[statecom-discuss] Digging our heels in gets us nowhere

[lewis.emily at comcast.net]

If the Green and Green-Rainbows focused less on national elections, more on 
local ones, and even more on local efforts, we would have a party of 
influence, grassroots where many people could be part of it,
with elections taking place that are supported by progressive cause groups - 
not a bunch of us who argue about protocol that actually, even if the "right" way 
were chosen (the quotes, cause 'right" is a way that is so subjective)
we still wouldn't be getting very far with all that needs to get done. 

We could have people going forth who could be supported across the board by the 
progressives, et al....  and we'd be free to choose in any primary or election. THE FREEDOM TO
CHOOSE.  So a campaign to be unenrolled may be in order. Disassociate from any party,
Dems, Repubs, whatever.
 Used by us ( environmentalists, social justice, peace people) to become stronger instead of to weaken us. 

So maybe a new "party" of coalescence - the Transformation Party - from the
grassroots, influencing the top dogs so that they work to get the bone because the TP is growing strong. 
Presidents by the nature of representing the All are moderates in one form or another and
towards one end of that spectrum or the other. A powerful grassroots movement  
can shift that moderate position.(that grassroots movement is not going to come from the Greens in
any presidential campaign)  A presidential candidate from the far left barely budges the
center and barely gets noticed or heard.

Anyway, some thoughts to consider as this presidential race moves on.
Emily
 

 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Rob Crowner <rcrowner at hampshire.edu>
> At 06:48 PM 2/10/2008 -0800, you wrote:
> >  now there are so I can safely vote GRP while I am "unenrolled"  If there 
> > weren't any greens, I could vote for another party or do a write-in, as 
> > an unenrolled voter.  I think it is just more important to VOTE!
> 
> Does anyone else think that this is the wave of the future and effectively 
> the end of our party's hope of achieving permanent ballot status through 
> registration?  As a precinct warden in the primary, I observed many, many 
> unenrolled voters choosing a "D" ballot.  True, some of them may have 
> chosen a "J" ballot if they had heard of any of the candidates or thought 
> it would "make a difference", but in either case the lesson that the 
> average voter learned last week is that party affiliation DOES NOT MATTER 
> and in fact IS AN IMPEDIMENT TO VOTING.  Maureen essentially admits that 
> she will never be a "J" again, and why should she unless she wants to be a 
> member of Statecom?  I think this is a serious blow to our party.  The 
> other parties will eventually feel the effects of this rule, too, but it 
> won't be the same problem for them - and when they realize the harm it does 
> to smaller parties this rule will spread across the country and we'll end 
> up with a single national primary runoff to determine which two rightwing 
> candidates to choose from in November. 
> 
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