Saturday, April 14, 2007
CA Greens facing problems?
I hate to keep referencing him, but Wes over at CA Greening is expressing concerns about the California Green Party, it's leadership, and the processes the leadership is using to run the state party.
California is a HUGE chunk of the GPUS, but just as the German Greens were a HUGE part of the International Green Party while in power, the national Green Party can survive problems in California, if there are any.
I will say this: Wes was a Republican who became a Green in large part because the Green Party was based on and believed fundamentally in key principles that guided every position and tactic used by the Greens. No Green would, for example, use the sort of sickening attack ads both Republicans and Democrats use, not because it would be the best strategically, but because the Key Value of non-violence dictates that this sort of campaigning is not Green.
Unfortunately, some folks think that being an anti-party means that we are not going to use hard work, focus, leadership and money to win office. We must do all these things, and much more, while still remaining the anti-party party.
The Democratic and Republican parties are bereft of real principles. That doesn't mean that they can't bring great ideas to the table, but it does mean that most of them can be counted on to sell themselves to the highest bidder.
I have come to the conclusion that the real diving line in politics isn't Left vs Right, Authoritarian vs Libertarian, Marxist vs Capitalist. No, the real political fault line is Elitism or Populism. Greens believe that the people have the answers. Democrats and Republicans alike, by and large, in political circles believe in the rule of the political and corporate class. Whether Nuclear Power or Solar Power, these elitists want the power to flow to them and the decisions to be made by them, to their benefit.
California is a HUGE chunk of the GPUS, but just as the German Greens were a HUGE part of the International Green Party while in power, the national Green Party can survive problems in California, if there are any.
I will say this: Wes was a Republican who became a Green in large part because the Green Party was based on and believed fundamentally in key principles that guided every position and tactic used by the Greens. No Green would, for example, use the sort of sickening attack ads both Republicans and Democrats use, not because it would be the best strategically, but because the Key Value of non-violence dictates that this sort of campaigning is not Green.
Unfortunately, some folks think that being an anti-party means that we are not going to use hard work, focus, leadership and money to win office. We must do all these things, and much more, while still remaining the anti-party party.
The Democratic and Republican parties are bereft of real principles. That doesn't mean that they can't bring great ideas to the table, but it does mean that most of them can be counted on to sell themselves to the highest bidder.
I have come to the conclusion that the real diving line in politics isn't Left vs Right, Authoritarian vs Libertarian, Marxist vs Capitalist. No, the real political fault line is Elitism or Populism. Greens believe that the people have the answers. Democrats and Republicans alike, by and large, in political circles believe in the rule of the political and corporate class. Whether Nuclear Power or Solar Power, these elitists want the power to flow to them and the decisions to be made by them, to their benefit.
// posted by Gregg Jocoy @ 10:14 PM 
