The USDemocrat Network (USDN) is the oldest and longest running interconnected network of democrats in the history of the internet.

Unlike any other democratic organization, group, blog, campaign or candidate, the USDemocrat Network has no agenda other than connecting democrats to democrats. We do not take sides in the democratic debate. We have our opinions like anyone but our opinions do not get in the way of doing our job.

In this and other pages of this website you can find out everything you need to reach democrats in your neighborhood, your area, your state and nation-wide. You will find out what the USDN is, how it's works, who's involved and how you can help.

There are 2 important questions to answer. What is the USDN? What is the USDN not?

What is the USDN?

The USDN is a network of what used to be called listservs, being email redistribution membership list service. By that, you sign up to a listserv and when someone sends a message to one email address it’s automatically redistributed and sent to everyone who’s a member.  A listserv could have a few members or thousands.  But the sender only has to remember one email address in order to contact everyone.

A moderated listserv means that every message sent to the list is reviewed by someone and approved or rejected.  This prevents inappropriate materials from being redistributed or wasting everyone’s time and attention with nonsense.

The problem since the invention of the listserv was how to get information from one group in Florida to another group in Ohio.  The need for an interconnection was needed.  This used to be accomplished by some internet email junkie being a member of both who redistributed everything (appropriate or not) from one listserv to another.  The first problem was political spam.  The listserv would be flooded with postings which drove off members.  The second problem is that most of the time the spammer was not supposed to be a member of either local group and their personal comments interfered with locals deciding what to do in their own area.  Here’s where the USDemocrat Network comes in.

Each of our listservs are moderated by local volunteers when possible and new moderators are sought all the time.  This keeps outsiders from deciding what’s right for you in your area.  Our job is not to censor the message unless it’s posted to the wrong forum or attacks another democrat.

Secondly, because the membership is vetted through a central Membership Committee, members cannot cross post to more than one group or sign up to groups they do not belong.  This keeps the local groups as pure as possible.

Third, by having a National Coordinator (NC) sitting at the center of this vast network of groups, the NC is able to see postings from every group around the country and divert information which is not appropriate for one group to where it is.  Likewise, outside democratic organizations can quickly get their message pinpointed by sending it to the NC for redistribution.  The result is a network of hundreds of groups and thousands of members, reaching out to millions of democrats.

Through it’s network of volunteers the USDN also helps other groups and organizations with internet activism where possible.

What is the USDN not?

The USDN is not a political body, a Political Action Committee (PAC), a 527, a movement for the status-quo or for change.  The USDN is not directly answerable to the DNC or to any state democratic party.  We do not collect vast sums of money and hand it out to candidates.  We do not generally endorse candidates or one political position over another.  What the USDN does is gather the democrats together and allow all democratic sides to get the message out and let you decide your own mind.

The USDN is not the message.  It is the internet soapbox on which the messenger stands to get the message out.

The USDN is not a monarchy.  Every volunteer moderator is a voting member of our governing board (the Congress of Group and State Moderators) and has a direct say in the operation of the network.  The National Coordinator is elected each January and serves at the pleasure of the Congress.  The National Coordinator in turn recruits and appoints new volunteer moderators.  Visit our Constitution & Bylaws page for additional details.