South Forward 2013 Prospectus

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A Message from Former DNC Chair Don Fowler

Dear Friend,

South Forward is an idea whose time has come, and I couldnt be more pleased to be involved with this effort.

I know the important work our state and national party committees do on a daily basis. We cant have a true

national party, though, if we are willing to write offan entire region of the county just because its more

difficult to win elections there.

Demographically, the South is changing. Growing Hispanic populations in Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas,

Oklahoma, North Carolina and South Carolina will make it ever more possible for Democrats to be

competitive, but we cant just depend upon demographic and population shifts to hand Democrats keyvictories.

Just a couple of decades ago we had a majority of Southern Democratic members of Congress, Governors and

United States Senators. Sadly, the offices once held by Southern Democrats like Max Cleland, David Boren,

Ann Richards, Lawton Chiles, Jim Hunt, William Winter, Dale Bumpers, Fritz Hollings, Howell Heflin, Eva Clayton,

and Lloyd Bentsen, are now held by Republicans.

How do we win again? We first must have quality candidates willing to offer themselves for service. One of my

main concerns has been the lack of investment in building a Democratic bench in the South. Candidates for

Congress, US Senate Governor and other statewide offices in 2014, 2016, 2018 and beyond will likely come

from the ranks of state legislatures, school boards, county boards and commissions, and municipal offi

ces.Our ability to push back on gerrymandering in the next redistricting in 2020 depends on our candidate

recruitment now.

We cant afford to wait. We must help Democrats running at the local level beginning in 2013 if we are to build

a bench of elected officials willing to take on the challenge of running for statewide and Congressional races in

the future.

Thats why Im helping to launch South Forward. South Forward will invest in local races as well as provide

important training and mentoring to candidates throughout the South.

We simply cant wait for demographic shifts to help us out at the ballot box. The time to start working is NOW.I hope you will invest in South Forward and be part of a long -term effort to win the South.

Warm regards,

Don Fowler

South Forward includes South Forward IE and Candidate PACs. Marc Posner, Treasurer.


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For Southern Democrats, all politics are local

by Mary C. Curtis on January 22, 2013 | Published by

Southern Democrats in Washington for the inauguration of President Obama on Monday celebrated as much as

their counterpoints from across the country. But they also knew they had work to do, with GOP senators,

governors and state legislatures cutting a bright red swath through the region. So they used an Inauguration

Day gathering to launch South Forward, a program aimed at making gains for the Democratic Party by

supporting local candidates.

A kickoff breakfast meeting Monday morning drew about a hundred or so a mix of politicians and the politically

active to a restaurant close to the swearing-in. It was hosted by Don and Carol Fowler, a former chairman of

the Democratic National Committee and a former chairwoman of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

This is a beginning, Don Fowler told me. It is an attempt to identify people in southern states who are loyal and

faithful Democrats and who are tired of losing to Republicans. The way to do that, he said, is to begin with local

races city council, county council and in state legislatures. Thats the way Republicans started 40 years ago

and it worked for them; we dont believe in many things Republicans do but we think that thats a good model.

South Forward is a federal 501(c) 4, known as a federal independent expenditure political action committee,

which allows for direct contributions to candidates and state party organizations. Like the Fowlers, it has a

Columbia, S.C., address, though Mondays guests came from a variety of southern states. The group also hopes

to mentor and develop a diverse slate of candidates.

Its no secret that the Democratic Party and progressives are reeling in the South, reads the groups one-page

statement. The Tea Party is ascendant and Republicans have supermajorities in many state houses. Public

education, labor, womens health and the very right to vote are under concerted and successful attack.

Why have Democratic candidates and issues had problems breaking through in the South? Race has a lot to do

with it, Don Fowler said, and if I told you anything different it would not be honest. The south was solidly

Democratic for 70 years because of race, to maintain segregation. That changed when President Lyndon

Johnson and party leaders began to back civil rights legislation.

In addition, he said, the South has always been conservative in social, economic and foreign policy issues, and

the Democratic Party is the liberal alternative. It just became socially acceptable and socially nice to be

Republican. Look at most any southern states, other than Virginia or Florida, we Democrats have an

overwhelming majority of the African American vote but only 15 to 20 percent of the white vote.

A lot more people would be Democrats, he said, if they understood the issues better and if the party let them

know it wants their votes. You pick the places where you think have the greatest chances of winning. If you win

a couple of seats in Texas, somewhere in Alabama, in South Carolina, that begets winning.


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While changing demographics are transforming the country and the South no exception and newcomers are

more likely to vote his way, Fowler said its important to convince those who have been here longer and have

benefited from Democratic policies that they should be Democrats.

Carol Fowler said one reason the party has a chance for a comeback in the South is because we no longer have

any moderate Republicans. When President Obama started his first run for the presidency, she was one of the

first state party chairs to back him. Her husband supported Hillary Clinton, but eventually lined up behind

Obama.

Hes different from every president weve ever had, Don Fowler said, and Im not referring to his race. Its his

style. Hes really intellectual and he believes in persuading people about issues. He believes that rationality

and consistent, logical presentation will win the day. I guess Im from the old school Lyndon Johnson used to get

right up in your face and threaten you. He said that while Obama is a transitional figure in American politics,

its unfortunate so much of his first term was consumed with the countrys economic problems.

Heidi Campbell-Robinson worked on the Obama campaign, and said she thinks Democrats can build on that

efforts strong ground game to make gains. Campbell-Robinson, who lives in Spartanburg, S.C., and runs a

nonprofit life enrichment center in Asheville, N.C., is a former Republican and once worked for former Virginia

senator John Warner, a man she called judicious, a statesman. The GOP, she said, has moved more toward

extremes. The Duke Divinity School graduate and ordained United Methodist minister said the Democratic

Party has an opportunity to frame its message toward the understanding of caring for the least of these in

outreach to faith communities.

Does Virginia, a state Obama carried twice, offer a model for southern Democratic success? Susan Swecker of

Richmond, who used to chair the southern caucus of the Democratic National Committee, said Republicans

didnt keep up with demographic changes there and moved so far to the right, they went off the Richter scale.

Red counties and red states benefit from government programs, she said. Democrats have to learn how to talk

to regular voters in the South and Deep South. Our message is good for the middle class.

Catherine Fleming Bruce of Columbia, S.C., agreed that Democrats need to look at how we define ourselves and

explain things we believe in. Bruce, a doctoral student who owns a consulting firm, also sees a need to fund and

develop candidates who can win. More people need to be involved and engaged.

Delores Johnson, also of Columbia, owns a residential care fac ility and as a true South Carolinian a

concealed weapon carry permit. Johnson said reaching out is something the president has wanted to happen.

He has reached out and will continue to do this; he wants a unified America.

Walter Ludwig, a Washington-based political consultant and managing partner of Indigo Strategies, is a

committee spokesman and organizer. Our next steps will be to put together a first-rate advisory board from all

over the reg ion, raise some money and work in some municipal elections likely in Mississippi and Florida

and some Virginia legislative elections this year, Ludwig said. And get ready for a busy 2014.

South Forward 2013 Prospectus

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