Kitchen cabinet

Jeanie Russell and her twin 12-year-old daughters Emma, second from right, and Tess, discuss the Democratic Party’s national platform Monday in the Riverdale home of Fanny Ennever. Photo by Claudio Papapietro

Armed with a set of talking points and a guest list compiled through Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama's Web site, a North Riverdale resident held a meeting Monday in the hopes of shaping the Democratic Party's national platform.

At the invitation of the DNC and Obama for America, Fanny Ennever hosted a small gathering of area Democrats to come up with a list of issues and policy positions they want to become the centerpiece of their party's presidential campaign. Using the same combination of grassroots politics and Internet social networking - "netroots" - Democrats across the country are hosting meetings like the one Ms. Ennever held.

That netroots strategy has already proved itself a winner for Mr. Obama, of Illinois, in campaign fund raising. Through e-mail blasts soliciting small donations, he garnered scores of repeat contributors and enough campaign cash to far outspend rival Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York in their party primaries.

The National Committee has promised to review summaries from meetings across the country just like the one from Ms. Ennever's group, which emphasizes quality education across income levels, human rights, workers' rights and open government.

Several attendees said they came to the meeting because it was a chance to change the Democratic Party's campaign process.

Jeannie Russell, who brought her twin 12-year-old daughters Emma and Tess, said that she was participating because she was "trying to put stronger language" in the platform.

"Language that says, 'this doesn't stop when [Obama] is elected president,'" she said.

This is part of the July 24, 2008 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you. Click here.