What party neutrality is not
One of the easiest ways to tell if you’re accomplishing something is to decide what it means. In order to consider neutrality, I think we need to clarify what neutrality does not mean. The party’s neutrality is not about silencing elected officials – the party has no way of doing so, and the rights of the First Amendment far outweigh any party rules that we could attempt to establish. If the party told elected officials that they couldn’t support someone, they would laugh at the party and remind us that they were elected with more than democratic votes: they also received votes from non-members and even from some Republicans in many cases their districts. Neither is neutrality about the party ensuring that campaigns have equal access to funds. As a reminder, every state has laws that regulate campaign funding. Neither is party neutrality about the party asking organizations to stay out of the approval process. The party does not have this power either.
So what is party neutrality?
The party has the means to remain neutral. State organizations and party leaderships should avoid making certain entries in a primary. That is certainly one of the key elements of party neutrality.
Some of the elements of party neutrality are things that we just don’t think about, but are important behind the scenes. The party has access to several tools. They offer candidates the opportunity to use fundraising tools, access party database systems, and have equal access to meetings and events.
If an event hosted by a district, county, or state party is taking place, lead candidates should be welcome to attend and make their case before the people most likely to promote their campaign and work hard.
The party can be glue, but …
Think of the Democratic Party as glue. The party provides tools that you can use to ensure that your campaign is on par with every other candidate. The party’s power lies in connecting you to these tools. When the party is neutral, everyone has access to the same instruments and the party leadership – from party leader down – stays out of the approval process.
While the party itself is glue, our membership is not. As a candidate, you are free and encouraged to seek endorsements. Confirmations can come from prominent current elected officials or former officials. You can seek support from outside organizations or argue with your main opponent that they should consider stepping out of the race to bolster the democratic cause this fall.
The party is also not affiliated with any organizations – by that I mean DGA, DCCC, DSCC and others. Your main goal will be established protection. These organizations are not the party. They are not and cannot be dictated by any party structure in any state. When you talk about the party remaining neutral, it is important to remember what the party is exactly.
Prepare for 2022
Republicans will seek all possible ways to strip Democratic voters from voting and to degrade Democrats’ standing in state houses by tearing districts apart and crowding the Democratic elected together. They will do this by making the districts more republican or by placing an incumbent elected Democratic official outside of the district they currently represent.
We will have many primaries and many unknowns in 2022 based on the results of the census and redistribution. When you know what lies ahead, we can make sure we don’t get caught up in the blame game about what can be done to give your candidate the chance to succeed.
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