[lbo-talk] RE: Green dropouts

[Jessica LaBumbard]

I just saw Camejo speak in Detroit the other night.  He is quite a funny, 
smart, and engaging speaker.  He told us about the thousands and thousands 
of young people that joined Gonzalez's campaign, and about the benefits for 
Gonzalez that sprung up all over the city, etc, without the Green party even 
orchestrating them.  What is going to happen to these people?  A Detroit 
Green put out a question on a local list asking that someone convince him to 
support the Green's having a  presidential candidate.  I answered saying 
that if the Greens don't have a candidate, to me that is the death of the 
party.  What are all these young people going to think if they see the 
Greens back down, or if they see people decide to not run for office because 
of "pressure" from progressives?  Why disillusion these young people who 
joined the Gonzalez campaign - they believed that something could change, 
and what in the world will happen to them politically if they feel 
themselves abandoned?  This is the time to keep going forward - if only to 
show people that you cannot give up when the going gets tough, or things 
will never change.  I think Doug has very good comments in regards to this 
(aside from the fuck you part).

I should also note that I am not a Green, so I don't have lots of info at 
all on what is going on internally, but these are my thoguhts anyway.

jessica


>Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 18:21:41 -0500
>From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
>Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Green dropouts


>John Halle wrote:
>
> >I'm much happier going back to what I was doing before, I can assure you.
> >
> >So, to be clear, I am not "whining;" that's your job when it comes
> >to the Nader campaign.
> >
> >Rather, our calculation was that our activism in the Greens would
> >not pay dividends at this time given the forces arrayed against us.
> >Of course, we might be wrong, and I hope we are wrong. I would love
> >to be convinced otherwise.
> >
> >In any case, you were among those forces opposing us now just as you
> >would have been in opposition to all of those parties you mention
> >and appear, disingenuously, to celebrate here.   Remember: party
> >activism (not just ours but all forms of electoral activism) leads
> >to "brain damage" according to you.
> >
> >You should own up to and others should recognize the destructiveness
> >of your attitudes.
>
>Some people are suited to running for political office. I'm not. It
>requires too much glad-handing, compromise, prevarication,
>sloganeering, and the suspension of critical thought.
>
>Own up? Fuck you. Neither I nor anyone I know of is opposed to Greens
>organizing and running for office on a local level. In fact, that's
>exactly where they should start. Gonzalez giving up after winning 47%
>of the vote looks petulant and impatient. And your attitude makes me
>regret ever having given you a minute of radio time to promote your
>political adventures or your music. But it's bullshit. If you &
>Gonzalez are driven out of politics by the likes of me, you never had
>what it took in the first place. Fuck you.
>
>Doug

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