Now that the voters have knocked the DFL upside the head...

[kickysnana]

are they soul searching or is it business as usual?

Seriously, how do I help them find the Minnesota we all know we can be?

[MineralMan]

1. Get involved with your local DFL organization. Become a

precinct chair. That's so easy, it's not even funny. All you have to do is want to. Then, do as I did and walk your precinct before the election. That's what I did. My precinct voted 60% for every DFL endorsed candidate on the ballot. That's what you do to help.

Statewide, the DFL did OK, even though we lost control of the legislature. You'll notice that the Republicans don't have a big majority. We can get it back. The state legislature flips and flops control on a regular basis. We're going to have Mark Dayton in the Governor's office. We still have our two Democratic Senators, and still have more Democrats than Republicans in Congress.

The DFL isn't dead, by a long shot. It still needs us to help, though. It will always need us to help.

The next caucuses are in 2012. Go to them, if you don't already. Put your hand up when they elect a precinct chair. You'll be that chair, in most precincts. Put your name in to go to the District Convention. You'll be a delegate. Most precincts don't fill their list of delegates. Put your name in to run as a State Delegate. That's one's a little harder to get, but is doable.

Volunteer to work on campaigns, doing whatever you can.

If everyone does this, the DFL will be unbeatable. If few people do, the DFL will be beaten.

[trotsky]

2. But did they?

All the statewide offices stayed in DFL hands. We won the governor's mansion. The local races were affected, as usual, by very local concerns. I don't think it was necessarily an anti-DFL backlash, otherwise we would have lost Ritchie, Swanson, etc.

[dflprincess]

3. I think a lot of local races were affected by the tons of negative literature

sent out against DFL legislators by the Chamber or its minions. Can anyone remember a year when there were any TV ads for seats in the State Legislature - and this year they were all lot - most of them negative against a DFL incumbant.

Most people couldn't tell you who their state rep or senator is, all they knew was what they read on the crap in they found in the mail boxes.

The one saving grace we have is that we may only have to wait 2 years to take back both the House & Senate. If I recall correctly, and f redistricting is done in time, the senate will be up for relection again in 2012 because the district lines will have changed. We won't have to wait 4 years for that.

The drawback for 2012 is that, unless the Democrats in DC get off their asses, or Klobuchar or Obama have a serious chanllenge, caucus turnout will be dismal. I've been to every caucus since 1972 and I'll have to admit that, depending on what the Democrats do about the Catfood Commission and extending Bush's tax cuts, I may not bother to show up and I honestly don't know how I'll bring my self to vote for Amy-kins again.

[trotsky]

4. Citizens United

I really don't know if we *can* take back the national or state House (state senate can't happen until 2014 - 4 year terms). The CU ruling gives the GOP such a huge advantage with their deep-pocketed corporate masters. Democrats can still do it but it's going to take coordinated and effective communication with the voters.

We need Howard Dean and his 50-state strategy again.

[ISUGRADIA]

5. All state senators are up

in 2012 because of redistricting

[trotsky]

7. Ooh, after the GOP gets to redraw the lines too.

Ouch.

[dflprincess]

8. I'll bet we wind up with the courts doing the redistricting

that's what happened last time.

[ISUGRADIA]

6. Sorry

But going from 2-1 in the Senate, which has been DFL since 1975, to being down 6 seats, being down in the House by 10 seats where we were almost 2-1, and losing a Congressman an ass-kicking. Plus winning the governor's office by 8700 votes is nothing to hoot about.