I agree with David Bauer that the future isn't promised to any political party. I would hope that the future is promised to those parties (and candidates) that bring forth the issues that best serve the people.
As Greens we do have a lot of party building to do, but despite blatant gerrymandering of Minneapolis city wards that pitted the two Green incumbent city council members against DFL incumbents, the Greens have emerged from this week's election with a growing voter base. We gained Cam's seat and lost two city council seats by a combined total of less than 400 votes. This growing voter base is good for this city because a one-party town is bad democracy whether it's Moscow or Minneapolis. I'm writing this as I listen to Sunday morning's Meet the Press - Howard Dean is saying that it isn't the job of the Democrats to bring forth issues; rather it is their job to show the evilness of the current administration (therefore no Democratic Party stance on the war in Iraq). I don't buy that, nor apparently do most Americans. We want leadership on issues, not us/them squabbling between two parties with similar stances on the war, health care, and energy policy. That goes for all levels of government - city, state and federal. This past year has seen dramatic changes that are forcing people to acknowledge that the two-party, corporate dominated system is broken. The lack of substantive opposition by the Democratic Party on everything from the war to lack of health care is increasing the numbers of voters who identify with the values defined by the Green Party. Jay Pond Wedge REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
