*Editor’s Note: The Sokola Videos are back up now. Apparently, Delaware United didn’t announce the videos yet but forgot to put it on private when they uploaded them to Youtube. And of course the Sneaky Snake Blogger stumbled on them (which is how I find a ton of stuff… shhhhhh!). I was a bit rough on the rookie political grassroots group. They are new, and they will make mistakes. Growing pains of any new organization. I know I never make mistakes on here (stop laughing). And I never overreact (seriously, stop laughing).
This morning, I put up a series of videos between Delaware United and Delaware Senator David Sokola. I found these three videos on Youtube last night. At the request of one of the parties involved in the videos (not David Sokola), I was asked me to take the post down. I honored the request. I soon found the videos were made private on Youtube. I felt the interview was excellent and gave voters in the 8th Senate District a good vantage point on David Sokola’s views on education. Many topics were covered: the Charter School vs. Christina School District and the Delaware Dept. of Education lawsuit, the WEIC redistricting plan and what happened in the General Assembly, education funding, Newark Charter School, parent engagement, teacher unions in charter schools, and so on. But apparently, since Delaware United does not slam candidates, the perception of posting the videos on a blog that is very critical of David Sokola would be seen as the group slamming Sokola.
Delaware United has been around for a few months now. After Bernie Sanders lost to Hillary Clinton in the Presidential Democrat primary, many upper Delaware Bernie supporters created Delaware United. Since their creation, they have reached out to candidates in Delaware at a state and federal level. While Delaware United claims to not be affiliated with any political party, every single one of their endorsements have been Democrat candidates. While I agree with some of their choices, I have serious issues with a group that claims to be non-partisan but every single one of their goals and endorsements are Democrat leaning. The group describes themselves as the following on their Facebook page:
Welcome to Delaware United, a proactive group of Delaware voters and volunteers from various backgrounds, all united to change the course of Delaware local politics.
But what is even odder is their rules for their Facebook page:
Policies and Practices for Delaware United Online Activity
Delaware United·Thursday, September 22, 2016 .
Policies and Practices for Delaware United Online Activity
Updated: September 22, 2016
*All rules are subject to change at the discretion of Delaware United’s Administrators
Rules for Facebook posts for Those Who Like, Visit or Follow Delaware United’s Page
- No posting on, commenting on, or tagging/hashtagging Delaware United regarding Presidential Politics. This is a locally-organized group, and we need to come together to change Delaware. That will not happen by subdividing on presidential politics, it will happen by getting involved locally and making a difference in Delaware specific issues.
- No posting on, commenting on, or tagging/hashtagging Delaware United in attack posts about any candidates. We are all adults, and you don’t need to pick on anyone or drag anyone down to prove your point. If you want to lift up a candidate and explain reasonably and maturely voice your opinion about any candidate, you are certainly free to do so. However, we do not attack other candidates, we are nonpartisan, we use positive press because we do not need to further propagate the disrespectful division in our political process. This state belongs to all of us, and we need to work together to make a difference.
- No attacking each other via posting, commenting, or tagging/hashtagging. When you see something you don’t agree with, there is the option to keep scrolling. Please do not attack other people because they have different opinions on a topic or person. If you can respectfully voice your opposing opinion and wish to open a dialogue GREAT; we encourage that, but please be respectful of each other. Again, we need to work together.
- No spam posts or comments. If you are repeatedly posting the same long, drawn out comments it will be removed each time, after which you will first receive a warning message or comment, and then you will be banned from commenting and/or blocked. Open a dialogue, talk to each other, voice your opinions, but no one wants to read the same 1200 word post that you have pasted in every comment for the past week, or see that you are using a page with an engaged audience for your own purpose.
- Please try to post comments relevant to the post. We have all seen someone try to post a completely unrelated article or copy paste a comment in every post on a page, but we have also seen comments stray way off topic, despite whether or not the commenters realize this. An open dialogue is great, and it is encouraged, but this is about creating community, so please if you want to talk to someone about an issue privately message them or friend request them, and chat elsewhere. Build friendships, build dialogues, and community; we need to come together in Delaware, and who knows maybe we can create some in person relationships instead of just cyber ones. We aren’t going to block anyone, or delete comments for straying off topic, but rather we are encouraging you to become a community.
- Refrain from using certain language to describe our group. Please do not refer to Delaware United directly using all or any part of the following terms: “Democrats”, “Progressive.” “Liberal,” “Watchdog;” We don’t need labels, and not everyone in this group falls under any of these terms, so please be respectful of them. Please keep in mind the nature of our group is one that is all-inclusive, regardless of political party or past voting history, and even those who cannot vote in Delaware are still welcomed and useful volunteers, as long as they believe in our platform.
