There are lots of ways to go about getting a better candidate. In many places it is possible for a progressive to be a successful candidate as a Democrat, and that should be pursued, probably as the first option at this time. In many places there are third parties who qualify for state or federal funding under current rules, if these have not been totally thrown out. A solid third party candidate can put significant pressure on a major party candidate and this can be used in lots of ways. But just having built a progressive infrastructure would be a big step forward. Next time that infrastructure could be instrumental in getting a progressive as the major party candidate. As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
Realistically, there's thousands of people out there who know, more better than I, what needs to be done and how to do it. Before Obama wrecked it Dean's 50 State Strategy was the framework for a national implementation.
The knowledge is out there and has been for a long time. In 1946, for example, Heinlein - yup THAT Heinlein - wrote a book Take Back Your Government based on his experience in EPIC laying it all out -- as I recall, haven't read it in donkey's years.
All I'm doing is throwing pop bottles out of the left center field bleachers at the on-field players, like Montereyan, whom I'm sure already knows it.
Realistically, there's thousands of people out there who know, more better than I, what needs to be done and how to do it.
Like these folks.
It pains me to think of where we might be now had the knowledge of the '30s-era activists, or even the '60s and '70s-era folks, been the dominant skillset among the political class. But it isn't, the '90s saw a huge shift toward corporate neoliberalism, and so we have to reclaim that knowledge from the past and relearn those skills ourselves.
I count myself among the latter group - the influx of activists. Until 2008 I was just a blogger. At that time I saw an opportunity to do more than just write, but to actually try and implement change on the ground. I've been lucky enough to find full-time employment at doing so, but everything we do is still too deeply rooted in the '90s model I just described, and not rooted enough in the successful models you've been articulating here.
As progressives start looking around for solutions after the coming disaster on November 2, what you've laid out here ought to be a central part of the discussion. And the world will live as one
What about hooking up with the Santa Cruz people: Gary Patton, Michael Rotkin, and Katherine Beiers?
Maybe we should take this discussion offline? My email's right next to my username. And the world will live as one
