Last Saturday, I received an e-mail from Michael Moore's mailing list:
"Friends,
How's it going? Ready for the next step?
Let me know what you've been up to and any ideas you have about what our next move should be (write me at the addresses below). "
I thought about it for awhile, and here's what I came up with:
"Mr. Moore:
I have been pondering your question for awhile. This morning I was thinking about the recent bankruptcy bill that passed in the house that was written at the behest of the credit card companies to ensure anyone with credit card debt will stay in debt to them forever. I had read some Democrats had voted for the bill, and thought we should work to defeat them for re-election. First, I thought who would we replace them with? Republicans? Please. Another Democrat? How hard is it to defeat an incumbent in their own party?
Then it hit me: our next step should be forming a new politcal party and have some candidates run in the mid-term elections in 2006. Think about it: in many ways the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans. Even Bill Clinton, the holy symbol of the Democrats, has signed some Republican-type bills into law (as you pointed out in one of your books). Also, many people are disgusted with the system and don't vote. As you said, if a restaurant doesn't have what you want, you don't eat there. In addition, most of the politicians are white males. Minorites and women (51% of the population, making this American Aparteid, as you put it) are vastly underrepresented. And what about the working person? They are definitely underrepresented, as our elected officials vote for legislation that supports businesses and corporations that contribute to their campaigns. Often, these officials run unopposed for re-election. Hey, Mike, instead of running a ficus, how about running somebody that actually do something?
Although we don't have the experience, we have a lot going for us: a fed up electorate, the internet to spread the word inexpensively, and even though we didn't win last time, there was a lot of money and energy expended on that effort we can tap into.
I know it will be difficult. The system is set up to favor Democrat and Republican. In most states, you have to declare a party affiliation to vote. Other parties have to jump through hurdles and obstacles set up to keep them away. But with the will and power behind the common person, we can do it.
Corporations may be considered as a separate person in the eyes of the law, but although they can contribute money, they cannot cast a vote. People cast the vote. We have the ultimate power, we should tap into that.
I think this new party should emphasize the common working person and the problems they face. Health costs, housing, greedy CEOs, jobs, things like that. At first, we should steer clear of the distraction issues that the Republicans use to stay in power and emphasize the important things that need to be done. Use the "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" analogy, or something similar.
Second, we should address the system set up to keep those in power in power. Gerrymandering, for instance. A while back, I looked at a districting map of my state Indiana to try to find out who my state representative was. The way it was drawn, I couldn't determine what district I was in to save my life. I finally had to enter my 9 digit zip to find my district. Also, there's all the shenannigans that the Republicans are pulling to keep their power.
Third, we should set up a think-tank or lifeline for our candidates to plan counter-attacks against anything those who oppose up come up with, as well as help those elected navigate the system to better help them get things done.
Fourth, I think that we shouldn't offer a candidate for President until 1) we have a candidate that like love, we'll know it when we see it, or 2) we can change from the Electoral College to a popular vote.
Plus, there are probably some elected officials that are either disenfranchised with the system they're in, or do want to do some good. Maybe retired politicians. Perhaps we can lure them to us, utilize their experience. Hey, if the Republicans got Zell Miller...
I know that you have an image problem in some quarters, but I think if we can get the word out that you're fighting for what a lot of people want, we can overcome it.
We need to fight the lie being repeated until people accept it as truth. A lot of people are fed up with the system, even with the record voter turn out, there's still a lot of people either not participating and disenfranchised; and the system getting set up more and more to keep people in power. It's time to change that.
I know this is long, but hey, you asked...
Sincerely,
Tony Collett"
I think this is something that has merit. Spread the word, put your own ideas on the table, something needs to be done. As I alluded to above, a lot of people are against Michael Moore, but some of the ideas he believes in for the working person are ones a lot of us would agree on.
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This is Tony Collett's weblog dedicated to my thoughts on the happenings in the world, comic books, anime, science fiction, DVDs, and anything else I encounter.
I'm forty-something, male, and married (sorry, ladies)
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Comments
Re: What's Our Next Step?
by
Mark Gibson
on Fri 22 Apr 2005 04:38 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link
A great letter, Tony.
