LYM Member Cody Jones Honored at L.A. County Democratic Party Awards Dinner

LYM Member Cody Jones Honored at L.A. County Democratic Party Awards Dinner

June 26, 2006—LYM member and L.A. County Democratic Party Central Committee member Cody Jones was among the honorees at the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt 2006 Democrat of the Year Awards held in Los Angeles Sunday night. More than 700 people attended. Cody was the recipient in the 43rd Assembly District, and was described as follows in the official program of the event: "Creighton Jones is inspired by Lyndon LaRouche's idea of reviving Franklin Roosevelt's commitment to the general welfare through the optimistic policy of global development and poverty eradication. At age 23, his first political action was collecting signatures to a petition to save President Bill Clinton from impeachment. Creighton created (sic) the now globally extended LaRouche Youth Movement and was a co-founder of the Franklin Roosevelt Legacy Democratic Club — which continues to recruit young activists into the Democratic Party."

The announcement of Cody's name was greeted by a loud and rousing ovation, led by his fellow LYM members, who had a table at the event. During the dinner, LYM members were engaged in discussions with leading Democrats, including elected officials, many of whom agreed to meet with us to discuss our drive to remove Rohatyn from the party, as a precondition to restoring the FDR tradition.

The issue of FDR shaped the whole event. Unlike many Democratic Party annual award dinners and fundraisers, which honor the "Jefferson-Jackson" tradition in the party, the L.A. County Democrats honor FDR. In his opening presentation, and in his official remarks, County Chairman Eric Bauman delineated the reasons why honoring FDR is appropriate, referring in particular to Roosevelt's leadership in pulling the nation out of the Depression, by standing up for working people and the poor, and introducing reforms, such as Social Security, from which we still benefit today. Bauman then launched into an attack on the neo-cons who hijacked the government, lied to get us into a war, and are attacking the FDR programs which are the only protection for the majority of people in our nation. He said that the leadership of FDR, who stood up against his critics, is the kind of leadership we need today, and identified those who were recognized at this award dinner as in that tradition. And that leadership today, he concluded, must not just present an "anti-Bush" agenda, but must offer a positive alternative in the tradition of FDR.

There is no way that active Democrats in L.A. County could miss the fact that Lyndon LaRouche's drive for a New Bretton Woods, reregulation, federal credit for infrastructure and retooling the auto sector is the only viable option on the table. The LYM in L.A. will be mapping out plans to get a sponsor for LaRouche's Emergency Recovery Act from among the large number of Democratic Congressmen who represent constituents in southern California.