We are all part of a movement that has, over the past two years, begun flexing its political muscle. We are a people-powered movement, using technology to aggregate the masses to bypass the entrenched media and political establishments. It's been exciting times, especially for those of us who believe in the wisdom of the masses over the wisdom of entrenched and monied interests.
My ultimate vision is to get away from the current politics, in which politicians tout their endorsements from various issue and constituency groups, toward a world in which politicians tout the sheer number of people engaging their campaigns. That's why I get excited when people contribute to Ned Lamont. Not because Ned is desperate for money (I mean, he's worth between $90-300 million). But because it sends a clear message that people are backing him, and are doing so by giving their time and hard-earned money. That's how people-power manifests itself -- with volunteer hours and small dollar donations.
But this is a long-term vision. A congress made up of people-powered candidates will have to wait. In the short term, we have to work with the lobbyist-powered candidates we're stuck with in DC. And while we may pick a few off here and there (I'm looking at you, Joementum), it'll be a while before we can get good people-powered candidates into Congress.
So here's the long-term part of the strategy:
When old Democrats and Republicans retire or otherwise leave office (handcuffs, stretcher, etc), there are now two kinds of candidates that can currently replace them -- the self-funded gazillionaire, or the long-time party operative/hack. And while these candidates can be well meaning, good progressives at times, ultimately, I want a Congress that better reflects America.
So we need a farm system. We need to start identifying young progressives and encouraging them to run for local and state offices. And as they get elected and move up the ranks, they can build their fundraising and volunteer base while learning valuable lessons on how to govern and campaign.
And when one of those establishment politicians leaves office, we suddenly have the right kind of progressives ready to contest for those seats.
So to summarize, short-term, we generally deal with the hand we've been dealt, but long-term we build the farm team to engineer a people-powered takeover of Congress.
Which brings me to NYBri, or Brian Keeler. As a long-time, valued member of this community, Brian has shown the values that we'd all love to see in office. In Congress? Yes, but it's tough for a regular person to make that jump. So he's running for State Senate in New York. Susan G, who has worked with him, already gave Brian's race a plug. Let me try to give it a big push --
People squawk when I give my "I'm not a leader" spiel. I'm not. My job is to create an infrastructure to support the emergence of new progressive leaders, and then to support their efforts. Brian is Exhibit A. He has emerged, now let's support his efforts.
Visit his website Keeler2006.com. If you live in the area, join the effort and volunteer. Everyone can contribute to Keeler's campaign. A simple $10 sends the message that we all believe in people-powered politics. That we all believe in a world where good progressives can run and be supported by regular people, not corporate or special interests.
It's not enough to bitch and moan, banging furiously on a keyboard to show your outrage at a broken political system. We have the ability to change it dramatically. So stop complaining. Stop feeling powerless. And start lending a hand.
Whether it's Keeler (and he's a perfect choice), or some other local candidate in your town or county or city or state, it's time to start building the long-term bench for our new people-powered progressive movement.
So do it.