Walking the talk.

Kudos to MyDD's Chris Bowers, who's running a write-in campaign for a slot on the Pennsylvania State Democratic Central Committee from the 8th Senatorial District. The filing period for the election apparently ended with five out of six possible seats empty, so Chris and a colleague have taken on the challenge of drumming up 100 write in votes to validate their election.

One of the lessons we can all take from his experience is how truly low the barriers to entry are for those who want to lead the Democratic Party and are willing to do the work. It can be even easier. With just a bit of foresight, Chris could have appeared on the last day of filing and essentially installed any five Democrats he chose onto the State Committee, avoiding the write-in requirements.

If that seems like an extreme example, it's actually all too common in my experience. Here in Washington, in the Puget Sound region, a relative hotbed of political activism with a strong Democratic constituency, even the strongest local organizations have dozens of vacancies in the ranks of their Precinct Committee Officers, the position that appears on general election ballots in our state.

Think about it for a minute. If you didn't vote for a PCO in the last general election, that means you don't have one. Although Democratic candidates appear on your ballot, there is no Democratic Party in your precinct. That was true where Chris lives. He fixed the problem. If it's true where you live, you can fix it there.

No crashing required.