Chlorophyll

Siel, the Green LA Girl, recently posted that she's staying with the Democratic Party. I can't believe I didn't see that post until two days later, or I'd have had a lot to say about it. But, the CA Greens responded very well, and hit on pretty much all the points I would have, including IRV.

Siel embodies the conscientious but nervous progressive, who walks the line between choosing the unappealing but electable Democrats to fend off the catastrophic Republicans, or choosing the upright but marginalized Greens to take a stand, and a risk.

I walked that line for quite a while before joining the Greens (or at least abandoning the Democrats, which happened seven years earlier). I bet a lot of you did, probably most. For me, the deciding factor was realizing just how wide the political spectrum is, and how cramped I felt when I realized just how little of it is represented in our government. As Nader says, the two corporate parties are a party of the right and a party of the far right.

Someone correctly noted in a comment on Siel's post that every election that rolls around, the Democrats will say "Not this time, it's too important." From their perspective, it's the truth: they need to win every election they can. It's not as if they're ever going to change their minds and say "Oh, what the hell, go ahead and vote Green this time, it's OK." Not gonna happen.

That means that what's been happening for well over a generation will continue to happen - the Democrats will slide a bit further to the right with every election cycle. You'll hear it phrased as "courting swing voters," but in practice, they're trying to snag moderate Republicans. Do Republicans try to snag moderate Democrats? Hardly ever. They're too busy throwing red meat to their activist bases. But the Democrats (with a conspicuously small handful of brave exceptions like John Conyers) spend the better part of their time screwing their activist bases.

Why? Simple. Look who their respective activist bases are. The Republicans: wealthy donors, foundations, corporate elites, media moguls, investors. Democrats: college professors, college students, a smattering of small businesspeople, working parents, anti-war and pro-choice activists. Who contributes more to campaigns?

By and large, the Greens have even less money than the Democrats - as a party, vastly less. So, how do we get elected at all? We have good ideas and strong convictions. History shows that if you have enough people with enough conviction, no amount of money or violence can defeat you. But what that means is that every person counts. Meeting new Greens constantly reinforces that for me - the local wouldn't be the same without that person's experience, creativity, and contacts. So many connections within the Greens have been made by pure luck that I've started depending on it.

We don't depend on media-friendly leaders to give us direction and purpose in the Green Party. We don't even depend on our leaders to lead us. We take initiative. That's why every Green I've ever known, without exception, is overcommitted. We care, but more than caring, we act. We're making a difference. Working in the Green Party is only one example for each of us.

All that is a long way of saying that committed activists belong in the Green Party. In the Democratic Party, you're a name on a list, a number in a poll. You spend your time watching elected officials from other states on TV and your money contributing to MoveOn.org so you can try to influence your own party to take some of your positions. In the Green Party, you connect with people who are taking direct action on things that matter locally (and globally). We aren't perfect, but we do see the big picture. We know that electoral politics isn't the only game in town. We aren't afraid to get our hands dirty - literally, not figuratively.

Trust me when I say that the Green Party is more than the sum of its parts. But we need more parts. Everyone can make a difference. It may not be visible right away, but it's there.

Those of us who are activists have an uphill path. The least we can do for ourselves is join a party that will walk beside us.