[lbo-talk] Rove

[Max B. Sawicky]

Nobody doesn't like community organizing.  The question is where does it lead.  Assume you are able to put together a bunch of folks who will come to meetings, make phone calls, write letters, go to demos, pass out leaflets.  What do they do then?  The political system as we all know is a very tough nut to crack for third parties, just as the Dems are a tough maze to navigate.  Which is it, or is it something different?

You could stay outside the electoral system and just agitate for good stuff.  But if you make progress, there, beckoning is some politico who wants to help, sort of.  Then we're back to the previous paragraph.

It seems to me you have to at least make a start at imagining how serious change could take place.


>I'm not trying to be glib - just explaining that as I watch those  
>activists and community organizers whom I admire most and try to  
>learn from, they don't let the elections control their work. Instead,  
>they are constantly evaluating how their work can be used to  
>influence the elected, and building coalitions between community  
>organizations from the ground up. Whatever we can think of to harness  
>and redirect some of the energy from the Obama camp so as to achieve  
>our goals.
>
>We can surely make a tactical choice come the November election but  
>until then and immediately thereafter it's just continuing to build  
>bridges with the folks on the ground.
>
>Maryellen