What I learned at the Jefferson County Democratic Meeting

    Being alarmed by the election of He who Shall Not be Named, I decided I needed to get more politically involved.  So, me and a lot of other people who had the same idea attended the Jefferson County Democratic  meeting downtown Watertown last night.
What I learned:
-in a recent election for district attorney only 16 percent of registered Democrats voted
-Aaron Woolf offered a million dollars of his own money to run for Congress in 2014,  Mike Derrick offered a  half million
-the only 'viable' candidate for congress is one with lots (and lots) of money.
-the prevailing attitude regarding the office of Congresswoman for our district currently held by the young Republican woman who had lots and lots and lots(and still has lots) of money  is that it is unwinnable for Democrats.
-a young woman volunteering to help with registration and who has attended the last three meetings was largely ignored.  Told it was her responsibility to "get aggressive".
-that there are plenty of openings on the Jefferson county Democratic Committee in outlying districts. Four open in Henderson alone.
-that there is a core of dedicated folks who have kept the Democratic party in the North Country going somehow despite being overwhelmingly outnumbered.
-that to change things requires thinking out of the box.

     My suggestions:
-try a go fund me page as well as a pancake breakfast.
-get savvy with social media.  Tweet.  Our new commander, He Who Shall Not be Named tweets nasty crap.  Give it back.
-greet new people who show up at meetings with open arms.  I got the feeling from the folks who have been doing this for years that we were looked upon as tourists and that once the tourists went away you'd just go back to doing things the way you always have been.

    What I am going to do now after all I have learned:
-check out the Independent Party
-maybe start my own party.  Remember the Guy who ran for Governor on The Rent is Too Damn High ticket?  He didn't win but raised a little heck, got some issues out there, got his point across, got people thinking.  In many ways this seems more productive than searching for the next person with lots and lots of money to waste in a defeatist district that is pretty sure that they can't win anyway.

    It was a bit disheartening.  Yes.  But, never the less, I will persist.