Although I'm a Democratic Party activist in Asheville, NC - I'm live-blogging from the 2007 Green Party National convention in Reading, Pennsylvania. I'm the only media covering the event. :)
While DailyKos is a space by Democrats for Democrats - I felt it was worth giving a quick "heads-up" because they could be major spoilers in 2008. I'd like to share what I've learned, and, hopefully, start an internal conversation about how we, as Democrats, can have Greens in our tent rather than run against them.
I've live-blogged events as diverse as the Sheehan protest in 2005, to the 2007 Social Forum. I love doing this kind of work since it provides a unique opportunity to study the Progressive movement.
If your curious - just go to Brainshrub.com.
Here are a few of observations about the US Green Party:
- Greens are far more anti-corporate than Democrats.
- The Green party is an international party.
- Greens can tell you what their core values are, something most Dems can't.
- Greens are far more organized than we give them credit for. I came to Reading, PA expecting a few dozen Nader-hippies, and instead there are hundreds of delegates.
While the popular perception is that Greens always lose - the opposite is true. On the local level, Greens win about 41% of the time. While this statistic is according to their own numbers - even if they are exaggerating by 50%... those seats could have been filled by Dems. Furthermore, in urban neighborhoods they are already the de-facto opposition since Republicans don't reach out to those areas.
I don't want to overstate the problem. Greens are a long way from being a threat to solidly Democratic areas. They aren't as "photogenic", they REALLY need better staging, they are completely ignored by the media, and, since their by-laws forbid corporate donations, they are perpetually underfunded.
Also, if you thought Democrats take a long time to agree on anything - my GOD you should see these people debate! (They work on consensus rather than up-down votes.)
I'm not trying to flame - but Greens are close to being a viable party on the local level. Frankly, the only reason they are not more powerful is because of restrictive ballot-access policies. If beltway Dems keep ignoring progressive values - these people will fill the vacuum.
Having said all this - I am still a Democrat at heart. I'm mentioning the Greens because it's a shame these people are not in my party - we could do so much together.