The Thrilling and Gripping tale of the 2025 Biannual Reorganization Meeting of the Democratic Party of Oregon Congressional District 2 Delegation.
An early Spring budding
Something happened last week that no one can recall ever happening. I want to share it with you even though it is the dull inside baseball of small-time Democratic Party inner workings. Stay with me, this is politics, but it ain’t the emotions-on-fire kind you may be used to.
You probably didn’t mark your calendar and count the days to the Biannual Reorganization Meeting of the Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) Congressional District 2 (CD 2) Delegation. It started at noon on Saturday. I was not excited about the timing. I could have been fishing. I am sure that all the attendees, from all across the eastern half of Oregon, could have listed a more pleasurable way to spend their time rather than a multi-hour video conference.
Our rural, heavily Republican district is represented by sleepy Cliff Bentz. We are not likely to put a Democrat in that seat when the Cook Partisan Voting Index ranks us an R+15. Bentz seems to have retired to the House of Representatives and, unless he gets primaried by someone crazier, it is likely Bentz will stay there until he tires of it.
The meeting filled up. Democrats from Baker City and Medford. From La Grande and Madras. It takes a particular type of person to get involved in this sort of affair.
They live within the eastern part of the state, in the conservative areas that are politically and socially abandoned by the attentions of the state Democratic Party — the party which is essentially the power of statewide Oregon government.
Just as the left side of the Oregon is lost in liberal wanderings, the right side is left to imagine Libertarian fantasies and a life shaped by a nicely edited version of a Brad Paisley song. Lack of accountability for your political theories hurts anyone who gets “free” of partisanship. That’s why Democracy is so badass.
These are Democrats willing to commit to organizing within the party. It is not glamorous and there is not immediate evident value in it. For instance, every 90 days we load into cars and drive hours to give up a weekend for a two-day meeting which we try to use to get out the vote but which ends up often with fiery debates over some obscure policy resolution.
Because we are squeezed between our Republican addresses and our Democratic party affiliation, we wield almost zero tangible power. Nevertheless, we lean into the service of holding up the institution.
Sometimes friends ask me how to get politically involved. I rarely say “join the party.” It is not for everyone. I think it should be a more meaningful place to organize, but it is not currently. The party activists don’t have a good relationship with the elected power of the state. We do help get out the vote — when we can concentrate our energy and not get distracted by policy arguments and personal squabbles.
The CD 2 folks on the Zoom call are not usually involved in those squabbles. That is the delegates from deep blue cities with no Republican power. They turn on themselves and often eat up time getting the diversity language just right in the latest resolution on US foreign policy.
It is different when you are the minority party in your community. When your rural county commissioners mention casually that they hold to the constitutional sheriff theory,1 you are more interested in helping Democrats win and protecting your community from the most crazy actions of local Republicans.
Just as the left side of the Oregon is lost in liberal wanderings, the right side is left to imagine Libertarian fantasies and a life shaped by a nicely edited version of a Brad Paisley song.2 Lack of accountability for your political theories hurts anyone who gets “free” of partisanship. That’s why Democracy is so badass.
So this Saturday meeting was not set for high drama. We just needed to, per the by-laws of the state party, vote in our representatives to the state party. Along with a chair3 and a vice chair, we elected members for statewide committees such as Rules, Budget, and State Fair.
Eighteen positions in all. They are not glamorous, just necessary. Pretty near the definition of thankless work, maintaining the rules for the state party or organizing our presence at the state fair.
There are smart, willing people coming forth to build us back up. I want to believe that this early spring in Oregon’s Mighty CD 2 is not the exception. What are you seeing where you live? In your communities?
Have you ever done a by-laws-powered vote on a Zoom call? It is tedium. Lots of waiting around, lots of “I didn’t get the email.” “I am sending it again.” And of course “You’re on mute.” The meeting was two and a half hours.
But this is the amazing thing: We filled them all. Someone took on every position needed to hold up our responsibilities and to power the party.
No one could recall a full slate delivered to the state party from CD 2. We threw out a few of those Zoom emojis and did little dances in our little computer screen boxes.
We filled all the spots and we had healthy, competitive races. Two great people stepped forward for chair. They sang each other’s praises after the vote and agreed to work together. I got beat for Executive Committee by a bright fella out of Pendleton. He nominated me promptly for another position. We immediately became Facebook friends and started talking about organizing together. I am glad he is representing me!
I focus on this small, unprecedented event to say that there are smart, willing people coming forth to build us back up. I want to believe that this early spring in Oregon’s Mighty CD 2 is not the exception. What are you seeing where you live? In your communities?
I have at times innocently imagined politics was a path to glory. It is not. It is just work. Now, I have found my people to work with. We see that work needs to be done and we go about figuring the way to accomplish the task. No one is going to be canonized for it, but it is how we hold the line and make a little progress.
So maybe I will walk back what I said about not recommending people work in the party. If you believe in our foundational systems and want to strengthen them, joining the Local Events and State Fair Committee might be your calling.
The Constitutional Sheriff: A particularly feisty and nonsensical brand of right-wing political positioning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_Sheriffs_and_Peace_Officers_Association
I love Brad Paisley. It would be nice to live in Mud on the Tires.
I should note that the chair of CD 2 is our elector in Presidential years. You remember when Rudy Giuliani was running around the swing states trying to usurp electors with illegal Republican ones? That elector. These roles will be obscure for several lifetimes and then once in a while it will be absolutely critical to save the nation. Its like being bored for a year and then having a tornado head toward your house. You ain’t bored anymore!
I recently stepped down from being a PCP here in Milwaukie. Those meetings are certainly a slog but it's inspiring to witness the folk that keep it going. Thank you for keeping the wheels of Democracy turning!