Incidentally, somewhere or other Adolph Reed made the point recently that local goverment is where the left should be directing our energies taking as its model the religous right which was about as marginal a generation ago as the left is now. I will note here, for what it's worth, that phone calls attempting to enlist Mr. Reed in our local party building go unreturned.
mbs: the more far-reaching the policy, the less tenable it is for local government, since those affected adversely can pick up and split. The big exception is taxes/regs on immovable capital or land. So one can push local wage standards but so far.
I couldn't say which level is best to operate at. There are or have been bright spots at all levels, except the presidency.
mbs