The point of street heat is not to "reform" corporate politicians, but to put pressure on them to end funding for war, and in the long run to build a movement that can overturn the system or war--capitalism. Supporting Green candidates is not only a "road less traveled," but a deadend of reformism.
The Green candidate for governor the last time out was a lot closer to the mark when he was an activist for the Socialist Labor Party, something he tried to deny during the campaign.
Elections don't change anything. Mass movements do.
Having Emanual push to defund the war would be an overhaul of his past actions. That is reform.
That Green candidate for governor would be Rich Whitney, and he didn't deny anything. He openly admitted to being a former socialist, and he stated that he had left the SLP 12 years earlier.
I agree with the original commenter. You can work for years and years to build your "movement," or you can spend one year working to remove an undesirable incumbent by promoting a desirable alternative. You get instant, unambiguous feedback at the end of your effort--your candidate gets elected or not.
But struggling as a lifestyle with your "movement" probably won't achieve much. You might have some success, like the civil rights movement or the movement for an eight hour work day (which took decades), but probably you will not achieve critical mass. You can go around screaming the truth, but unfortunately that doesn't usually do much.
We could replace the entire U.S. House and a third of the U.S. Senate in one year using the electoral process, or we can delude ourselves that playing break-up music is going to cause a multi-billion dollar company like Boeing to move.
If you are seeing results from your efforts, by all means, press on. If not, try something new.
"Coercing" Emanual Isn't the Point
31 Aug 2007
Date Edited: 31 Aug 2007 03:36:41 PM
The Green candidate for governor the last time out was a lot closer to the mark when he was an activist for the Socialist Labor Party, something he tried to deny during the campaign.
Elections don't change anything. Mass movements do.
Comments
Re: "Coercing" Emanual Isn't the Point
02 Sep 2007
That Green candidate for governor would be Rich Whitney, and he didn't deny anything. He openly admitted to being a former socialist, and he stated that he had left the SLP 12 years earlier.
I agree with the original commenter. You can work for years and years to build your "movement," or you can spend one year working to remove an undesirable incumbent by promoting a desirable alternative. You get instant, unambiguous feedback at the end of your effort--your candidate gets elected or not.
But struggling as a lifestyle with your "movement" probably won't achieve much. You might have some success, like the civil rights movement or the movement for an eight hour work day (which took decades), but probably you will not achieve critical mass. You can go around screaming the truth, but unfortunately that doesn't usually do much.
We could replace the entire U.S. House and a third of the U.S. Senate in one year using the electoral process, or we can delude ourselves that playing break-up music is going to cause a multi-billion dollar company like Boeing to move.
If you are seeing results from your efforts, by all means, press on. If not, try something new.