Last week I outlined a strategy of taking the enthusiasm of the OH-2 race and turn it National. I noticed that some of the links I suggested that hadn’t gotten too much activity suddenly got a small surge. So I THINK people responded to my call to action. Or maybe just a coincidence…? Either way, I want to parse my call to action, focusing on the actions bit by bit. I honestly think that our activism now…today…will be what determines the 2006 and 2008 elections. Keep reading!
First, get active locally.
As progressives many of us decry the influence of big money on both parties. I have also heard progressives say that it doesn’t matter if they are active because big money is so influential.
These two comments create a vicious cycle. The more the grassroots become quiescent, the more big money has influence. The more big money takes control, the less active the grassroots become. Don’t expect ANY politician to ignore the interests of big money unless the grassroots are thriving. Only when the grassroots thrive is there ANY alternative to a big money path to getting elected. I have seen the best possible candidates–a progressive’s dream candidate–drop out or languish in obscurity because the grassroots fail to act. On the other hand, OH-2 showed us what the grassroots can do if they get active. We CANNOT fight big money without an active, aggressive, THRIVING grassroots. And that means you and me getting our hands dirty…and probably our feet and faces dirty as well.
The Grassroots thrive only if we all are involved and active. We each need to find our niche of activism and get busy. There is no excuse. If you have time to be on daily Kos, you have time to get active in the grassroots. So I am here to tell you some of your options.
First and formost, there are two main ways I see to get active–the local party and the local Democracy for America organization. Anyone who hasn’t done so yet really has to find their local DFA or Dem group to get active in. THESE ARE THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL LEVELS OF ACTIVISM TODAY! Our participation is what makes this a Democracy! If we aren’t active as hell then big money interests have all the say. Our LACK of activism ALLOWS, even INVITES big money to take control. We don’t want that, so we gotta be louder than them. Even a few hours a month with your local group can make a huge difference locally, and really all elections are won locally. If you can participate a few hours a week, then you are among the stormtroopers of Democracy. Get involved! Get known in your community! It will pay off in future elections.
For those with extra enthusiasm for a progressive takeover of the Dem party, run for your local County Committee or State Committee. These are the local and state party bodies that determine the platform of the Democratic party and choose candidates to fill any vacancies that open up between elections. These committees are the nuts and bolts of the Democratic Party and they are generally dominated by hard core party wonks who are not tied into the grassroots. At the worst, like the County Committee I have been elected to, they are dominated by a corrupt machine that is focused on getting and holding power, not on winning elections or connecting with voters. My wife and I, with a handful of progressives, are trying vainly to battle an entrenched, corrupt machine. What we need is MORE grassroots folks running for county committee so we have some support! If you don’t run, you can bet someone with a vested interest in the status quo will. If we don’t participate in the local mechanics of the party, we will never be able to take control of our party. But this is a step further than merely participating in local meetups, so it is not for anyone. How do you get elected? Generally if you are a member of your local Dem club and express your interest, they will put you on a petition and you have to get enough signatures to get on the ballot. My wife and I had to get 32 signatures from a three-block-by-three-block radius area, which took us three afternoons. And she was 8 months pregnant at the time! Once we got the signatures, since there was no rival, we qualified and were County Committee members.
If the Dem party per se or DFA don’t suit you, there are a slew of other ways to get involved locally in progressive politics depending on your interests. If you like biking, join or start your own Critical Mass group. This group is focused on clean air and mass transit issues, but they also proudly protested the Republican Convention, for which Mayor Bloomberg is now persecuting them. If I simply tell you the day and time of the NYC Critical Mass protests, I am breaking the law in NYC thanks to Bloomberg! But they are a great group and are a way to get hard core bicyclists into politics.
If you like running, join or start your local Running for Change group. If you are a drinking man/woman, join or start your local Drinking Liberally group. And there are so many other good ways to get involved MoveOn.org started opposing the Clinton impeachment, moved on to opposing the Iraq war, and now is working to expose Republican Corruption. Wellstone Action was founded after the death of the uber-progressive Senator Wellstone and his wife in an airplane crash during the 2002 election cycle. Wellstone’s family founded this group to continue Senator Wellstone’s activism. They train grassroots activists around the nation, work on electing progressives and agitate for legislation protecting women from domestic violece.
Find your niche of activism and get into it. These are just the best of the huge mass of good progressive groups out there. If you tell me your personal interests and your location, I will do my best to hook you up with a local group that will suit your tastes. But don’t sit it out. Don’t wait until October 2008 to get active then expect to have an effect. Start now if you haven’t started already. And if you are involved, try putting in just one extra hour a week. We need you. Every one of you. And together, we can take back not only our party, but our nation.
And my last humble recommendation to get involved is to follow my Progressive Democrat and my Target the Corrupt Republican blogs. They each preovide information and action alerts for activists who want to get active, get progressive, and fight the corrupt Halliburton Republicans.
And I want to add that some folks, inspired by OH-2, are aiming to unseat entrenched Repubs in other states. They would appreciate your help if you can give it to them.
