We know the nightmare. The federal government is controlled by a single political party, which represents some states and citizens (well, mostly corporations) at the expense of the majority. So what do we do November 3 if this election is stolen too and nothing has changed?
There is only one check and balance we have left. That is the states. So here I propose that a new blue state coaliton is needed to fight for our rights. Such a coalition is needed, win or lose. So when we've got a minute and we're not out working for John Kerry, this is an important topic to discuss. Now and on November 3 of course.
As it stands, we face a political crisis with a small c. Our right to vote is not being protected thanks to one party rule, even after the fiasco in 2000. The federal government is in effect working to help a single political party stay in power at the expense of our most fundamental rights as citizens. And without being guaranteed the right to vote, what power do we have as citizens in a represenative republic?
The model for citizen participation on the left, and for protesting the injustice of another stolen election basically comes out of the civil rights movement. Legal challenges and marches. Candlelit vigils. All good stuff. But we need to recognize how things have changed since 2000. And we need to do more.
Back in 1955, citizens knew what to do. It was a matter of pressing the federal government and the courts to force the states to enforce the constitution. But that was back when conservatives actually believed in the constitution. Now, the federal government is controlled by a single political party that has little to no respect for the highest law of the land.
This time, we know what will occur if they try to steal the election. Unlike 2000, we won't concede that that the Bush won fairly if we know he stole it. That's a given.
The question is what will the democratic party do? To the extent to which congressional democrats show courage and real leadership, it will be welcome. But if most democrats in the congress abandon democracy a second time, then we will need to look for real leadership elsewhere. Ourselves.
Instead of a national strike or a lawyer-led legal campaign, or even a march on washington, we need a coordinated day of protest throughout the country. Every democrat needs to be contacted to participate and we need to make it easy to do so.
The focus needs to be local. We can demand our rights to vote be protected at symbolic locations like governor's mansions throughout the country. Even town halls.
This forms the basis for a longer term strategy for local political action beyond 2004, win or lose. We need to look past a federal government that has no checks and balances, or is simply too unresponsive to our concerns.
State and local governments -a blue state/ regional coalition--can work more closely with citizens to protest the federal governments' ineptitude and inaction on issues from the environment to voting rights to health care. Even homeland security. Where possible, larger states like New York and California can act together, and bring smaller states along. Already they've forced car manufacturers to produce cleaner cars, etc.
What else is possible? How about a coordinated state run health care system for willing blue states? We end up giving more of our taxes to Washington anyway, so why do we need the red states to build this?
Legally, there's less that can be done on the foreign policy front, but even there, citizens and state leaders can meet directly with citizens of other countries to work together to create a better future.
And finally, no matter what happens in November, we need to continue to fight to take back the government, starting at the local level. School boards, religious institutions, town halls, rotary clubs, everything. This goes way beyond 2004. We don't stop even after Wyoming votes for a democrat in 2025.
*This was originally posted as a shorter comment on a dead thread. I wanted to promote some conversation so I've re-worked it as a diary here.