Lately I’ve been asking myself what it means to be a Democrat. Sometimes I’m more proud of being one than others. I’ve visited the county, state and national bylaws and even checked in with Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary to find out how they define the word, “Democrat.” The Dictionary does a better job of defining us than our own bylaws do. (By the way, look it up in the book, not the internet - BIG difference.) But what I’m clear about is that political parties are NOT all the same. Say what you will about Democrats versus Republicans, the ideology is totally different and the message is much more inclusive on the Democratic side. So, yes: it matters which political party you align with and says a great deal about the person you are.

Although I am an officer of the state Democratic Party, I'm pretty sure that the Democratic Party is a machine. The fact that it is made up of people who are mostly human doesn’t deter me from that belief. The Democrat’s agenda is to elect Democrats, plain and simple. They are laser focused on beating the Republicans at the polls. Democratic activists are a bit more discriminating, choosing the candidates or issues they want to work for who most appeal to their personal values.

A long time ago I was an activist. One day, someone said I should bring my activism to the machine, said grassroots advocacy was what we needed. And so I did. I’ve served the machine the best way I know how. The hardest thing about being an activist first and a party official second is the transition.  It’s not been an easy task to be on the machine team and maintain my personal values along the way.

There are those who think they can do both – be a machine player and an activist player. We’ve seen that with the Tea Party, more recently with the Ron Paulers, and now with some progressives. All are in camps of their own creation trying to infiltrate the very camps they object to. I’m here to tell you it’s just not possible unless you don’t care about oaths that you took or walking your talk. You destroy one or the other in the process.

In the Party, the machine comes first, people come last.

In the grassroots, people come first and the machine comes last.

In between, the egos of one or two have hijacked the people or the machine too many times.

Through my time as part of the machine, I’ve been pummeled and humiliated and thrown under the bus by people who I thought were my friends. But it hasn’t been all bad: I’ve been appreciated and acknowledged for my contributions from friends and made lots of new friends along the way. I came up short sometimes and did other things well. I do my best and try to remember that others are doing the same.

Democratic activists are the grassroots. The Democratic Party is the machine. Not only are they not the same, but they’re not supposed to be the same. Sometimes we come together. Sometimes we don’t. Always, we need one another to make the magic work.

The Nevada State Democratic Party filed a Federal Election Commission complaint today against Danny Tarkanian citing his failure to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in leftover campaign debt [from his failed 2010 Senatorial bid] and questioning the legality of several donations.

Here's the complaint.