This post is being rescued from obscurity in the middle of:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=203&topic_id=209575I don't want to sound like I have all the answers. I will say that I have been thinking about this exact topic (revolutionary election reform) since long before 11/2/04. I am all about strategic action and will outline what you can do by describing what I have done/am doing.
Back in April I started the GuvWurld blog by
pondering the possibility of a No Confidence Resolution. It was clear to me that conditions did not exist for us to have an election where the results would be beyond question - there is no BASIS for confidence.
A week later I posted a
first draft. Over the next three months I generated a ton of local
media attention here in Humboldt County, CA. I spoke at meetings of several community groups and got people to help me with
leaflets and petitions. Vets For Peace Chapter 56 voted to endorse the resolution. At that point community input had led to several revisions and we were up to
version 4.0.
On July 7, the Arcata, CA City Council considered the resolution. They took no action, deciding instead
to re-write it. They completely watered it down making it a worthless
false alternative. It
passed 5-0.
I backed off of this for a while after that. Just prior to 11/2 I did not know what kind of action I would want to be involved with in response to the controversy I knew was coming. By 11/7 I had concluded No Confidence was right all along and I drafted an entirely
new resolution. I've got a good core group now that is helping to push for the Arcata Council and the Eureka, CA Council to take it up. (All of these links are pointing to supporting materials in the
GuvWurld blog and
News Archive).
All of this is stuff that you can do in your town, pretty much exactly how I've done it. In fact, for the vision of the
No Confidence Movement to be realized, we will need a steadily increasing number of communities to pass similar resolutions.
Consider that over 300 anti-Patriot Act resolutions have been passed. Collectively, these have not restored our rights. The intentional difference with the No Confidence Resolution is a mechanism for cumulative impact. We are talking about the
Consent of the Governed, currently being denied, ignored and otherwise deemed irrelevant. It is therefore not in any way a stretch for us to be talking about withdrawing this Consent.
When the first resolution passes, the world will not recognize that the Consent of the Governed has been withdrawn. But with each additional resolution the question will be asked anew: has the Consent of the Governed been withdrawn, YET? There has to be a first one, and then a next one, so the context is always think globally, act locally. After 25, or 50, or 100 resolutions, at some point, the answer will switch from NO to YES, the Consent of the Governed HAS been withdrawn. This last straw is the hallmark of a tipping point.
OK, I'm almost done. Over the past several weeks I've posted about No Confidence in many other DU threads, plus all over the GuvWurld blog. Those of you ready to fight in earnest will not find a more detailed plan to support. If you are ready to step in now, I will also request/suggest that you spend some of whatever DU political capital you may have to get this board paying closer attention. I will continue to participate here, though the events in my community will make it increasingly difficult to continue making these overtures if there is not demonstrated interest and support on the boards. Please don't construe any attitude associated with that statement, it is only meant to forecast where I will direct my energy.
Keep your mind open...the future's coming.
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