[GPCA-SGA-Votes] Discuss ID 155: Endorsement Policy Amendment: GPCA Endorsements for General Election Candidates

Thu Feb 22 09:47:38 PST 2018

Agree w/ Thomas 100%
On Feb 22, 2018 1:06 AM, "Thomas Leavitt" <thomleavitt at gmail.com> wrote:

> Shouldn't we expect more from a *candidate* seeking our endorsement? Make
> it the 10 Key Values for the candidate, then we can communicate the
> implications to the public as we wish, since the Four Pillars are
> incorporated. Personally, as I said, the Ten Key Values, the ideal of a
> core set of principles animating all actions of the party, were what
> attracted me way back when. No other party has anything equivalent.
>
> Even at that, we're holding candidates of other parties to a lower
> standard than we would accept of our own candidates, since they're not
> obligated to abide by our platform, and can freely espouse policies we are
> explicitly opposed to in it.
>
> I still think this is a bad idea, that if used, should be done so with
> extreme selectivity (perhaps only with NPP candidates, even), but I'll
> metaphorically stand aside and not block consensus here, so to speak (not
> that I was going to do anything other than abstain in practice).
>
> The Green Party is unique in American politics, we stand in the lower left
> hand quadrant of the political compass (http://www.politicalcompass.org):
> we are anti-authoritarian AND anti-statist. We are anarcho-syndicalists /
> libertarian socialists, we seek voluntary communitarian solutions. We
> advocate for worker owned, democratically governed cooperatives and
> communes voluntarily exchanging with each other to meet internally unmet
> needs, not state ownership of the means of production and centrally planned
> economies. We advocate for radical decentralization of the structures of
> power, and a minimalist state (if any) that is accountable to people at the
> most immediate level. We seek restorative justice, not vengeance, jails and
> executions. We advocate for maximal freedom of the individual, while
> stating that with great power comes great responsibility to each other.
> Classically leftist / socialist parties are strategic allies, but not us in
> another skin, we are not merely "more liberal" than the Democrats, not
> classical socialism in environmentalist packaging, we are something other
> entirely. We should not lose track of that vital distinction.
>
> Regards,
> Thomas Leavitt
>
> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 7:35 PM, Genevieve Marcus <
> genevieve.marcus at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Eric,
>>
>> The 10 Key Values are a bit extreme for attracting new Green voters.  The
>> 4 Pillars are a more acceptable start.
>>
>> Genevieve Marcus
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 6:36 PM, Eric Brooks <brookse32 at hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I put forward the friendly amendment **to** the proposed amendment to
>>> make it the 10 Key Values rather than 4 Pillars.
>>>
>>> Eric Brooks
>>>
>>> SF, CA
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *From:* gpca-votes [mailto:gpca-votes-bounces at sfgreens.org] *On Behalf
>>> Of *Sadie Fulton
>>> *Sent:* Wednesday, February 21, 2018 2:04 PM
>>> *To:* GPCA Discussion List for SGA Votes <gpca-votes at sfgreens.org>
>>> *Subject:* Re: [GPCA-SGA-Votes] Discuss ID 155: Endorsement Policy
>>> Amendment: GPCA Endorsements for General Election Candidates
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I agree - Genevieve's proposal sounds fantastic. Win/win. :)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018, 13:17 Ann Menasche <aemenasche at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> That is an excellent suggestion.
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>
>>> On Feb 21, 2018, at 11:30 AM, Genevieve Marcus <
>>> genevieve.marcus at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> To reconcile these two excellent opinions, what if, in addition to not
>>> accepting corporate funding we added a requirement that
>>>
>>> the prospective endorsee supports our Four Pillars?  That shouldn't be
>>> hard.
>>>
>>> Then, when we announce our endorsement, we would mention that among the
>>> reasons for the endorsement is the fact that  s/he also supports the GP
>>> values expressed in our Four Pillars:  Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice
>>> and Equality, Ecological Wisdom, and Non-Violence.
>>>
>>> That way we promote the GP as well as the candidate.
