Building a better political party

Building a better political party

One, have the ability to define, author, publish, defend, and maintain a “Progressive agenda.” To do so while adhering to strict academic standards. And to do so beyond the influence of corrupting agents such as the Democratic Party.

Two, have the ability to communicate this platform with the general population and higher academia. The ability to internalize valid feedback and criticism of the platform. This information needs to be processed and submitted for the purpose of further maintaining and refining the platform.

Three, have the ability author “legislative ready” bills for local, state, and federal governments to consider, and have resources made available to promote and defend said legislation at public hearings. This will also include “run ready” platforms which candidates and politicians can adopt.

Four, have the ability to grade, endorse, reject, and constructively criticize both candidates and legislative agendas for compliance or opposition to said platform, and to do so in an objective and systematic manner. And to publish these findings.

And five, have the ability to strategize, recruit, harness, and rapidly mobilize the general public (volunteers) for public activism and demonstrations to best advance the responsibilities of the previous four initiatives.

Yesterday, I posted these five ideas as justification for why I wasn’t impressed with Bernie Sanders new “alternative organization.” Several people liked them and asked me to expand on them so that they might bring them to Sanders or even the Green Party Convention.

While this blog is brand new, this is something that I have been developing and writing about for years, so there is a lot for me to talk about.

It all starts from a very simple question, can the Democratic Party be saved? Regardless of your answer, it still comes down to the very basic question of just what it is a political party does, and how to get what ever it does done in the real world. What are the nuts and bolts, how to the gears mesh, and where the stupid handle is. It turns out there isn’t really an answer.

Oh there are plenty of experts with very well researched books out there on the subject, giving brilliant and insightful step by step instruction on hop to build or reform a political party from the ground up. Fat better research than this humble blogger could ever manage to be sure. All of which may give the reader that the question, while perhaps not simple, is well understood. That is until you pick up a second expert officer and his well researched book. Then you find out they aren’t any where close to each other.

So I need to be honest here. At best, all I can do is throw yet another set of ideas onto the pile. And there should be no illusions that any thing offered here will be the final world. But I do offer a perspective you don’t normally see from the experts.

One, this is from the field. Taken from my days of being an activist and working with the Wichita chapter of Democracy for America, and later as a simple blogger.

Two, this is back to basics. Part of learning the nuts and bolts is first figuring out what nuts and bolts are, and how they are supposed to work together. I am hardly an expert here, but I have been exposed to basic scientific and philosophical principles that aren’t usually considered, let alone applied.

And three, dealing with an imperfect world populated by imperfect people. Astonishingly, of all the marital I have read on the subject, most reformers seem to assume that we live in a utopia where we don’t have to worry about corruption and stupidity. And where everything always goes according to plan. In the real world – NOTHING ever goes according to plan, no mater how much experience and expertise you have. Competent people expect problems and learn how to modify and change on the fly. And more importantly, accept when they are wrong and learn from there mistakes.

With all of that said, lets get started.