The Greens have broadened the tent significantly, given the attendance at my
caucus and discussions of issues I've recently had.
Oh, there are the "out-there" folks, but I've seen no party without them.
The Greens are a quiet, more issue-oriented bunch, unlike some of us
swinging from DFL to Green, who believe change is effected by the
acquisition of public office.
But I found a room full of people committed to humanity, to peace, to
universal health, and to the removal of corporate greed from the electoral
and policymaking processes.
It's a new party in so many ways - refreshingly so in some, frustratingly so
in others. But what a great place to start building for real
multi-representation and compassion in policymaking.
I recommend it.
Andy Driscoll
Saint Paul
------
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied
corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of
strength, and bid defiance to the laws of the country."
--- Thomas Jefferson,1816
> From: "Walt Cygan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Wed, 6 Mar 2002 20:19:16 -0600
> To: "Minneapolis Issues Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: [Mpls] More caucus news
>
> Last night I attended the Green Party caucus for Senate District 62. I
> was, without doubt, THE most right-leaning person in the room of 90 or
> so (slightly under-counted by the Strib). While to a Republican caucus,
> my views would be seen as Wellstone-esque; in a Green caucus those same
> views would put me in a pile, in their eyes, with Pat Buchanan.
>
> I went there because of my complete disgust with the Democratic and
> Republican parties, and my opinion that the Independence party will soon
> implode, leaving barely a trace. That left the Greens as the only
> alternative. Though I generally appreciate the agenda listed on Holle
> Brian's campaign material for her 62B House campaign for example, the
> general values of the party are a little on the "Let's bring back
> socialism, it was just a little misunderstood"-side for me.
>
> One of my reasons for attending was to assess whether the Greens are
> going to make an attempt to be a party that will broaden their appeal
> enough to become electorally viable on a scale larger than a few city
> wards, or will continue as a niche issue party. I fear the latter is
> more likely to be the case.
>
> I guess for the next caucuses I'll have to create my own party, schedule
> our get-together at a bar and go for a couple of beers after recruiting
> a few more party-challenged individuals like myself.
>
> The highlight of the evening was the self-nomination of a young,
> African-American man named Kevin for the position of caucus chair. The
> other nominees were two women, who were clearly long-time activists for
> Green issues. Each candidate was given 3 minutes to speak about their
> qualifications. The women came first and were not gifted orators. Each
> of them used between 20 and 30 seconds of her allotted time. Then it was
> Kevin's turn. He opened his remarks by saying that he didn't have a lot
> of familiarity with Green things, though he did know something about
> grass... He then spent the better part of 2 minutes or so giving an
> impassioned talk about getting back to basics. He touched on more Green
> values more effectively than any other speaker throughout the evening.
> It was magic. He had to leave before the vote came in, but he was
> elected vice-chair of the 2004 caucus. It defined the ability for an
> individual to touch a group. Sadly, I heard at least one person comment
> after the vote was announced that he didn't think we'd be seeing Kevin
> again. Why the heck not? Kevin took an opportunity to put himself out in
> front of the group, hit a home run and affected people. Why would
> someone feel the need to minimize that?
>
> I enjoyed my Green experience. I might very well put up a lawn sign for
> Holle Brian, to help put Wes Skoglund into retirement (28 years should
> be enough, I think).
>
> Come join me in 2004 to kick off the new No-Party Party, or maybe it
> will be the Guinness Party, after either my favorite beer or one of my
> favorite actors.
>
> Walt Cygan
> Keewaydin
>
>
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