If you ever get discouraged with Kansas politics I suggest you revisit this blog entry. There has been a great amount of good publicity from Hutch News generated by the Hutch High Young Democrats. They were featured in a story when they organized a mock election at the high school. There was coverage of their legislator's visit when they were seeking funds for their trip to the inauguration. There was terrific coverage of that trip when they returned.
If all that is not enough, check out the crowd at the February Reno County Democratic Womens Club meeting. This was the best attendence ever for on of these events. There has been contact from an instructor at HCC wanting to set up a similar club. With plans to attend HCC in the fall, some of the HHS Young Dems should be helpful in accomplishing that goal.
When I attended a recent gathering of retired federal employees (NARFE) I saw a number of familiar RCD faces. Mayor Trish Rose sponsors regular meetings for Hutchinson residents where again, you can see several Democrats. Same for the audiences at the legislative forums that were held in January and February. And if that's not enough, the meetings of the Reno County Wind Energy Task Force members include quite a few RCDems. The point being we are an active, integral part of the Kansas landscape. Perhaps our greatest challenge remains bringing those of a like mind into the fold.
It is understandable that Democrats can become discouraged after the results on the state level following the last election but it is obvious to me that the perception of the GOP being the "only party in town" is more in our minds than in reality. It's just a matter of reaching out and welcoming GOP moderates, independents and "bashful" Democrats. We've made a lot of progress over the past few years. Now it's time to build on that success and make a difference.
