” Democrats” are bailing out because they are sick of the entitlement and hypocrisy. They’re tired of minorities being used as pawns to prop up a party whose sole interest is their vote. Gillum is aligned with Runcie and Sheriff Israel. If that’s not enough to sway a vote, than what is?

  3. City activist Robert Walsh says:

    #2.Some of those woman describe on Cape Cod are friends of mine.I will give you credit your observations on these gals was.spot on.To a T..U should see them when they drink.Entertaining to say the least.Ps.They throw great coctail hours.

  4. A Reader says:

    The Democratic party has changed its respect for traditional means to win elections. The meeting described in this article seems to be old style.
    The new style Democratic party is headlined by Booker (Spartacus), Waters, Sanders, and new faces like Ocasio-Cortez.
    Maybe the Dems stayed home because it is more interesting to hear Booker and Waters scream about getting in Republicans’ faces. Maybe the Dems are holding up to $750 in their fists to hear Bill and Hillary say the same old things over and over, ex. “I did not have sex with that woman.” Maybe they are following Holder who says “kick ’em” when dealing with Republicans.
    Maybe they are following the lead of Hillary who advocates the lack of civility until the Dems take power again.
    Local politics have been corrupted by players on the national stage and by millions and millions of dollars from billionaires who live in other states or other countries.
    The Democratic party is splintered by socialism. Maybe people who believe in that form of government want nothing to do with traditional candidates and traditional means of winning elections.
    Just maybe, the Democrats are abandoning their lock step voting patterns and ignoring old style politics.

  5. bob says:

    1994? Kerry? Really?

    If memory serves there were presidential elections in 1992 and 1996. Some guy named Clinton ran, I think. I must have missed the one in 1994 when Kerry was running in Florida.

    FROM BUDDY:

    You are right. It was a typo. Thanks for spotting it.