I too believe that the Dems and Repugs have nearly become indistinguishable from one another. The only remaining, and vitally important, difference is that the Dems have not gotten on the theocracy bandwagon...yet. I would really like to see a third party that I could get enthused and energized about. Unfortunately, most of the existing third parties and their candidates do little to inspire confindence. We need to work on establishing a third party with a real chance.....sadly, Mike Moore cannot possibly be the front man for such an endeavor; he is damaged goods in too many red state minds. That said, I still believe he should be a major component of this endeavorl. What we need to find first is the person that could get this thing started successfully. Who?? Any suggestions? Mark G. Re: Re: What's Our Next Step?
by
Tony Collett
on Sat 23 Apr 2005 09:48 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link
Good question. I'm not sure.
Although I would like a grass roots from the people party spring up, a cult of personality factor has to be considered. Unfortunately, there is a sheep mentatility in politics to be considered. My best guess as a leader of this new party would be that millionaire that spent millions trying to keep W from being re-elected. Can't think of his name, and no luck with Google. Re: What's Our Next Step?
by
Tony Collett
on Wed 27 Apr 2005 09:40 AM EDT | Profile | Permanent Link
Doc Nebula sent me the following, thought I'd share with you:
Tony, I tried to post the following comment to your blog, but apparently just as I was typing it, your blogserver went down for maintenance, or something, and I cannot tell if the post went through. So: "George Soros is the name of the liberal billionaire who spent millions opposing El Jefe in the election. Your third party idea is a good one, but it needs the right name, to attract across the entire political spectrum. You need to avoid words like 'workers' or 'proletariat' as they will aggravate the right wing, reeking of Communism as they do, and you may otherwise draw a lot of support from them (many conservatives who believe in individual freedom are growing disenchanted with the increasingly theocratical Republican Party). As such, I'd suggest the American Laborers Party (ALP) or the American Common Sense Party, or perhaps even the Average American Party (assuming WEST WING is correct, and most people don't mind being called average, and in fact find it comforting). Or perhaps the Working Americans Party (WAP; that's got a ring to it). Stealing a bit from Stephen King's DEAD ZONE, your party symbol could be a hard hat, or perhaps a trowel pointing upwards, like an arrow. In fact, you could have the upward pointing trowel embedded as the center 'A' in your party logo, WAP." Adding a few further comments: I've always thought our Constitution needed a Worker's Bill of Rights. Something that spells out quite specifically what someone needs to qualify for a job, and what someone can be fired for, and what they cannot. Employers who hire unfairly could be sued. Employers could still fire someone for any reason they liked -- even I wouldn't try to force an employer to keep someone around they detested, or felt afraid of -- but if they couldn't document the firing with a reason from the WBOR, they would have to pay the employee's full Unemployment benefits until the employee found a new job. Making such an idea a party plank is tricky, because there are many many employers out there, especially small business owners, and they will loathe every syllable of such a Worker's Bill of Rights. Adding another plank reversing the 'privatization' of many 'employee benefits' by requiring tax dollars to be spent on some kind of Federal health insurance single payer plan, and an improved Social Security program, will probably pick some of them back up again. So, what I would suggest as three party planks are the follows: ** Worker's Bill of Rights - outlining what you need to do to get hired & fired, stipulating an employer can still fire you for no cause, but they pay your Unemployment benefits until you find another job if they do ** Federal single payer health plan for all Americans * * Improved Social Security program The WBOR can be a catch all. For example, a clause of it could state, innocuously enough, that workers shall have the right to assign anyone they desire as their co-dependent, for any benefits as my obtain. This would appeal to gays, for example, although if you get the single payer health plan (the insurance lobby will hate it), this isn't as important any more. You may want to expand the party platform to include consumer protection planks. Working Americans are also very concerned with the high cost of living. However, I'm nowhere near smart enough to write anything that would try to manipulate the economy directly. Still, something that requires a certain level of competition within each industry and within each region could be popular. A very specifically worded right to privacy added very specifically to the Constitution would also be a very popular plank. Something like "Each person will have the right to be secure from any univited intrusion into the sanctity of their homes, their families, or their persons, including any reflections of their persons such as any records of their history or their activities, unless an authorized member of the judiciary issues a specific warrant allowing a specific form of intrusion." This would specifically prohibit telemarketing calls and junk mail that come to your home address. Big Business will scream bloody murder, but the common citizen will love it. A last suggestion: a Federal law requiring every for-profit business to have a real person answer their phones. No more electronic switchboards. The corporations will scream about that, too, but it will be INSANELY popular with us reg'lar folks. thanks, D. Trackbacks
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