Green Party 2009 and Beyond (open thread)
Many have asked in previous posts and threads, “Why the low numbers? What have we learned? What do we do now?” With respect to the numbers, I believe that one reason is the distractions and changes in the political landscape. If you were looking for a reason not to vote Green, you could easily find one between Obama Mania, Nader’s Crusade, the Green Party speaking to its key values outside of environmentalism, the Green Party presenting a face that is younger and not so anglo, or the fact that the Green Party is not the hip, trending thing for progressives.
But what we gain and learn from this data is incredible. It demonstrates that we take our registrants for granted at times, and assume who they may vote, assume why they register, assume what they think. These numbers also demonstrate that we need a stronger, more informed base. We can’t wait until the green convention happens to start getting ready. We need to education people on the issues. We need to be ready for Obama/Clinton/Bush/Palin Mania. We need ammo ready to shell out and dollars. We need to network. We need to compete with the duopoly in terms of multimedia, websites and user generated material to reach the younger generation. We need to be informed ourselves to better convince people. We need, we need, we need. And we will. Things start today.
With the 140,000 Green Votes in 2008, we can see who is really interested in building a party. Some say that we are shrinking, I say we are finally growing with a base that wants to grow. A base that is sure of itself. A base that is about more than environmentalism, that is about more than just elections, but rather committed to all 10 Key Values and year round justice work. We now have a base that is committed to the Green Party. A base that could easily generate, at least, $140,000, to pay some full time organizers, print/distribute some brochures, pay a web designer (to make clear succinct websites), pay a videographer (to make videos) and pay for some statewide conventions and think tank sessions.
How do we move beyond this? By organizing locally with this base that we have and then moving beyond the bases, to register more Greens. We need to stay active on short term, intermediate and long term goals. We need to record what is going well, what gets accomplished, present it in an accessible interesting way, and keep getting things done.
I don’t speak for the National Party, or any committees for that matter. I speak for myself, my values, my commitment, and the local chapter that I am involved with. I hope to combine my voice with the voice of others, but more importantly, I want to combine my actions and movement with that of others. Who’s ready to act and move?
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OPEN THREAD
So what else do we do with our 140,000 current Green Voting members? How do we organize? How do we build our base? What do people have to report on in their respective chapters and states? Ideas?
What do yall think?
The Green Party needs to be your passion not your hobby.
We need more of our members to make the Green Party the main focus of their activism instead of just one of the progressive groups they support.
We need to engage people where they’re willing to be engaged, Richard, and not demand that everyone be a Green Knight Templar. But, we can provide more opportunities for those who want to be involved to get involved.
We could have more responsive people on state committees. I’ve had a heck of a time trying to get any response from those who are supposed to be representing my area.
Above all else, we need more sites like Green Party Watch, creating a daily representation of a Green Party voice. Thanks, GPW, for what you do.
There needs to be a team of Green Party folks with a network of web sites, ready to do timely response to issues that matter, engaging people in discussion online and leading them to involvement for the elections to come.
Right on, Richard. I devote my activist time to the Green Party. Why? First, because there are precious few other progressive groups that take a serious approach to political power. Second, because when you support the Greens, you’re supporting thousands of great issues, rather than just one or two.
Dave, I really like the work you’re doing with the group over at GreenChange.org. I just joined up with the New York Green group over there.
I believe the Green Party has to market itself as the place Progressives have to go….because as we have seen from the Obama camp, the Democrats will continue to move towards the center and right on many issues. There is no difference between the 2 parties. The Democrats since 2006 have had the power to end our involvement in Iraq, and this week continued to vote on additional war funding bills.
The Green party must become the home to Progressive Liberals.
Green Party Candidates!
Normal Americans recognize a political party only when it puts candidates on the ballot.
Greens of every age, Greens of every kind, conservative Green Party members, centrist Green Party members, progressives, liberals…all Greens need to get on the ballot now!
It amazes me that so many members of the Green Party national delegates have NEVER run for any public office.
How could they possibly know what they are talking about when they’ve never been a candidate.
Real politics happens on the ballot in the United States.
Want to change the world? Want to grow the Green Party? Get on the ballot and publicize yourself as a Green party candidate for local, state, and federal office.
Join your PTA. Go to your civic assocation meetings.
That’s how you grow the Green Party in the America’s largest and most powerful.
When more greens get on the ballot as Green Party candidates, more Green Party people will be elected!
Dennis, I agree on your idea about positioning the Green Party, and taking on the current round of disaffected voters from the Democratic Party. I think that we lose people’s attention, though, when we say that there is NO difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. There clearly is a difference, though it’s not as significant as we’d like to see. I think that acknowledging that brings credibility. We can say that there is a difference, but that it’s become one of style rather than substance. The Democrats were very successful in 2006 and 2008 in appealing to disenchanted Republicans by making a respectful tip of the hat to the idea of Republican idealism, saying to voters that it’s not that they were leaving the Republican Party, but rather that the Republican Party had left them. We can say the same, honestly, to Democrats – recognize that they became Democrats for idealistic reasons, but note that the Democratic Party has lost its idealism. This makes people feel that they haven’t changed so much as circumstances have changed, and lowers barriers to switching party affiliation.
The purpose of GreenChange.org is to give people with Green values a place to network, organize, and plan how to make change in the real world. Check it out:
http://network.greenchange.org/
We’re currently working on an upgrade to make Green Change more user-friendly, as well as give our users better tools to organize more effectively. Got ideas? We’d love to hear ‘em!
http://network.greenchange.org/groups/feedback
Here’s an idea that a friend gave me during the Mike Gravel campaign – go to ghettos, poor neighborhoods, whatever you want to call them. Go to the neighborhoods where there are a lot of people not registered to vote, where the people have been ignored politically (if you’re not rich or a soccer mom, that’s you!). And tell people about what the Green Party stands for and how it can directly affect them. Go to churches there, and community events, and become friendly with the community, if not part of it.
Also, the other day I was talking to one of the Progressive Party members in Vermont who had gotten elected kind of early on in the party’s history, and he was talking about how there was a unique situation in Burlington that made it a good place for the Progressives to succeed (ie, it was one party rule by Democrats and it was a small town but had its politics covered on TV, mostly). These conditions can’t be copied exactly, but I think that the one-party rule thing goes hand-in-hand with going to poorer neighborhoods. Minorities and the poor tend to vote Democratic, and areas heavy with poor minorities tend to be one-party rule by Democrats. Maybe I’m just restating the obvious, but Greens can try to become the second party in places like that.
Everybody’s talkin bout revolution, evolution, end the wars and air pollution, single payer universal, end corruption, gay rights, poverty and urban blight…
All we are saying…. is give Greens a chance!
I believe that there needs to be fairer ballot qualifications and allowance into the debates to give the people a better choice, and in this case it would be minor party and independent candidates.
First thing is to remember that approximately 3 MILLION people voted for green candidates in 2008, not 140,000
The original Progressive Party was started by Teddy Roosevelt A REPUBLICAN in 1912. He came in second place. The progressive movement has foundered since. It actually has evolved into 2 parties, the green & libertarian parties. Uniting the gp & lp may be impossible. But coordinating their vote IS possible. The inclusive progressive vote is estimated to be about 40%. 13% The Libertarian Vote-The Cato Institute. This could result in a 40/30/30 plurality.
I don’t find the libertarians to be very progressive, to be frank. There are some liberal elements to their attitudes toward the Bill of Rights, but they tend to adopt a radical stance on abandoning representative governmental action at the national level that I can’t support, because this kind of hyperlocalism has led to terrible abuses in the past.
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