Patty Bar The Door

Pat Waak and her team wasted little time yesterday in taking control of the state Democratic Party. In fact, according to the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News, one of Waak's first moves was to change the locks at party headquarters.  Waak claims the lock-changing directive is the "traditional thing to do" and was undertaken based on advice from staff at the DNC.

Regardless of party tradition - and this is the first time we've heard that changing-the-locks is some sort of political party tradition - this was not the brightest PR move for Waak.   It comes across as petty and allows your opponents - as Chris Gates did - to call you "paranoid" and "odd."  And, based on the print media stories today, there's not a lot of evidence out there to push back on Gates' comments. 

For Democrats concerned about the direction Waak is taking the Party (and there's a lot of them out there), a PR blunder like this is not going to do much to build confidence in the new leadership team.  There's a reason the Denver Post in an editorial today called the state Dems "Colorado's most entertaining political organization."  Days like yesterday just feed this perception.

Comments

[Strider]

What a lot of hoopla over nothing. With as much animosity as there has been among some Dems over this change of gaurd it is probobly a wise move. The possibility of bad PR cannot be the basis for your decisions as Chair of the party.

Pat changed the locks. Big deal. I hope that wise Democrats will move on, keep active and not wait for the next election cycle to get busy.

Lets get over the chair changeover and focus on REAL issues please.

[Ter Ducken]

No, this is more than that. It is childish for Waak to act this way if there is a legitimate challenge to the results. What if she had lost in the same fashion? Do you really think she wouldn't put forth a challenge?

If Waak really is all about bringing the party together, she failed her first test. This just shows to me that this was all about her and her supporters, and not about the party as a whole. What's the harm in waiting for Gates' challenge if you are confident in the results?

[sparky]

Changing the locks after a board election is standard operating procedure. We did it after our county reorganization without any "hoopla".

What's next, a complaint that the pattern on the toilet paper was changed?

C'mon folks. This bickering is pointless and counter-productive. Let the other guys fight amongst themselves. We've got real work to do.

[Alex]

Funny how lock changing is now considered a formality by Democrat sympathizers. I can remember a few years ago when lock changing at GOP HQ was a sign that the party was in disarray. Funny how the talk changes when the tables are turned. I'm just going to pull up a lounge chair, grab a bag of popcorn and a soda and watch the self destruction begin.

btw-Gates is the out-going chairman, he intends to challenge the vote--but doesn't know how or where. Seems to me like the Dems made the right decision.

[Jon]

Hahahahahahahahaha.

[Elva]

"I want to heal this party. But first, I'm going to change the locks so only my people can get in."

That, my friends, is hypocrisy.

[Steve-U]

that didn't take long for her to make dems look stupid. i thought it would at least be a couple of months, not a couple of hours.

[sparky]

Folks, there is nothing keeping you, me or anyone from walking into that office during business hours. Now the former board members can't get into the office at 2:00 AM? So what?

I went into the meeting on Saturday with one thought in mind - whoever wins will get my full support. I wish more people had that same attitude.

[ohwilleke]

I think Gates is showing his true colors when he chooses to make an issue out of this, which certainly isn't good for the party, in hopes of discrediting an opponent who has, for now at least, won a race for an office in his political party.

He certainly didn't half to make a stink, and could have instead done the "the appropriate party officials have ruled for now, and I respect my opponent and will take appropriate means to appeal what I think was an incorrect decision line". His lack of tact, evidenced here, is what cost him his job in the first place.

[waakass]

We also changed locks after our county re-org meeting. BFD. Colorado Pols is right in line with other conservative organs in trying to make a mountain of this particular molehill.

Chris Gates' challenge is dead. He appealed to the DNC for help in a ruling, and was soundly rebuffed. Democrats are behind Pat Waak and we're ready to roll in 2006. You can try to manufacture controversy by flogging the "Gates will appeal" story, but it's just not happening.

The real story is: when will Gates issue a statement of support for our new Chair? The losers of Vice Chair elections all sounded in immediately with strong statements of support for the winners in those races. Chris needs to do so as well. We're moving forward now.

[Vic]

How much does it cost to change the locks anyway? I hope my $20 contribution wasn't used for that. I was hoping to help out candidates.

What other measures does the DNC tell new chairs to implement?

