I have been thinking about this for a long while, even BB-before Bernie. It is the culmination of so many election cycles where we were forced to vote for the lesser of two evils, again and again. I had been uncomfortable with the process for some years, spurred by the death of JFK. I felt at the time that we had experienced a coup, I waited, but things didn't seem to change too much.
If Bernie Sanders doesn't clinch it today, I will continue donating through the convention, but will shift most of my money downballot progressives & to the Green Party & Jill Stein. Inside/Outside strategies are not about putting all our eggs in one basket. I really do hope Bernie considers breaking as a new party. He has the name recognition & willing donors to do it.
As I understand it:
The Peoples Party* starts as a coalition of American voters and the Platform, below, is a required candidate pledge. All party machinery and experienced activists (Occupy) are currently in place. The Platform was written by Occupy and needs only a preamble. Platforms change over time; this first platform addresses the past wrongs and injustices that must be fixed to improve the lives of the People and give them a meaningful future.
To begin, the Peoples Party will not have candidates, but will grow a national coalition of voters registered to the Peoples Party. The larger the number of Registered Peoples Party voters, the more powerful the coalition. In order to gain votes, Republican or Democratic candidates must pledge to the platform of the Peoples Party. If they do not, votes and money will be withheld during that election. Businesses and industries can pledge to the Peoples Party PAC.
If a Presidential candidate does not pledge to the Peoples Party Coalition, Party members will be told to withhold all campaign contributions during that cycle. Direct contributions to the Party, and contributions from affiliated businesses and industries to the People's Party PAC, will be used to grow the size of the Party's registered voter base and groom future Peoples candidates. Businesses that do not affiliate with the Peoples Party will be designated as "enemies of labor, Democracy, and essential human rights" and will be subject to a organized, years-long, nation-wide boycotts.
Without votes from the Coalition of the members of the Peoples Party, US Federal elections will not receive total vote numbers that are plausible in a Democracy. The Peoples Party will spring into actions to make this known throughout the world. Thus, the US government will be declared by the world to be "rogue, illegal, and invalid." The power will return to the people. At this point, Peoples Party candidates will stand for elections throughout the nation.
