An open letter to all '10 U.S. Senate Democratic candidates

Editor's Note : You may also voice your opinion by way of an online petition at Plunderbund.com. All of our candidates are tremendously talented, BUT it's OUR primary. Let the people decide.

The Preamble of the Ohio Democratic Party's Constitution and Bylaws of 2007 states, that our party is organized to "sustain and advance the principles of democracy" and that one of the essential tenets of our party is that "We believe that there is no substitute for fair and equal representation and strong public participation in a government chose by election."

And yet, despite that being one of the fundamental principles of the Ohio Democratic Party, Chapter 9 of that same documents says:

"In any election year in which any statewide office . . . are to appear on the ballot, the Executive Committee shall be called for a meeting before the primary election and must carefully consider in each race the endorsement of one of more persons."

Not since the Framers of a document promised to "form a more perfect union" by counting African slaves as 3/5 a person has such a glaring contradiction of an idea and explicit process be found contained in the same document.

That is why yesterday Chris Redfern, Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, called for a bull session with Ohio's Democratic bloggers. Chairman Redern has publicly declared that he wishes to stay neutral in the Senate Democratic Primary, but yesterday, he pointed out that if any candidate seeks the ODP's endorsement then he will have no choice under the Bylaws but to form a screening committee to consider making a recommendation to the Executive Committee to endorse one of the Democratic candidates.

Redfern said he would be "sattled" with the responsibility of launching such an endorsement process despite his belief and stated intention to remain neutral in race.

There are multiple reasons why Chairman Redfern is right that under these circumstances the Ohio Democratic Party should not endorse in this race. First, an endorsement by the Ohio Democratic Party would result in the remaining candidates being left out in the cold as if they are somehow less than "true" Democrats. Second, endorsements by ODP have a history of rendering the actual primary election as nothing more than a formality, thus leaving millions of Democrats essentially out of the process. Third, such "boss politics" machinery reeks of 1990s Ohio Republicanism and is offensive to the very sense of progressive politics that is the Democratic Party. Fourth, but most importantly, such endorsements hurt the process, the party, and even the endorsed candidate itself. You need to only look at the two last elections to see the difference.

In 2006, the Ohio Democratic Party's wise and sound judgment resulted in endorsements of one Marc Dann and Barbara Sykes. Sykes ran an uninspired campaign that was hit hard by soundbytes regarding her support for higher taxes and her lack of qualifications for the job compared to her likely Republican opponent, Mary Taylor. Sykes, nor the Ohio Democratic Party, had no response to Taylor's attack or the issue of qualifications. As a result, Mary Taylor won the only statewide election in 2006 for the Republican and kept one of the seats on the Apportionment Board in Republican hands. The primary endorsement by ODP scared off a number of county auditors who did not have the baggage of supporting Bob Taft's tax increases and would have had an effective response on the issue of qualifications for State Auditor.

A far more controversial endorsement went to Marc Dann, even though Dann already had a discplinary record with the Ohio Supreme Court that led to his public reprimand. Dann narrowly won election only to disgrace his office to such a degree that the Ohio Democratic Party went to the extraordinary length of stripping Dann's affiliation with the party that just two years ago endorsed him as the party's preferred standard bearer nearly two years earlier.

In 2008, Obama and Hillary come courtin' in the Buckeye State. This time, the Ohio Democratic Party takes a hands-off approach. A contested and bitter primary that last months lead to a groundswell of new Democratic primary voters, enormous energy and excitement on the Democratic side to the point that the swell was able to elect Democrats to the majority of Ohio House districts in districts drawn by the Republicans, and the pick up of two Congressional seats in Ohio. As for Obama, the need to have a contested primary in Ohio benefitted him in have an effective campaign organization in a key battleground state and the entire ordeal of a contested primary fights sharpened his skills and made him a much more focused and prepared candidate in the general election.

Therefore, I think we should ask the U.S. Senate candidates to agree on one thing-- that Chairman Redfern's pledge of neutrality is in the best interest of the democratic process, the Democratic Party, and even the eventual Democratic nominee. LET THE PRIMARY VOTERS DECIDE, not party bosses.

I hereby respectfully ask that each and every Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010 take the following pledge: "I will not seek, participate in, accept, or promote any endorsement by the Ohio Democratic Party. I will leave the decision in the hands of the people that our electoral system intends it to be left to: the people of the Great State of Ohio who I trust in their wisdom and judgment. And I will do whatever I can to ask that my primary opponents join me in this pledge."

I hope that my fellow bloggers will join me in this campaign to make sure that this primary fight is decided by primary voters, not party boss machine politics. We can't afford another weak candidate like Barbara Sykes, or God help us, another Marc Dann. Ohio deserves better.

On a side note, I really want to thank Chairman Redfern for bringing this to our attention. He told us yesterday asked that the candidates refrain from even asking for an ODP endorsement until Jan. '10.