Don't start a Party. Go big. Start a Coalition.
A coalition could have much greater power, almost immediately, than a new Party in a rigged and corrupt political system. Use the right tool and use it well.
A coalition needs a strong central vision or ultimate vision. For example, "a coalition for a better life" or for "stronger citizens" or a "people's coalition." Using its central vision as a sort of test or moral compass, a coalition could throw any election or end the political career of any candidate.
Long ago, the US had a central vision. It would form a goverment "OF the People, BY the People, and FOR the People." Some time back, "FOR the People" was changed to "FOR the Sharehoilders." That's how the US government turned rogue and began to gut the nation and exploit the people. The People then, correctly, saw that voting was both pointless and self-destructive. So, they stopped participating in the rogue government. The number of non-participants grows year over year.
But nothing can stop this universal truth: "The only reason that People form governments is to benefit the People and make their lives better over time." If the government isn't actively making the people's lives better, then it is actively making their lives worse. Everything else is kabuki. There is nothing at all complex about it. All complexity is a fraudulent scheme to mystify the system in order to divert the people's resources to a criminal cartel — right under their noses. The military industrial "complex" is such a cartel.
In time, the "People's Coalition" may decide to run their own candidates for office. Until then, it forces the US government to become a "coalition government" if it wants to get anything done or be regarded as legitimate. The Coalition needs to be represented at the United Nations.
One dynamic advantage of a national coalition is that it can grow explosively because it may be joined by other established groups who would like to share the power of the bloc over the politically-seeded US government and its elected spokesmodels. Like any revolution, the early stages may call for sacrifices. Cleaning up legacy political and corporate corruption means there may be some terrible choices to make along the way. But political adversities can be carefully navigated in order to serve the long-term goals of the People's coalition.
Comments
The Common Good
It's in our Declaration of Independence as a goal. And since we are for whose benefit it exists, total and immediate transparency upon request to citizens.
this is exactly what they work hardest to prevent
I'd say it's likely the ptb deliberately choose the lines they artificially divide groups of people along according to the potential for those groups finding common cause and forming coalitions that will overcome the very precarious 50.1% that keeps them hanging on. It's why they had to shut down OWS, and ultimately the reason they couldn't give voice to Bernie's message by attacking it: they know these concepts are self evident and resonant to all of us. If too many of us catch on and start running and electing our people, their game is over. Right now they have it down to, what, a dozen or so states they concentrate on to decide elections, and it's a given the rest vote predictably. That whole setup is very vulnerable. Their desperation is pretty obvious these days. To them, the "left" and "right" "coalitions" they've molded and exploited are in danger of getting scrambled into something out of their control. In my opinion, this is an extremely opportune time.
Yes. At this moment they are exceptionally vulnerable.
They are also arrogant. They know that any attempt to start a Party will fail. All street action will be crushed with extreme prejudice.
But against a populist coalition with a simple, diamond-hard guiding light (bettering the lives of the people now and for the future), they are helpless.
It's that old Victor Hugo thing: "There is nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come."
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Well said, bunsk!
Coalition-building is happening -- see Steven D's post on the People's Convention, for one.
While this is ongoing, it seems obvious that the simplest way to keep Bernie's breakthrough ideas active is to support the 39 candidates running for Congress on his ideas. A recent Bernie email features a small group of key candidate, including Canova and Nina Turner; donation is split between them and Bernie. And BrandNewCongress intends to raise up candidates who pledge to support certain Bernie positions for which bills have already been written.
Posts by potatohead (aka Spud, SpudDK) have been inspiring to me. He writes that we are paying our way, even buying our way into the mechanics of power through our donation and work, to put people in power who share out values and who will respond to our voices.
What if we could put 39 Hermitage in Congress this year? I think that would be a game-changer.
Donations are a hard thought for me, because I am officially very poor. But I 've been tossing numbers around in my brain, to see how I can make some ongoing contribution to making Bernie's IDEAS the more rules of the game.
(Edit: 39 Berniecrats. Bernie-endorsing candidates. Damn autocorrect. I checked that before posting, honest!)
So glad to see you posting, Pluto!
Haven't even read this yet, but I've been longing to hear your views on the current moment!
The conscious acceptance of reality, around here, has been
…a rare atmosphere in the cyberspace of politics. It's heady stuff, and urge to speak with folks who can see beyond the pedestrian American propaganda — is irresistible.
Remember when we had to pretend to see the boogyman-threats to avoid being attacked? What happened do you suppose? Why did the propaganda stop working? Bernie is certainly not the first who carried the message to them. Why did they wake up this time?
These are the things I ponder.
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
The Time is right!
'Comes the moment, comes the man', an old Brit saying.
Brits also speak of The Dunkirk Spirit to refer that spirit that moves huge numbers of people to put their tiny vessels to work to achieve the impossible.
Ben Franklin tapped the man for the moment when he urged Tom Payne to write a book to make the colonists think about the possibility of a country ruled by its people.
Good idea. A coalition across all dividing lines that have only
served to prevent a popular, potent, organized majority from forming.
