(Originally published in Greater Democracy)

What does it mean to be a ‘Reform Democrat’? This is a question that has been talked a lot about since last November and has been getting more discussion as we go through municipal primaries and head into municipal general elections this fall.

To some, it is a very tactical issue. We need a DNC chair who will do X. We need a blogosphere that will do Y. To some, it is a message of opposition, opposition to the abuses of power by the extreme right wing Republicans.

To others, it is about returning to key parts of the Democratic message, from FDR to Clinton. I always come back to the about section of Greater Democracy. There, we talk about things like ‘democratic governance’ and ‘how new communications technologies support democracy’.

Yes, I am a techie and a hardcore democrat. To me, this idea of being a democrat, and I am using a small ‘d’ very intentionally, is in contract to being an autocrat or a theocrat. It is about a belief that we are all in this together, that everyone should have a voice that can be heard, that we are at our best when we are working together to help one another out. It stands in stark opposition to “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

As a techie, it is the recognition that when seeking a solution to a problem, you need to search the whole problem space, and not just specific areas, lest you find a ‘local optima’ which is really sub-optimal.

It may well be that some Republicans will agree with this approach. I hope it is something that ‘Reform Democrats’ will agree with. It is a message that I am hearing more and more often.

In Massachusetts, Deval Patrick urges us to ‘Believe again’. That is a message of hope. It is a message of participation, we all need to believe again. It is a message of us all being in this together and that we are at our best when we are working together. His website says, “I believe that an enlightened government has a role to play in helping to make all of our lives better. I believe that each of us has a stake in our neighbor’s dreams and struggles as well as our own. I believe in the American Dream, and want to work to put it within reach of more people here in Massachusetts”.

In Connecticut, John DeStefano urges us to ‘Expect more’. This too, is a message of hope and a message of participation. We all need to expect more of our leaders and ourselves. He repeatedly speaks about us all being in this together and how we are at our best when we work together.

To me, this is the message that we should all be taking up, whether we call ourselves ‘Reform Democrats’, ‘Progressive Democrats’, or even ‘Republicans’. This country was built on dreams of a better day which could be achieved by all of us working together. It is a dream that we sorely need today.

We’re all in this together.