January 8, 2004
Dear DNC Southern Caucus Member:
The race for our next DNC Chairman is now in full
swing. Having personally spoken with
over 150 DNC members over the past three weeks, one thing is clear to
me –
while we have many challenges ahead of us, we have both the will and
the talent
to bring our party back to majority status.
For the past four years, Chairman Terry McAuliffe has
successfully built a solid base for our national party.
Our financial house is in order and great
gains have been made in technology, voter contact and message
dissemination. Our mission now is to
take these resources and invest them outside Washington
to build our state parties and become a force that can win elections in
ALL of
our 50 states – not just a few.
We face some serious challenges and some disturbing
trends. In this last presidential
election, Democrats lost 97 of the 100 fastest growing counties in America. We lost married women voters and saw
Republicans effectively appeal to the African American community via
its
churches. We lost Catholic voters and
lost ground with Hispanic and Jewish voters.
The lessons from the past cycle are clear: we
need to recalibrate our message, make
needed changes, find our voice, and produce victories.
I vividly remember in 1968 attending a rally for Senator
Robert Kennedy. I was just 12 years old
then, and did not really comprehend the complexities of the Vietnam War. But I did see the diversity in the crowd,
felt the electricity in the air, and saw people respond to his positive
message
of hope. Kennedy challenged us to think
anew and to get involved. His challenge
is our clarion call now, some 34 years later.
I have listened carefully to you over the past three
weeks. And I plan to continue that
dialogue into the new year and take your suggestions on how we can
bring true
change to our party’s operations so that we invest in our human and
physical
capital where it matters most – at the state and local level.
During the holidays, I shared with you my goals as a prospective
candidate for DNC chair. In listening to
you, those goals have not changed, but I have a fresh perspective on
them
having heard your concerns and aspirations for our party.
They are:
·
To win on
tough territory. The key word here
is WIN. I come from the Midwest,
and ran successfully for Congress six times in a “Red” state. My congressional district had both suburban
and rural voters, and I know what it takes to be successful not just in
areas where
we already can win, but where we have challenges. We
must take every election to all fifty
states – not just a few. If we do not,
we will rapidly become a permanent minority party of the few, not a
national
party of many.
·
To have
Democrats show we have a strong and clear national security policy. The 2004 presidential election was conducted
in an atmosphere where American families were concerned about their
safety and
our national security. That environment
favors an incumbent president, and, at the end of the day, we did not
convince
Americans that our vision for American security was better than
President
Bush’s failed policy. The world is
different after September 11, and it calls for new and different
solutions. As Democrats, if we cannot
make Americans feel safe, we will not win elections.
President Truman said that we could build a
smarter, tougher national security policy for America
and win the Cold War. He was right, and
we should cede no quarter to Republicans on this issue.
·
To truly
embrace the “Big Tent” mantra of our party.
We all talk about it. We need to
live it, every day – in our message, and in our outreach.
There must be a place in our party for
diverse views. We must respect the
opinions of others, and have a party-wide conversation about how we
assure
Americans that we respect people of faith and connect with their values
and
their everyday lives. Inclusiveness and
tolerance have always been the foundation of our party.
We must not be contemptuous of those who hold
a diverse view. That is the Republican
way, not ours. .
·
To build
and enhance our state parties.
Elections are not won in Washington,
D.C. Our
state party organizations are the
backbone of our party, and the key to our future strength.
Congressional majorities and the White House
are important, but we won’t get there unless we empower our state
parties to
win local, state legislative, gubernatorial and other statewide races. Our state chairs will need someone to stick
by them, and invest in them. I will.
In the next 24 hours, I will be
announcing my intentions regarding the DNC Chair race.
I am more convinced than ever that we are at
an historic juncture for our party, and that we must marshal the “three
m’s” of
politics – money, message and mechanics – in ways that focus our
resources locally,
building beyond our traditional base.
I have every confidence that,
together, we will build a stronger Democratic party.
We will do this by building on our past
success, and by adopting the creative solutions being offered by
Democratic
Governors, Mayors, and other state and local innovators around America. And in doing so, we will show Americans that
our party is truly the party of opportunity for everyone in this great
country.
Sincerely,
Tim Roemer
PRESS RELEASE from Tim Roemer for
DNC Chair
|
For Immediate Release
|
Contact:
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Ruben Pulido Jr.
|
|
Jan.
9, 2005
|
|
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Roemer
Announces Candidacy for DNC Chair
WASHINGTON--Citing
a need to welcome more Americans to the Democratic Party, and pledging
to
destroy the myth that Democrats are weak on security, former Indiana
Congressman Tim Roemer today announced his candidacy for Chair of the
Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Roemer said the Party needs to “build a bigger bus” and
attract more voters, especially in the South, Midwest
and Rocky Mountain states.
“I am from the Midwest, and ran
successfully for Congress six times in a ‘red’ state.
I know what it takes to be successful in
tough territory,” Roemer said. “This is
key because we must take our fight to all fifty states -- not just a
handful. Otherwise, we could become
a
permanent minority party of the few, not a national party of many.”
Roemer underscored the importance of demonstrating a strong
and clear national security policy.
“In order to win elections, we Democrats must make families
feel safe and secure,” cautioned Roemer.
“We should cede no quarter to Republicans on national security.”
Roemer also said that in order to grow the Party, Democrats
must welcome Americans who have different views on some issues, but
share
bedrock Democratic values. “The
Democratic Party must continue with its long-held traditions of
inclusion and
tolerance,” concluded Roemer.
The DNC delegates will gather in Washington,
D.C. from Feb. 10 through Feb. 12th
to
elect their new party chair.
About Tim Roemer
Roemer recently served on the 9-11 Commission, which
investigated how national security flaws allowed terrorists to strike,
and
proposed reforms to revamp much of our national intelligence apparatus
to meet
21st century demands.
Roemer represented Indiana
in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 until he retired at the
end of
2002. He served on the Committee on
Education and the Workforce throughout his tenure and focused on
raising
standards for K-12 education, and providing more opportunities for
students to
attend and pay for college. House
Minority Leader Richard Gephardt named Roemer to the Permanent Select
Committee
on Intelligence in 1999. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he
sponsored
legislation which created the 9-11 Commission and played a major role
in
drafting intelligence reforms.
Roemer holds a B.A. from the University
of California, San
Diego, Calif., and an
M.A. and
Ph.D. from Notre Dame University. He is married and has four children.
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