When a supposed non-partisan group begins telling people HOW TO VOTE, I have serious issues with that. Any citizen’s right to vote is their choice. How a person formulates who they want to vote for and why is their own business. It gives a vibe of “if you don’t agree with us then you can’t be a part of our group.” By telling people we welcome everyone as long as you believe in our platform, that sends a very mixed message. But this October 15th post on their Facebook page really pissed me off:
Hey everybody, I just want to share this message of caution when it comes to some of the rhetoric that’s affecting the hardest working candidates in this election cycle.
One thing I have to say, that I forgot to mention in the video, is that we have people fighting for some of the most forward thinking policies in our nation, right here in Delaware, and they need your help to get re-elected to continue fighting that fight. Please consider volunteering and help us help Delaware. We need people to remain in the house and senate that have fought for living wage policies, public option health care, pay equity, campaign finance reform, and all the other issues we care about most. This clean out the house, and burn it down in the process rhetoric is not only dangerous, but it is also detrimental to our goals across the country.
You have to consider what the other option is in the general election, would we be going from a person with one policy position you don’t agree with, to a person with even worse positions? Is that a trade you really want to make? Additionally, please be aware that you can not just vote based on positions on one issue, that is dangerous and short sighted. If you agree with 90% of the candidates policies, but 10% you disagree with, on one side of the ticket, but on the other you disagree with 90% but agree with 10%, is that a trade you really want to make as well? Please vote, but please vote educated.
What percentage of a person’s issues that factor into how they vote is their own business. There is no formula to this. It is all an individual decision. This is just one of the many reasons I can’t wait until this damn election is over.
I never participated in any of Delaware United’s events. I did share their video series with Sokola’s Republican opponent, Meredith Chapman. I just realized while linking to that article, the 2nd out of the three videos no longer exists. For a group that promotes transparency, I am having a very difficult time with their back and forth on what can be said, what views a person is supposed to have, what percentage of their mind should vote for a candidate, deleting of public posts, their very biased endorsements based on their overarching goal of the group, and the very bizarre handling of the Sokola/Chapman contest. What does it even mean when you post videos with one candidate in a contest but not the other candidate? I think this group has bitten off more than they can chew. I have no doubt Delaware Democrats love them to death. But this is not Delaware United. This is Delaware Democrats United. If you want to claim to be a non-partisan group, then stick with the original title. But their actions suggest something altogether different. I deplore any type of censorship. Their very strict rules in regards to what people can or can’t say goes against the most basic foundations of a democracy. If this is “Delaware United”, then count me out.
I will attempt to recollect to the best of my ability the highlights of the Sokola interviews. The first video was about Delaware education. The first question dealt with the charter school lawsuit against the Christina School District and the Delaware Dept. of Education. Sokola said there were inconsistencies with the formula but he laid the blame on the Delaware DOE for what happened. When asked if he would pick a side in the battle: charters or school districts, Sokola flat-out said his side is “the money follows the kid”. He made it look like the General Assembly will still attempt to bring all the sides together on this issue and hopes to have many parents attend. But he said “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” in regards to getting parents involved. One question dealt with Newark Charter School and the lack of an organized PTA or PTO. As well, the question also touched on teacher unions in charter schools. Sokola said he will not write legislation forcing union membership as he believes that is a choice for each teacher to make in filling out a union card and collectively creating a union. He said the idea of charter schools creating innovative schools was written into the original charter law (which he wrote and took full credit for), but he claimed it is a two-way street and both sides need to come together to collaborate. He cited Kuumba Charter School having a Singapore Math program and how Brandywine reached out to them and came together. One Delaware United member said she asked NCS Head of School Greg Meece about this issue to which Meece said something to the effect of throwing out an olive branch and no one took him up on it. In regards to WEIC, Sokola said it came down to funding. When told the funding could have been made available, Sokola replied with a nonchalant answer about the original WEAC plan giving certain recommendations but when the WEIC redistricting plan came out it became much more with no clear way of knowing if those recommendations would work in the long run for students. A suggestion was made to Sokola that if legislation comes up in the Senate Education Committee where parents come to support an issue, that legislation should happen first on the agenda so parents can get back to their families.
When I first heard about Delaware United, a citizen approached me about it. This person said they were concerned about how the group was forming. I checked them out. I liked their Facebook page. But I made it very clear to this group I would not support all of their endorsements and I felt their censorship regarding certain things flew against what they stood for. Apparently that advice wasn’t taken seriously. I am putting up the Sokola interview article again. I am now seeing the 2nd Sokola video is still up. Read from that what you will. This blog will no longer play Ping-Pong over another group’s internal strife.
The Season Of Myths 