I 'm afraid that this last reply in the thread illustrates the problem. The
Green Party is NOT affiliated with the left wing of the DFL. You are either
a Green Party member or a DFLer. (see the text cited by Mr. Melendez)
THE GREEN PARTY IS A SEPARATE PARTY IN COMPETITION WITH THE DFL.
And yes, I meant to shout.
The Green Party is not allied with, in coalition with , or anything else with
the DFL. It is, as I understand it, running to win. That means to BEAT the
DFL.
I am originally from New York. In New York, there are lots of parties. The
Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the Right-to-Life Party (yes -
amazingly enough!). They have all elected people and they are all in
competition with each other to elect people on their own. Sometimes, they
will nominate the same candidate, and the candidate can then cumulate her
votes to her advantage. I think Hillary did this last year, for example. But
they vote on their own lines and do not undermine each other internally.
I am a liberal, but I am a DFLer first. In our cockamamie, Tony
Scallon-created election system in Mpls. you list your political party or
principle on the ballot, you are only listed once, and you cannot cumulate
your votes from two different listings. I would like to know how a jointly
endorsed candidate is listing or going to list themselves. Unless its as the
DFL candidate, I don't want to waste my time listening to them for
endorsement, because it doesn't advance the cause of my party.
Let's put it in another light, the light of unions and representation. Only
one union is the certified representative of a bargaining unit at any one
time. So, if a unit is in AFSCME, a Teamster is not going to be representing
it. What the Green Party (Teamsters) seems to want is to be able to come into
a DFL (AFSCME) unit and operate alongside. It doesn't and can't work that way
and still maintain a viable, independent DFL party.
It's like having a parasitic worm in your intestine. Eventually, it will kill
you. How would the Green Party like it if DFLers did the same to them, that
is, came in and harassed the original Green Party members? I think they would
cry foul. Well, so do I. Brits Out of Ireland, and Green Party out of the DFL!
Perhaps some of you will read this and say, "well, the Union movement is
bankrupt , too, so this is a perfect analogy." I disagree and am glad to be
part of a union bargaining unit. But I also see that people want more direct
democracy, without the intermediaries present in a representative democracy.
That is why I have personally been working to make the DFL more like a direct
democracy and far less of a representative democracy.
But the entire point of a political party is to have collective strength on
an ongoing basis. Otherwise, you have no organizing structure from which the
direct democracy can flow. Unless, of course, you think these things can
happen on an ad hoc basis. I do not.
The Green Party is a major party in this state. It will have a role in
Minneapolis redistricting because it met the standards in the Carter. It will
be advancing it's own interests. It is a competitor of all other parties. To
say that DFLers should be nice to them because Green issue positions are
closer to those of the DFL than the DFL issue positions are to the other
parties is besides the point, for me, at least.
If parties want to affiliate and merge, there is a model. It is called the
DFL and it is the product of a merger between the Farmer-Labor Party and the
Democratic party. This happened in the forties after ten years of
ineffective campaigns by both parties resulting in near-total political
wipeout for both. Does the Green Party wish to so merge? I think not (and
would be interested in hearing a reply).
The Democratic Party is the oldest party in the world (that we know of). It
has survived the birth and death of the Federalists, the Whigs, the
Progressives, the Communists, and other parties. It is a serious center-left
party intent on putting together under its own banner the numbers needed to
govern in this very conservative nation. It occasionally wins and tries to
govern. (You may not have liked Slick Willie, but just wait a year and see
if you can stand W ). It is not content to be a spoiler or agitator party.
Does this mean that it is less than 'pure?' You betcha. Is it perfect. No.
But it is the best shot that ordinary working people have. It tries to
speak, however imperfectly for the people.
Either join us in the DFL or be separate. Don't 'affiliate.' Don't vacillate.
Don't infiltrate.
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