Friends,
It is far too early to be thinking about elections, but they are being forced upon us and legitimate issues are being pushed from the headlines…
… like Lindsay… Paris?… or was it Brittany this week?
Anyway…
I encourage everyone to work with the Green Party at every turn and support their (our) every step. The Green Party represents the highest principles and ideals that we should all be striving toward.
I am a registered Democrat as that has been the best way to challenge, confront and dis-empower the NeoCon stranglehold on our nation, but when a viable Green OR Progressive Democratic candidate emerges in any election, help get them elected.
Blind party loyalty is a mental illness. It is a disease.
When the principled Progressive faction of the Democratic Party presents a legitimate people’s candidate such as in my home state of Minnesota: Keith Ellison, Becky Lourey or Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer – GREAT! Support that candidate.
What I cannot abide is supporting the “lesser of two evils” candidate from the outset because “the Green Candidate doesn’t have chance”.
That is how we wind up with two virtually indistinguishable Minnesota Senators dedicatedly voting to perpetually fund this illegal, immoral and endless “War on Terror” Military Industrial Complex construct.
Now is the time – while party platforms are being formed and candidates are feeling their way based upon what WE COMMUNICATE TO THEM AS OUR EXPECTATIONS – to insist that candidates such as Mike Ceresi and Al Franken NOT COMPROMISE and stand strongly for the very highest values and principles that we want them to uphold. This is NOT the time to declare unquestioning and unbending allegiance to a candidate and get that bumper sticker on your car. That is lazy politics – the candidates haven’t even fully defined their platforms yet.
I strongly encourage supporting candidates according to the highest values of your conscience all along and then voting strategically in the polls…
There is no difference between the Green Party and what is best about the Democratic Party (people before profits, the health of children over and above corporate rights). Unfortunately, there is also no difference between the Republican Party and what is the worst about the Democratic Party – especially at the national level (corporate sell-outs in many cases, not representing the people, putting political expediency over what is best for our nation and our children’s future).
Now is the time for me, when the DFL is calling for financial and other support, to make perfectly clear that I will not support ANY candidate from ANY party that is asking me to support them in their quest to win an election and gain the privilege to swear the oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign AND DOMESTIC” when they haven’t even taken a moderately strong stand against confirmed domestic enemies to the Constitution: Dick Cheney, George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales, et al.
I confronted Minnesota Senatorial candidate Al Franken about this at the Pride Festival. I like Al, but Al is not ready to swear that oath. Hopefully that will change – but only if we do not accept anything less from him. Al will be as good a Senator as we insist that he be if elected. Support for any candidate absolutely MUST be conditional at this point or we are contributing to the disconnect between elected officials and their constituents.
All of our political support must be conditional or else we are simply ‘brownshirts’ and ‘yes men’ on the other side of the aisle.
Pick your candidate now unconditionally and you might as well sign them over to special interests and corporate lobbyists as you are giving them carte blanche to do and be whomever they might be influenced to become while in office.
Why should I trust those who don’t hold these White House criminals fully accountable to their oath to be put in a position to swear the same or similar oath?
If you as a candidate do not support impeachment, then you are not ready to take that oath and you will not get my support, financial, volunteer or otherwise. Whether impeachment happens or not, it is most certainly justified and absolutely in the best interests of the nation, and thus support for it is a litmus test for the political awareness and integrity of Democratic candidates.
We have enough sold-out and otherwise compromised ‘public servants’, we most certainly don’t need to aid and abet getting more elected.
Mikael Rudolph
www.ImpeachforPeace.org
Mikael, I plan to vote enthusiastically in the California Primary for Senator Barack Obama; and in the general election, enthusiastically, for Hillary Clinton. I cannot go along with you when you write that there is
…no difference between the Republican Party and what is the worst about the Democratic Party…
The current GOP is an abominable train wreck. Nothing American is comparable.
Comment by Vigilante — July 31, 2007 @ 12:38 am
Having already endorsed candidates who have not yet completely confirmed their platforms, you have abdicated your ability to leverage these candidates toward the positions most important to you.
Your political power is spent.
I say take a major step back, continue to insist on your ideals along with as many people as you can to join you, and insist that these candidates conform to our ideals.
Then vote strategically at the polls.
Comment by Mikael — July 31, 2007 @ 12:57 am
Mikael, what you call “platforms” are cosmetic facades all candidates use. Only political novices and the usually superficial press are distracted by them. What we as voters are really after is determining the character, experience, intelligence, and the courage of candidates: what separates the JFK’s, RFK’s, and the Al Gore’s from the Nixon’s and the Bush’s. Look upon platforms as candidates do when their chumming for attention. Platforms are nothing more than chaff and flack.
Comment by Vigilante — August 1, 2007 @ 9:33 am
I am not so sure I agree with you that Obama shows enough of the kind of track record that you talk about.
My point is that now is the time to shift the entire party platform in the direction we want it to go. The Dems would never have moved so much more in the direction of the progressive policies that they are no attempting to push through without the people making so much noise about the issues that concern them.
I am talking about the entire Democratic Party platform as much as that of each candidate.
I completely agree that many just say whatever they think will gain them votes (see Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) ). That is how John Roberts got himself confirmed for SCOTUS.
I still insist that by committing to a candidate(s) early, you have conceded your political clout.
Comment by Mikael — August 1, 2007 @ 12:42 pm