A Strategy to Grow
Joe Giambrone
I've written previously about a three-pronged strategy to increase numbers by creating tools to empower the base. Without these numbers the party will remain stagnated and ineffectual. That is the project. That is the task at hand.
My suggestions related to the US Green Party, but as Abby Martin pointed out to me, future change may need to come from another party altogether. The organizing principles are the same, to establish a grassroots party online, which is relatively cheap, efficient, and able to grow exponentially as needed.
While the current President received 63 million votes last November, the Korean Youtube music video Gangnam Style has "been viewed over 2.75 billion times." Who could have predicted that before it happened?
Jill Stein appeared on many television screens in 2016, but one message was missing from most of her appearances:
Go and Register with the Green Party
Presidential campaigns focus on personalities and on transitory issues, but the simple call to recruit new people gets lost in the noise. That is a strategic blunder. All publicity should include a call to recruit the viewers.
A second important point to make is that registering does not mean one has to vote that way. It's not mandatory, but it does send a message to the competing parties when one party's affiliation grows (or conversely shrinks). This act is arguably as important as voting because it signals to the political class, to the ruling class, what America currently cares about.
The existing national Green Party infrastructure must put all of its attention and all of its resources toward building a viable party, which means millions"--"and then tens of millions"--"of new Greens. This goal is so obvious and vital that it seems to be routinely overlooked.
How to Drum Up New Members?Before moving forward, it is imperative to study the competition. Here are three highly relevant websites:
These should be mined for ideas, as they are well-designed and professional, and they appear to be winning the race.
But grassroots alternatives do not come with money, or checkbook activism, and so important differences must be acknowledged in terms of available resources. The only resource, which a grassroots movement can bank on today, is people power. Committed members are the strength of the party, but commitment without the tools to succeed is futile. This is already proven in election after election defeat.
Building Tools to CompeteThree tools need immediate implementation:
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