The Dem lost what the GOP still have, the ward boss. Let me explain.

[CK_John]

How offend per month do democrats socialize with other democrats? Not as often as they use to, maybe a bowling night or the annual Jackson Day diner but the GOP average 5 times a week. Prayer breakfast, Chamber of Commerce, weekly golf,weekly lodge meeting, weekly Country Club diner, bi-monthly Professional Associations.

The GOP now control most if not all hiring/firing this use to be the function of the ward boss.

They controlled all hiring of patronage jobs, who got a turkey at Thanksgiving, who helped with bail, burial plots, getting Congress Rep to write West Point recommendation, and deciding who would be on the ballot.

The common denominator is the control of jobs.

Until the Democratic Party convince workers they have a way to control corporate power and workers must be treated as major share holders and not just as widgets.

Until then workers will follow the scratch off dollar and a dream voting against their self-interest.

[Historic NY]

1. You have hit on something...

the pot luck suppers, the monthy outings etc...used to happen here and then there was the local newspaper attention for civic minded stuff...wew losing while the baggers push forward.

[frazzled]

2. Patronage hiring is illegal

We've worked hard to get rid of it in Chicago. You really want the old Daley (père et fils) system back?

PS: Democrats don't do weekly golf outings and country club dinners.

[CK_John]

3. No the ward system is gone and not coming back and those are examples of GOP activities

meeting much more often than democrats.

[Recursion]

4. We do still have some urban machines, which is always where we did that

Chicago, DC, Boston, and SFO come to mind.

I think we have lost some of the agrarian version of that that we used to do; Minnesota's DFL is probably the only one that still does "grange meeting" type events.

[CK_John]

5. The point I was trying to make was the Dem use to control a greater portion of

workers jobs than today which is controlled almost totally by the GOP.

Without that control we have nothing to offer the voters.