I'd like to see people on both Left and Right acting in a united front on issues like foreign military interventions, media oligopoly, clean elections, Israel-Palestine, CIA misconduct and covert action, Wall Street, domestic repression, privacy, and civil liberties.
Some of us will remember the uproar at TOP years ago when Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake suggested progressives could find common ground and work with "Ron Paul Revolution" people on some topics.
Perhaps now we can see more clearly how TOP has always had wrong instincts about certain things, and appreciate the violent rejection of a coalition strategy then for what it is: a kind of recommendation — as with Bernie, a further contrarian signpost that Jane Hamsher was on the right track.
we have something to offer the "Ron Paul revolution"...
enlightenment; they have something to offer us: they're in the same boat.
Compared to the rest of our politico peers
…Jane was a physicist. She looked into the center of the political universe and saw the unified field. No wonder she scared the bejesus out of the cognitively compromised at Daily Kos. The seizure of hysteria over there, whenever Jane's name was mentioned, was something to behold!
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Hi Pluto
If we could even get that much together I would be impressed. The traditional leftist groups (NARAL, PPH, Sierra Club) are coopted, a part of the problem and a total waste.
This was republished at FB the other day by peef. I thought of you, so I'm bringing it here.
It's Over Gandalf. We Need to Unite Behind Saruman to Save Middle Earth from Sauron! If I remember correctly, this is the diary that got him banned.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
Oohhh. I wondered about that "Diary."
Thanks for the synopsis. I see what he did there
The special interest groups you mentioned are serving "special interests." Those priorities can take them to places that may work against the interests of the American people.
Until now, there has been no populist movement that could span the false divisions in the US that keep the people misinformed and isolated. A coalition that adheres to a simple intelligent governing principle that exists for the benefit of the people is far more powerful than elections, which the coalition can freely control.
The only question is whether or not the American people deserve control over their government. We'll soon know.
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
The teabaggers certainly took over the Republican't Party...
...and while people will say, "Yeah, but they had Koch Brother funding and organization to do it!" the Sanders Campaign has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that WE have the ability to do the same without plutocrat money or organization. All we need is a handful of vocal, well-funded real progressives getting elected as Democrats to turn the whole Party around and bend it to the people's will. The rest of that spineless lot of elected "Democrats" will soon fall into line...
I want my two dollars!
Exactly! Fill Congress w the right IDEAS --
-- by electing people who are supported by our donation and work, and The Movement will have its hands on the levers of power.
Think of this as being
like negotiating a path through a minefield, with snipers in some of the trees surrounding.
It can be done, and maybe it should be--but there is no clear path to it, it's not simple, and this whole "just elect a Brand New Congress!" should not be undertaken without *serious* discussion of all of the many, many attacks any such movement would encounter. Including what happens when you get candidates in office--how do you keep them from caving under the (frankly enormous) pressure?
I try never to be a wet blanket, and, in fact, I am cautiously in favor of this Dean-like strategy, but only if it's undertaken with due thought. We cannot, must not, view the electoral process as in any way straightforward, transparent, or belonging to us; equally, we cannot, must not assume that politicians, once elected, will continue to be our allies whether we fund them or not. There are many pressures DC brings to bear upon people; money is only one; we need to discuss all of them, or as many as we can find out about.
If we really mean to do this, we need to get former Washington politicians of good will (there are some) to talk to us about this problem. We've spent since 2003/4 going at this as if it's a simple matter. It isn't.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Shorter: Can't be changed from the inside.
But I think you know that.
It can be controlled from the outside, however, until it is ready to change. Or until it finally dies off.
IMO, of course.
In any event, the two-party system is a doomsday device. It is laughably unsuitable for a nation of this scale. I am amazed that people buy in to this cohort of mass manipulation.
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
For coalition or party forming, long slow process, I agree.
But for short term transition work the BrandNewCongress model looks solid to me. Here's how I see it:
There are now 39 Sanders-supporting candidates running, some of them Sanders-endorsed (is, Canova, Nina Turner). Five such candidates won their primaries last week, one unopposed. If elected, these folks will keep Bernie's ideas alive and will work to implement them, in concert with the existing Progressive Caucus.
BNC, designed to build a nationwide grassroots organization of people who will work locally to raise up candidates, will require each candidate to pledge to support a selection of Bernie's existing campaign planks. For each of these planks, bills have already been written and documents demonstrating how they will be paid for have been gathered. This means that the candidates, and their ground support, will all be conveying a consistent, action-centered message: these people will all work to enact these laws, which will benefit The People in these ways.
To me, this looks like a model that will allow The People to make real progress this year and in every second year after, no matter what parties or coalitions do in the meantime.
(Hope autocorrect doesn't mess this up!)
I'm starting The Beer Party
Party Rules
1. BYOB! (B for beer or bong)
2. Management reserves the right. to shit stomp anyone harshing on The Beer Party's mellow.
3. See rules 1and 2 above.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Beer works for me.
I'm planning to endorse Deez Nuts as my presidential pick.
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The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato