Our good friend Ken Rechtin has declared the Democratic Party dead in Northern Kentucky (“Turn out the Lights,” River City News, 1/08/15). His evidence is the beating that Campbell County Democratic candidates took in November — the Boone and Kenton County parties having been dead for years.
It is understandable that Ken feels this way. He suffered a painful loss in November, despite having run a strong race. Having lost in my first electoral attempt many years ago, I know the pain that losing generates, along with the search for reasons, both within oneself and in external circumstances.
But all that said, I do not agree with Ken’s conclusion. Our party is not dead. We demonstrated that in this last election when we had unprecedented numbers of volunteers calling voters and walking precincts, making Contributions, attending events and participating in other activities.
No, we are not dead. What we are is a minority party. Which is a rather different thing. It is a present status that we can change – and that we must do everything in our power to change.
But in order to change, we must first understand how we got here. Decades ago Kenton County was completely Democratic. Every office. But in the 1960’s things began to change – civil rights, the Vietnam War and anti-war movement, Roe v. Wade. We began to see “Reagan Democrats” – Democrats who voted for Reagan but did not change their party registration. That trend has continued over time.
The region’s traditional conservatism – it was always a conservative local Democratic Party – was reinforced by conservative religious leaders and a conservative media. Our economic development was heavily white-color, driven by airport expansion. Many if not most of the executive class it attracted were Republican. The irony is that the individual most responsible for the airport’s growth was former U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford – as ardent a Democrat as there is.
I have heard time and again in recent years, “why should I run? I can’t win. It would be a waste of time, energy and money, mine and yours … “ There are no easy answers to those questions. Many have chosen not to run for just those reasons.
So what do we do? We must build on the amazing amount of activity generated last year, for Alison Grimes, Ken Rechtin, Jason Steffan and others. In reaching out to those who demonstrated their commitment to Democratic principles and policies, and keeping them involved, we will discover those who have the desire and the drive to run, despite the odds. We must be ready to support them – we in the Clubs, the Executive Committees, the League, the Women’s Network, the Young Dem’s, and others.
We have much to overcome in our resurgence. But overcome we will. Why?
Our values and principles are right, for this region as well as for country as a whole. We are the party of responsible government that does things individuals cannot do alone. We are the party of the middle class, the party that provides education and health care to the populace as a whole. We protect our environment, to maintain a quality of life for ourselves and our children. We expect people to work, but for reasonable wages and in reasonable conditions. We seek to be strong abroad, while pursuing a just and stable order that includes all.
Demographers say future population growth is on our side, especially with young people and minorities.
Finally, we must keep in mind that this last election was a midterm election, when a very different group of voters tends to come out – older, more conservative, more Republican – than in presidential election years. It would be a mistake to conclude too much from this particular election.
So, as Mark Twain said, the reports of our death are greatly exaggerated. We took a pounding. We are walking uphill as we struggle to re-assert ourselves. But no one should be fooled. We are very much alive. And very much ready to surge. We welcome all who want to join in that effort.
Col Owens is a Ft. Mitchell attorney and chair of the Kenton County Democratic Party.