Sunday, April 29, 2007
Rhode Island Green says Straight Ticket voting killed his prospects
In an letter at Red Orbit, Jeff Toste of Providence says that he got more individual votes for him than the Democrat or Republican did, but the straight party ticket voters all went either Republican or Democrat, as there was no Green straight party ticket.
Toste does point out that, even if we did have a straight party opportunity, the straight party vote of entrenched Republicans and Democrats will always be stronger, and independents will be on an uneven playing field any way you slice it.
It does seem to me though that we Greens must do something really hard, and that is, take the First Step: Admitting to yourself that Democrats and Republicans will do most anything to ensure the survival of the sweet deal they have going today, and that we can't change them.
That means, accept that it's a calculated risk to attack straight party voting, ballot access laws, debates that are rigged, and media that will only ridicule or belittle. All are true, but we must ask ourselves which battles we are going to fight, and how best to fight them. Sorry for the violent imagery, but that's sort of how I see this.
Some fighting techniques include using leverage, agility and the opponent's strength and size against him to win. There may be no political corollary to this, but somehow I think there is. We must look for chinks in the armor and use them. We need leadership that wants to use opportunity and imagination to win not only elections, but victories at every level. If we don't have but a tiny budget, we must learn how to maximize it's impact. If we can't get on national TV, let's get on as many local stations as we can, with a coherent and unified message taken from the grassroots of the party. If we can't get on the ballot let's steal their primaries where we can, and run as "Green Republicans" or "Green Democrats". If the media won';t cover us, let's become the media and refuse to give in.
Here's the thing. The conservative movement in this nation did this. We are not breaking new ground, just using the soil already busted up by earlier people. For example, the book "None Dare Call It Treason" was a best-seller published by the author and sold from car trunks and at gatherings of like-minded folks. Why can we not do the same? "Democrats and Republicans in Your Kid's Piggy Bank: How they are stealing from our children to pay for their war and tax breaks and what you can do about it." might sell well at flea markets, yard sales, organic gardening shows, anti-war events and impeachment rallies. "A Green Tomorrow: Today's Voters Determine the Future" would perhaps sell well at Solar Power and Alternative Energy events, Sierra Club events, and Clean Air events. "Black and Green: Tomorrow's Green Black Leaders Speak Out" might go well at Malcolm X events, community events and Reparations events. "Red, White, Blue and Green: America's Battle for Jobs, Justice and Dignity in a Green Future" could do well at Labor Day events, union halls and picket lines.
None of these books exist. Is that "The Man's" fault? We can act as if it is, but that breaks one of our key values, Personal and Global responsibility. There are thousands of places across this nation where we can get newspapers printed for under a thousand dollars. Places where we can get on cable access TV. Places where we can speak at County or City Council meetings, and have those comments played on TV. Why are we not doing these things?
Why am I not doing these things?
Toste does point out that, even if we did have a straight party opportunity, the straight party vote of entrenched Republicans and Democrats will always be stronger, and independents will be on an uneven playing field any way you slice it.
It does seem to me though that we Greens must do something really hard, and that is, take the First Step: Admitting to yourself that Democrats and Republicans will do most anything to ensure the survival of the sweet deal they have going today, and that we can't change them.
That means, accept that it's a calculated risk to attack straight party voting, ballot access laws, debates that are rigged, and media that will only ridicule or belittle. All are true, but we must ask ourselves which battles we are going to fight, and how best to fight them. Sorry for the violent imagery, but that's sort of how I see this.
Some fighting techniques include using leverage, agility and the opponent's strength and size against him to win. There may be no political corollary to this, but somehow I think there is. We must look for chinks in the armor and use them. We need leadership that wants to use opportunity and imagination to win not only elections, but victories at every level. If we don't have but a tiny budget, we must learn how to maximize it's impact. If we can't get on national TV, let's get on as many local stations as we can, with a coherent and unified message taken from the grassroots of the party. If we can't get on the ballot let's steal their primaries where we can, and run as "Green Republicans" or "Green Democrats". If the media won';t cover us, let's become the media and refuse to give in.
Here's the thing. The conservative movement in this nation did this. We are not breaking new ground, just using the soil already busted up by earlier people. For example, the book "None Dare Call It Treason" was a best-seller published by the author and sold from car trunks and at gatherings of like-minded folks. Why can we not do the same? "Democrats and Republicans in Your Kid's Piggy Bank: How they are stealing from our children to pay for their war and tax breaks and what you can do about it." might sell well at flea markets, yard sales, organic gardening shows, anti-war events and impeachment rallies. "A Green Tomorrow: Today's Voters Determine the Future" would perhaps sell well at Solar Power and Alternative Energy events, Sierra Club events, and Clean Air events. "Black and Green: Tomorrow's Green Black Leaders Speak Out" might go well at Malcolm X events, community events and Reparations events. "Red, White, Blue and Green: America's Battle for Jobs, Justice and Dignity in a Green Future" could do well at Labor Day events, union halls and picket lines.
None of these books exist. Is that "The Man's" fault? We can act as if it is, but that breaks one of our key values, Personal and Global responsibility. There are thousands of places across this nation where we can get newspapers printed for under a thousand dollars. Places where we can get on cable access TV. Places where we can speak at County or City Council meetings, and have those comments played on TV. Why are we not doing these things?
Why am I not doing these things?
// posted by Gregg Jocoy @ 4:31 PM 
