Renewal, From The Ground Up
To the Editor, New York Times:
Re: Inside the Phone-Throwing Drama at the Troubled, Broke Democratic Party
If your article accurately describes a Democratic National Committee consumed by paranoia and dysfunction, it also misses the more important story: Democratic county organizations are answering the question the national party continues to neglect: "What does the Democratic Party stand for?"
By adopting clear statements of shared Democratic values, county organizations are giving volunteers a confident, affirmative way to explain what the Democratic Party stands for and to connect with neighbors who share those values. More county organizations are rapidly adopting this approach, creating a grassroots movement for party renewal.
Because trust precedes persuasion, grassroots Democrats cannot earn the trust of their neighbors until they can answer that question—and Democrats cannot build a lasting majority without earning that trust.
That is why the party's renewal is already underway—not from the top down, but from the ground up. County by county, that grassroots movement is rebuilding the party. Simply sending more money to the DNC for distribution through party organizations that have endured years of neglect and organizational atrophy is not, by itself, a strategy for renewal.
Until the Democratic National Committee is willing to answer that question plainly, a growing number of Democratic county organizations will continue answering it for the American people.
Jim Decker
This letter to the editors of the New York Times was submitted (but sadly, not published) by Mr. Decker shortly after the publication of the front-page article, July 27, 2026.