The first round of Politics 2006 has just finished – the primaries. Hope you all got out and participated. It’s a chance to use the ballot to make your views heard and to influence what goes on in your local government.
Right, but not for everybody here in Baldwin County – and especially not along the Eastern Shore. You might think I am about to launch into an appeal for restoration of convicted felons’ voting rights, or something along these lines. Could be – but not today.
I’m concerned about that lonely handful of certified, committed, card carrying Eastern Shore Democrats. And I am writing as an insider. I’m a member of this seldom noticed group that is truly a faint blue dot in a sea of red.
And I got my card – I’m ESho Democrat #57 – but I, my card and my party, get no respect. Nor do we have much political influence. I submit the following for your consideration.
“Hey, Pete, what’d ya think of Rush last night?”
“Guess I missed it, Wayne.” (Let me quickly add that this not the actual name of my raving right-wing acquaintance.)
“Not to worry I got a recording I can lend you.”
“Wayne I’m really not a big fan of Rush.”
“You’re kidding! Come on – take it, you’ll love it,” he said while trying to stuff the disc into my pocket. I stepped back, pulling my wallet out. I thrust my Eastern Shore Democrats card between us, hoping it would keep him at bay. He grabbed the card and read it, slowly shaking his head as he mouthed the words. He handed it back, smiling.
“You’re number fifty-seven. What’d they do, start numbering at fifty?” I suddenly realized that Wayne, like so many other Eastern Shore-ans, had been taken in by the malicious rumor that Eastern Shore Democrats had their meetings in a local telephone booth.
“No they started at one – and we don’t meet in a telephone booth. We meet at an assisted living facility in Fairhope.” Then adding before he made some ageist comment, “Some of our members live there… and we get use of the social hall… and we have a pretty good turn out – hundreds…er, dozens of committed Democrats!”
“Committed – I’ll bet they’re a bunch of crotchety old New-Dealers who think that FDR is still in the White House. Committed! They probably should be committed…committed to…,” his ranting ending in a mumble.
Still clutching the recording of his favorite poster child of the right, he turned and after bouncing off a poorly placed planter of petunias, disappeared around the corner. He presumably was seeking and most certainly would find – given his location in the reddest part of Baldwin County – a more supportive audience.
I was left to think about the significance – if any – of our brief exchange. In all it wasn’t much of a surprise. I already knew blue is a lonely color. I also knew that to call the Democratic Party a minor local political force is to greatly aggrandize its influence. Further I recognized its members are seen as political oddities, but as there are so few, they can be tolerated – like “eccentric” relatives.
(And now finally the “Mouse” part)
If that analogy doesn’t work for you, then consider this: to East Shoreans, local Democrats are sort of like the Beach Mouse – almost never seen, but known to be around because you read about them, and both the mouse and the party are a bit of a bother. They are, however, dissimilar in one respect: the Beach Mouse has an organization working to protect it from becoming extinct. While locally, after a long drift downward, the Democrats may be approaching political extinction right now.
I suggest this possibility because at the local level (Eastern Shore, or even all of Baldwin County), the party is virtually powerless and seems to attract only “old” party members – old both in years and in political views. Here in the Mobile Bay area, during the last general election, the upstart Libertarian Party fielded more candidates for office than did the Democrats.
In the just-completed primary election, there was lively debate and competition among the Republican candidates for local offices. They offered a ballot full of choices. The Democratic primary ballot was mostly white space. Had a standard size ballot not been required for use in the scanning machines, I think a three-by-five note card would have sufficed for the Democrats. Hardly the sign of a robust local political organization.
The late Speaker of the House and life-long Democrat, Tip O’Neil claimed, “All politics is local.” Based on how well things are going locally, it sure looks like the Beach Mouse has a lot better future than does the Eastern Shore Democratic Party.
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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