Taking back America... one Town and County at a time.
by Rob Kall
I participated in a meeting a few days ago, discussing what the state DFA org should do- a kind of pre-meeting strategic gathering. . DFA is the post presidential primary version of the deaniacs. Nationwide they are over 600,000 strong.
We threw out a lot of ideas, from Social security, the Iraq war, nationalized health careÂ". But the idea that grabbed me the most involved taking back local politicsÂ""city, township, county and state.
Here in PA, 40 of 70 county democratic chairs are over the age of 72 and, even if theyÂ're hard working good people, theyÂ're very often part of the problemÂ""centrist, republican look-alikes who donÂ't get what it takes to win anymore.
At the same time, there are thousand of fresh, new blood activists in every state, who became activists in response to the 2000 election theft and the selling off and hijacking of America by right wing crooks. Among these thousands of new activists are many who could and should be the new generation of leaders at the local levelÂ""township supervisors, mayors, school board committee members, committeemen/women, county party chairs, state legislators.
If you are a progressive, then you should be a member of at least two or three local groups. If youÂ're not, go find them. If you canÂ't find any, start one. Believe me, you are not alone. Even in the reddest states, there are 20-30% of the population who doesnÂ't vote red.
With organization comes power. Here where I live, in a republican stronghold, we on the left are actually running candidates for the first time. In some elections, weÂ're sure to win. In the others, weÂ're forcing the other side to spend money and fight for votes.
The idea of taking over county and more local organizations is just starting to sink in, with the realization that this kind of power helps decide who runs the DNC, which candidates are supported for statewide officeÂ"..
Progressives have shown they have the energy and can convert that energy into action and GOTV effectiveness (Get out the vote.) Now we have to go to the next level. We can take over the democratic party and take it back from the centrist Republican look-alikes.
We can systematically build our strength at the grassroots level, taking control of local organizations, fielding candidates and winning elections.
A great source for info and training is Wellstone Action, where you can get go to Camp Wellstone to be trained as an activist or candidate.
There are so many ways you can become an activist:
Organize a local group or PAC.
Join a local group
Volunteer:to do:
Phone banking
Door to door canvassing
Planning
Fundraising
Envelope stuffing
Writing to editors
Calling in to talk shows
Figure out what skills you have, the time you have available and dive in. Now is a time when you can really make a difference. LetÂ's face it. The 2000 Election or the Iraq war woke you up. You got the taste for activism. The Kerry loss was devastating, but the good thing is there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people like you who can continue on. As the right wingers implode, showing themselves to be corrupt, deceitful and untrustworthy, itÂ's essential that we have progressives in place, ready to take over the leadership of our nation at all levels.
Rob Kall rob@opednews.com is editor of www.OpEdNews.com You can read more of his articles at Rob Kall Archive He is also president of Futurehealth, Inc
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