>>>
>>> Genevieve Marcus
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 9:10 AM, Erik <erikrydberg34 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Everyone read the language. We will not endorse candidates that take
>>> Corporate Money or who belong to parties that take Corporate Money. This
>>> proposal clearly prohibits endorsing Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians,
>>> American Independent, etc. But it opens the doors for Peace and
>>> Freedom(badly wants to work with us), Socialist Alternative, African
>>> People’s Socialist Party, Corporate-Free Independents, etc.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The oldest Green Party in the United States is the Maine Green
>>> Independent Party. They were the first one to form in 1984. They opened
>>> their ballot to Independents and even hyphenated their name and they
>>> currently are running more candidates than any state party. 38 compared to
>>> our 18. I’m not suggesting we hyphenate our name but we should become the
>>> vehicle for corporate free parties and candidates.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> This proposal sends a signal that we are inclusive to Socialists and
>>> corporate free parties and candidates.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Please vote yes.
>>>
>>> <IMG_4783.jpg>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 21, 2018 at 4:43 AM Thomas Leavitt <thomleavitt at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I oppose this. What drew me to the Green Party in 1990 was the idea that
>>> to be a member of the Green Party, you MUST adhere to the Ten Key Values
>>> (and if you did not do so, you could not be an active member), that the
>>> Green Party was a party of principle, that refused to compromise its core
>>> values for the purposes of political advantage. Unlike the Democrats, who
>>> bluntly stated "we would rather be a party of the majority, than a party of
>>> principle" (the individual who said this was later convicted of corruption
>>> and removed from office). Candidates running for office in other parties
>>> are not obligated to abide by Green principles, or to adhere to the Green
>>> Party Platform, and are not accountable to the membership of our party.
>>>
>>> We should not be endorsing any candidate not registered as a Green, and
>>> running on the Green Party ticket (unless the office is non-partisan and
>>> the candidate cannot run as a Green). The Green Party of California exists
>>> to promote the Green Party, and to support and promote Green Party
>>> candidates. Our limited resources should be focused on promoting our own
>>> candidates and our own party. If people want access to them, they can seek
>>> our endorsement and run on our ballot line. The logic behind this will
>>> inevitably lead to justifying our endorsement of "progressive Democrats"
>>> who ostensibly refuse contributions from PACs and corporations (while
>>> benefiting from corporate funded Democratic Party resources deployed on
>>> their behalf); more importantly, it will be the functional death of our
>>> party as ambitious individuals seek office as "independents" with the goal
>>> of having their cake (our endorsement) and eating it (not being accountable
>>> to our party once elected); the likely result should such individuals be
>>> elected is affiliation with the Democrats for purely pragmatic reasons (and
>>> as the consequence of extreme peer pressure from fellow electeds). We
>>> already lose enough folks to the Democratic Party as it is. We are not a
>>> political lobby, we do not make general purpose endorsements. Either you're
>>> a Green, or you're something else (and not eligible for our state party's
>>> endorsement).
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Thomas Leavitt
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 15, 2018 at 12:43 PM, GPCA Votes <gpca.votes at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> *Please send your discussion comments to gpca-votes at sfgreens.org
>>> <gpca-votes at sfgreens.org>*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Discussion has begun for the following GPCA SGA ranked choice vote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Ranked Choice Vote ID #155
>>>
>>> Ranked Choice Vote *Endorsement Policy Amendment: GPCA Endorsements for
>>> General Election Candidates*
>>>
>>> Ranked Choice Vote Administrators: Victoria Ashley, Brian Good, Laura
>>> Wells, Eric Brooks, Mike Goldbeck
>>>
>>> Discussion  02/12/2018 - 03/25/2018
>>>
>>> Voting  03/26/2018 - 04/01/2018
>>>
>>> Voting ends at Midnight Pacific Time
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Background*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Green Party of California is currently prohibited from endorsing
>>> candidates who have good Green values and who take no corporate money: the
>>> GPCA needs visibility, in a positive way, and putting our name on
>>> endorsement lists of good candidates is one way to get the Green Party name
>>> in the public eye.  The GPCA wants to help voters vote for good candidates,
>>> even in races where we have no candidate.  For instance, the Peace and
>>> Freedom Party can and does endorse Green Party candidates in state and
>>> federal races, but the GPCA is prohibited from endorsing Peace and Freedom
>>> candidates.  The GPCA currently cannot endorse candidates with No Party
>>> Preference or any other voter registration, even when we have no candidate
>>> running in the race.  The GPCA cannot help voters differentiate between
>>> good candidates who are aligned with Green values and take no corporate
>>> money and bad candidates (who may speak well) from the two-party system.
