Governor Spitzer, in his keynote speech yesterday, told us that

it’s springtime for the Democratic Party. We are sweeping away some of the old rules in Albany … we’re beginning to see the fruits of our labor.

It takes a lot of labor to make New York State politics bear progressive fruit, but the governor was right. We’re seeing revitalized Democratic leadership that has brought new funding and fairness to our school system, jump-started a serious conversation about campaign finance reform – and a host of other desperately-needed reforms -- moved in favor of marriage equality, and begun a serious push, at long last, to take control of the state Senate.

The labor of the emerging New York progressive netroots is also bearing fruit. The state party’s new leadership has been both proactive and responsive in its outreach to the blogosphere; they did a terrific job making us a part of the spring meeting and we have every reason to believe that they’re committed to building a stronger relationship going forward. One of the neatest parts of yesterday’s experience was chatting with local electeds and party officials who stopped by to talk, often just to ask “what is a blog?” Considering that the wealth of a party is really in its vast network of grassroots activists and local-level candidates and officials, it’s a great thing every time we’re able to take another step forward in mutual understanding between that network and the netroots (and, of course, most of us in the netroots like to consider ourselves part of that network). We have a lot of work to do, on both sides, but so far so good.

At the same time, this developing relationship presents both the party and the netroots with certain challenges. Electeds and candidates will need to learn more about us: how to distinguish among various kinds of blogs, what blogs are out there – on the national, state, and local levels – and how to communicate effectively with and through them. They’ll be challenged to understand that the netroots can be both advocates and critics, that one role does not invalidate the other – that, in fact, each strengthens the other, because it’s our independence that gives us the legitimacy to be effective. On our side, we’ll need to understand how new this is to so many in the state party, how these folks have worked long and hard to build the party organization, and how the blogosphere can look both bewildering and threatening even to people with the best of intentions.

We do still have Republican dragons to slay here in the Empire State, and it’s going to be a lot of fun slaying them. At the same time, it’s clear that what matters is not just getting Democrats elected, but what kind of Democratic party we’ll have. A modern, progressive, reformist Democratic party will do great things for New York State, and key to building that party will be the netroots’ and grassroots’ relationship with electeds and officials across the state. It can be a relationship of mutual support and at the same time it can – it must – also entail appropriate criticisms. As Spitzer said, “we are winning because we are right and because we are making our case.” That’s how Democrats will win in New York, and that’s how progressives will win within the Democratic party. It’ll take a hell of a lot of work, but the fruit will be pretty sweet.

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