[Lulu]

Changing the locks before the vote challenge issue has been resolved was inappropriate.

The behavior of Waak, Miles, and their supporters is reminds me of a bad teen movie plot where the kids who've deemed themselves to be the "outsiders" suddenly take over and attempt to exact revenge upon the "in crowd" through juvenile stunts and antics. This kind of behavior does not belong in the political landscape just as Waak and Miles do not belong in party leadership roles and the US Senate respectively.

Then again, what more could be expected from someone who couldn't manage to find 1500 signatures in the entire 4th Congressional District to petition onto the 2002 primary ballot.

[criz]

Nice.

For any Democrat reading this post and these comments who is upset over the matter, consider that you just played into the hands of media framing. It is more salient to the media to reports rifts and "evidence" that supports rifts. The media's needs (sell papers) are not our needs.

This is a silly issue to waste energy on, and one hardly indicative of Pat Waak failing some test of unity.

[Waak_is_wack]

consider that you just played into the hands of media framing.

So, you're saying that Pat Waak didn't actually change the locks, its just that the Right Wing Corporate Media is trying to con the public into thinking she did in order to sow dissension among Democrats.

Okayyy...

Watching the x-files wing of the Democratic Party run the show for the next two years ought to be fun.

[sparky]

A few malcontents will find fault in anything Pat does. Changing the locks is hardly an act of revenge. Ignoring a county, or a district - that would be an act of revenge, or worse yet, incompetence. How about giving Pat a chance to reach out before attacking her over procedural matters?

It's pretty simple. We all have a choice here. Either wait for the DNC ruling, accept it and move on, or go join the Repubs. I know which choice I'm going to make.

[peterco]

I reserve judgement on her party mending skills for awhile. She hasn't done anything major yet - locking the doors does not prevent Gates from going in the building that is open during business hours and getting his stuff.

And I thought other newly elected party positions were already established within the party in other positions. Waak cannot manipulate elected officals, so I don't forsee Salazar turning into Miles ideologically.

[Dan]

I can't help myself - Are the dem workers still waaked out?

[Deaniac]

Straight from the new Howard Dean playbook. Lock out the normal dems, give away keys to the left-wing waaky's.

[ColoBLT]

The Avalanche have a lockout, the Democrats have a Waak-out.

Well, for those people who say the job of Party Chair is only PR I hope you're wrong, because Waak just proved her ineptitude!

Waak's Goal: Promote party unity.

Waak's Action: Change locks at Dem Party HQ to show you don't trust anyone outside of your own narrow party clique.

[Slick]

It would be nice to know the basis of Chris' challenge. What rule was supposed to have been violated?

[peterco]

If you look at the list of people elected, Waak is the only Miles person. Slater supported Gates, and Atencio and Boller have been working for the party for 10+ years. And the Treasurer stayed the same. They were pissed at Gates, not at the others or they would have ran a slate. They clearly had the votes to kick everyone out.

I would imagine Vice-Chairs and others all got new keys. So if Waak is purging they won't get keys, and you can conclude she is whacked out of her gourd. Don't conclude off one fact she is nuts or the Dem party will explode into tiny bits.

Gates is challenging the proxy rules, which limit the amount proxies one person can carry and that proxies can only be carried by people within the same district blah blah I really don't care.

[Les Barstow]

I wrote quite a big post back in the Chris Gates Out thread about the proxy issue.

No-one knows exactly what Gates is challenging on. There were 7 proxies that the State Party were unable to distribute.

The evidence is against him, though; the Rules and Credentials committees both ruled against him, the meeting started >20 minutes late while attempts were made to find proxy holders, and distribution attempts were, if not perfect, then pretty thorough. He said he wasn't going to appeal to the Court system, but only to the DNC; if the DNC has ruled against him, then anything further is just sour grapes.

[Les Barstow]

Goodness, people!
The DNC says: "SOP is to change the locks".
Pat Waak changes the locks.

That makes me jump up and yell "childish" and "paranoid". Yep.

Give it a rest. This is a transparent attempt by some to make a mountain out of a flat plain with no blemishes. If the Post and News, along with some discontented folks here (or troublemakers from the other side...), I'm not planning on being much a part of it. The rest of the party officers - establishment candidates all - have gotten over it. Most of the major donors and the movers-and-shakers of the party have gotten over it. It's just not much of an issue.