>>> The current endorsement policy is confusing: county parties are not
>>> prohibited from endorsing candidates who are not Green, but the state party
>>> is; in addition, it precludes a possible endorsement even in the face of
>>> grassroots interest.  The current endorsement policy was promulgated in the
>>> pre-Top-Two era, and, if left unreformed, will further hobble
>>> party-building efforts in California.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Changing the endorsement policy would advance the party’s attempts to
>>> implement Proportional Representation so that we can have a multi-party
>>> system and not a two-party system. By expanding our endorsement options, we
>>> will demonstrate that we will work in coalitions and will endorse
>>> candidates who have green values, but who choose other political party
>>> affiliations.  As it stands, people who want to “throw their hat in the
>>> ring” and yet who have no track record with the Green Party or allied
>>> organizations are able to register Green and use our ballot line, and get
>>> an automatic advantage in the endorsement process, even though they may not
>>> be the best candidate.  Moreover, given that there are many public
>>> perceptions over which Greens have very little control, such as being
>>> marginalized or cast as “spoilers” or “third-party” candidates who “can’t
>>> win,” the endorsement area is one we can control.  We can avoid
>>> marginalizing ourselves as people who are only interested in the label
>>> “Green Party,” not the green values that we share with millions of ordinary
>>> folks in the nation and certainly in California.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Furthermore, it is common advice in social media, for example (and even
>>> in life), that if you want likes, followers and friends, you’ve got to
>>> like, follow and friend others, as long as you stay true to your values. We
>>> need to reciprocate and be proactive, not sit back and wait for everyone to
>>> switch to “team Green Party,” while we display an unwelcoming attitude.
>>> People want a new party, but our current restrictive endorsement procedures
>>> make us look as if we do not want to be an “umbrella party” or “big tent”
>>> for all people who are aligned with our values and stances. It looks like
>>> we want to remain a small, exclusive “third” party with a narrow
>>> “sectarian” view of how change happens.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Accordingly, we recommend the following changes to the GPCA Endorsement
>>> Policy.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Proposal*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> That the current GPCA Endorsement Policy be amended as follows:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> That the policy be amended from its current text:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> GPCA CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT POLICY FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS (approved by the
>>> GPCA General Assembly, June 25, 2006, 43-6-2)
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2. The GPCA shall not make any endorsements of General Election
>>> candidates who are not Green Party members.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> To read as follow:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> GPCA CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT POLICY FOR ELECTIONS
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> 2. The GPCA shall not make endorsements of candidates who accept
>>> corporate campaign contributions or who belong to any political party that
>>> accepts corporate campaign contributions.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Sponsors: This proposal has been endorsed and sponsored by the Green
>>> Party of Yolo County.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Full details will be available at: http://www.sjcgreens.org/s
>>> ga_vote_bylaw_interpretations
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Please send your discussion comments to gpca-votes at sfgreens.org
>>> <gpca-votes at sfgreens.org>*
>>>
>>>
>>> --
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>>> gpca-votes at sfgreens.org
>>> https://list.sfgreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/gpca-votes
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> *Erik Rydberg *
>>>
>>> *Green Party of California(GPCA) Spokesperson*
>>>
>>>
>>> *erikrydberg34 at gmail.com <erikrydberg34 at gmail.com> 530-781-2903
>>> <(530)%20781-2903>*
>>>
>>>
>>>                 cagreens.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> *"We have it in our power to begin the world over again." - Thomas
>>> Paine, Common Sense, 1776 *
>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> *"We have it in our power to begin the world over again." - Thomas Paine,
>> Common Sense, 1776 *
>>
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>>
>>
>
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