Reply #2: What are the republicans in your area like? [View All]

[haele]

Sounds as if this guy is basically a centerist or moderate who's looking to make some "political capitol" for his future; and if the 'pubby party tends moderate, he'll ignore the truth of the national politics for the local ones. I hate to say it, but if this guy was really politically astute and wanting to work with the Democratic Party, he'd have stuck with it. He'll soon find that most Republican party organizations are like church social clubs; not much different than most Democratic party organizations, but usually with more money, media access and social status.

Sounds as if your local Dem organization needs some waking up. It's not a matter of playing nice or not - it's a matter of being "steadfast" - to take back a word from the noise machine - and to the tenats of the party. It's a matter of keeping an eye on the realities of the national situation while working within the local situations.
It's also a matter of bluntly spelling out that people who play big fish in little pond and are in an organizational leadership position for themselves rather than for the organization are hurting the goals of the organization.

BTS, unless you missed a few points in your post, playing nice had nothing to do with the problem this guy faced. The bureaucratic nonsense created by individual power games was the problem. The "fossilization" caused it. Ask your organization - are they basically a social club, or are they honestly trying to do good for their party and their community?

We also have to take back the word "nice". Nice does not mean wimp; it can mean "coercing through making people feel good".

One can still "be nice" and change the organization from within. One just has to realize that "being nice" can mean "selling the idea when pointing out the problems and the possible solutions". Good sales people are "nice". As are many of the most insidious neo-con enablers...the "good cops" to the O'Liely, Weiner, and Limpbutt "bad cops".

Haele