questions for DNC chair candidates
by Carl Nyberg, Wed Dec 22, 2004 at 11:56:40 AM EST
In the "Extended Entry" are eighteen questions for candidates for chair of the DNC.
Chris Bowers originally suggested creating a list of questions. I also created
a dKos diary to discuss the idea.
The list of questions is pretty long. Which questions seem like a lower priority for you?
The format will be to ask the same questions of all candidates that grant interviews. In addition to the time after each question candidates will have six minutes of time they can use to give more in depth answers. The candidates determine how this time is spread.
I'd like to have some time for follow-up questions too. I hate letting someone say something that begs a follow-up and not asking the obvious.
The interviews will be posted online in two ways. One format will be to listen to the interview as it is recorded. The other format will be to have all the candidates respond to the each question back-to-back so the listener gets an apples-to-apples comparison.
- Who are you? Why do you want to be chair of the DNC? Why should committee members (delegates?) vote for you? (120 seconds)
- What is the most complicated task you've managed? (30 seconds)
- What's the most concise way you can describe the duties and responsibilities of the chair of the Democratic National Committee? (30 seconds or less)
- What are the interests within the Democratic Party the chair needs to manage? Large donors? Small donors? State party organizations? Congressional Democrats? Media? State Democratic legislative caucuses? Staff members? Governors? Mayors? Who else? How will you integrate all these interests? What will you do differently than is being done now? How will you allocate resources differently? (90 seconds)
- What if the Democratic Party bureaucracy resists your changes? How will you deal with resistance to change from within the party? (60 seconds)
- What people and interest groups form the coalition known as the Republican Party? What people and interest groups form the coalition known as the Democratic Party? What people and interest groups are the two parties competing over? How are the coalitions that form the two major parties changing? (210 seconds)
- What is the major factor that has kept the Democratic Party from winning in the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections? (30 seconds)
- How does the Democratic Party organize for elections? How should it organize to be more effective? (60 seconds)
- What are the pros and cons of the current presidential nominating process? Which pros are the most important to keep? What cons are the most important to address? (90 seconds)
- How much of the party's problems are caused by shortcomings of the party agenda? How much of the problem is communicating the message to the electorate? (90 seconds)
- How can Democrats more effectively use the media? (120 seconds)
- What role does religion play in U.S. politics? Brad Carson wrote about religiosity in politics being a reaction to modernity. What is it about modernity that makes voters anxious? How should Democrats respond to these anxieties? (60 seconds)
- How should the Democratic Party create an agenda? What is the party's national message? To what extent should the party have a national message? (90 seconds)
- Consider the attack on September 11th, 2001 as a political event. Compare and contrast it to another major political event like the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, etc. (120 seconds)
- What are the top challenges facing the United States and the world in the next decade? (60 seconds)
- What is your strategy for achieving verifiable voting? Should this be the top legislative priority for the Democrats? (60 seconds)
- Should the Democratic Party advocate for election reforms that reduce or eliminate the zero-sum competition with non-major party candidates, like Instant Runoff Voting, approval voting or Condorcet voting? How should the Democratic Party relate to minor parties? (30 seconds)
- Assume you are elected chair of the party. How should Democrats measure your effectiveness as party chair? (30 seconds)
Tags: (all tags)
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
