writes:
If you substituted the word Green in this thread with the word Republican,
is
there any question that DFLers would NOT allow participation in conventions
by the means described in any of this thread?
I wonder why the Greens, now another competing major party in this state,
deserve to be treated any differently than we would treat the Republicans,
or
the Independence Party? Will someone state a rational reason?
The DFL is not a public utility to be used when and where people feel like
it
as a pipeline to public opinion leaders. It is a private, membership
organization. Green party members should earn their own organization
instead
of living off the DFL.
Bert Black
King Field
I have to disagree with this. The DFL is actually a public membership
affiliation. It is not a fraternal or masonic organization, where you engage
in hidden rituals to test your worthiness, it is a collection of ideas and
principles set to guide the perspective from which a politician or political
person operates. You align yourself with a party because their ideals or
principles reflect yours to some extent. And if you truly believe it is not
a public utility, see how many politicians show up at caucuses without their
friends and relatives vying to be delegates to create a base of support. It
is, in essence, both things.
However, a deeper principle exists here. A party is created because someone
believes that a certain set of values need to be represented and are not.
How can anyone who believes in democracy, citizenship, or any manner of free
speech denounce someone for that? You don't have to agree with the Green
Party or the Republican Party, or the Independence Party but making sweeping
indictments of the membership curtails those same freedoms that the DFL
states that it represents.
Why should the Greens be treated any differently? They are closer to the
ideals of the DFL than the Republican party is,and no one operates in a
vacuum. And if you're going to develop consensus with anyone, they are the
most likely party with which to do so. More to the point, however, they
shouldn't, because we should be working together across party lines to deal
with the issues at hand. We spend more time shoring up defenses, and fighting
against neighbors because they are Republicans or Greens, when we should be
seeking common ground, and divining means to work together on solving crises.
The more we leverage our defenses, the more we denounce ideas because the
come from a Republican or a Green, the less we get done. We have a city with
real problems in affordable housing, crime, economic development, racial
profiling,etc. We don't have the time to be fighting someone because they
believe a different label represents them better, we have to find common
ground and work together so that we can develop clear, sustainable solutions
that everyone can support and that won't be torn down or attacked in a year
because it came from someone from another party.
Jonathan Palmer
Stevens Square-Loring Heights
Leadership Does Matter!
www.jonathanpalmer.org
