PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD
/Comments
"The Progressive Party is a true alternative to the duopoly. We must build a broad coalition based on actual grassroots direct democracy, welcoming anyone and everyone because only by working together can we preserve our Republic and reclaim the role of 'We the People' from the abuse of oligarchic interests poisoning our democracy."
- Robert W.
- Robert W.
"Local action, by virtue of being targeted, often yields efficient and immediate results. In addition, the record also shows that when a consortium of communities is banded together, they often lay the groundwork for building a much broader movement. Progress on fossil fuel divestment, establishing a living wage, and access to affordable housing are just a few examples of actions spearheaded by local communities.
Among such issues, the IMPERATIVE local action highlighted here is that of rebuilding the integrity of our elections. Our political system is corrupt, largely because wealthy donors finance the campaigns of virtually all of our candidates. Our major political parties are also beholden to these donations. Not surprisingly, regardless of which candidate or party wins the contrived political struggle, we’re typically left with endless wars, inadequate/unfair health coverage, and environmental policies which will soon render much of the planet uninhabitable.
Local action works to solve this problem by advocating for campaign finance reform and by supporting those candidates whose campaigns are funded by small donations and without funding from Political Action Committees.
Fortunately, local action is a good starting point to ameliorate such problems as candidates for local offices are often less dependent on financing from the major political parties and wealthy donors. Their success, in contrast, is largely dependent on community service. Upon the election of such candidates, along with passage of special local ballot measures, steps to reform local campaign finance laws can be set in motion. Improvements to local election security are also anticipated (e.g., validating voting machines).
A related problem is that our mainstream media, owned by the same wealthy campaign donors, are also a major source of political corruption. They control which candidates are given coverage and which issues gain public awareness.
In the end, voting takes place in a virtual information vacuum where background on income inequality and military expenditures are given short shrift.
Local action can serve to address such concerns by promoting alternative media sources that provide broader coverage on our core issues. Local action can also work to remove some bias in reporting by encouraging public schools and libraries to develop and use public domain search engines that are not comprised by a corporate bias.
Finally, the greatest value in supporting local action groups is they provide the interpersonal contact that is essential in building community spirit. Upon meeting together, we learn an incredible amount about the challenges that others are facing and in response can share our empathy. In the end, our personal contact serves to identify the challenges we most commonly face along with providing an inventory of working solutions."
- Jeffrey J.
Among such issues, the IMPERATIVE local action highlighted here is that of rebuilding the integrity of our elections. Our political system is corrupt, largely because wealthy donors finance the campaigns of virtually all of our candidates. Our major political parties are also beholden to these donations. Not surprisingly, regardless of which candidate or party wins the contrived political struggle, we’re typically left with endless wars, inadequate/unfair health coverage, and environmental policies which will soon render much of the planet uninhabitable.
Local action works to solve this problem by advocating for campaign finance reform and by supporting those candidates whose campaigns are funded by small donations and without funding from Political Action Committees.
Fortunately, local action is a good starting point to ameliorate such problems as candidates for local offices are often less dependent on financing from the major political parties and wealthy donors. Their success, in contrast, is largely dependent on community service. Upon the election of such candidates, along with passage of special local ballot measures, steps to reform local campaign finance laws can be set in motion. Improvements to local election security are also anticipated (e.g., validating voting machines).
A related problem is that our mainstream media, owned by the same wealthy campaign donors, are also a major source of political corruption. They control which candidates are given coverage and which issues gain public awareness.
In the end, voting takes place in a virtual information vacuum where background on income inequality and military expenditures are given short shrift.
Local action can serve to address such concerns by promoting alternative media sources that provide broader coverage on our core issues. Local action can also work to remove some bias in reporting by encouraging public schools and libraries to develop and use public domain search engines that are not comprised by a corporate bias.
Finally, the greatest value in supporting local action groups is they provide the interpersonal contact that is essential in building community spirit. Upon meeting together, we learn an incredible amount about the challenges that others are facing and in response can share our empathy. In the end, our personal contact serves to identify the challenges we most commonly face along with providing an inventory of working solutions."
- Jeffrey J.
"MoveOn actually had a great system; an enormous database of volunteers who could be called upon to be very active and change the ground game of campaigns. I've worked on wildly successful campaigns with them. The problem is that they quickly got co-opted by the Democratic Party establishment. We thought we were electing anti-war candidates, and in the end they turned on us.
This was in 2010. Here it is, ten years later, and we are still mired in the quagmire. I was very frustrated with MoveOn as I thought they had started picking candidates without local and group vetting. It was as if the DNC chose the candidates and we were the campaigns for them. A year after that, MoveOn started their 'councils'; neighborhood groups that would be started by self-selected people and organized locally. Almost immediately there was infighting within groups for 'leadership' and splintering of those groups. Ultimately, they disbanded them. Not because they weren't popular and successful, but because people started creating their own agendas and political views and the higher ups didn't like it.
I was told by one of the council leaders that their database, BOB, was amazing. He had wonderful ideas about getting law students together so I could teach them foreclosure defense and save homes. We didn't get a chance to do it. But he did connect me with OFF - Occupy Fights Foreclosures who I was able to win a longstanding year long fight for them. I'd like to see a national faction of the Progressive Party. MoveOn mobilized people nationally to work on local campaigns and it was wildly successful. Please consider it."
- Lisa H.
RESPONSE: The Progressive Party will definitely set up autonomous local chapters organized along Congressional District boundaries and encourage national members to project their volunteer power into local campaigns across the country.
This was in 2010. Here it is, ten years later, and we are still mired in the quagmire. I was very frustrated with MoveOn as I thought they had started picking candidates without local and group vetting. It was as if the DNC chose the candidates and we were the campaigns for them. A year after that, MoveOn started their 'councils'; neighborhood groups that would be started by self-selected people and organized locally. Almost immediately there was infighting within groups for 'leadership' and splintering of those groups. Ultimately, they disbanded them. Not because they weren't popular and successful, but because people started creating their own agendas and political views and the higher ups didn't like it.
I was told by one of the council leaders that their database, BOB, was amazing. He had wonderful ideas about getting law students together so I could teach them foreclosure defense and save homes. We didn't get a chance to do it. But he did connect me with OFF - Occupy Fights Foreclosures who I was able to win a longstanding year long fight for them. I'd like to see a national faction of the Progressive Party. MoveOn mobilized people nationally to work on local campaigns and it was wildly successful. Please consider it."
- Lisa H.
RESPONSE: The Progressive Party will definitely set up autonomous local chapters organized along Congressional District boundaries and encourage national members to project their volunteer power into local campaigns across the country.
