The time has come to free ourselves from this two-party trap

The time is here to free ourselves from this two-party trap

by Alan Maki on Sunday, January 22, 2012 at 10:25am

I think when people step forward and run for office as Jill Stein has done in running for president by putting forward our agenda for real progressive change, we shouldn't be concerned how "professional" they and their staffs are.

We should be willing to volunteer and pitch in to help fill the gaps.

It doesn't take that much for each and everyone of us to use our e-mail lists to send out information about Jill Stein, Rocky Anderson and Darcy Richardson.

Make a post here and there to sites we visit or normally post to.

Write letters to the editor and op-ed pieces articulating the anger of the majority of the people with the two-parties.

With almost 20,000 people participating on FireDogLake, hundreds of thousands more on FaceBook, if we all did our little part we would be able to become quite a formidable electoral force for real progressive change.

Look at it this way: We are each like one little snowflake, we don't amount to much--- but, together we are like a blizzard.

I also think we need to push very hard to get Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson to reach a "meeting of the minds" in coming together to create a "unity" ticket. We try to unite our various movements in spite of very large differences at times in order to achieve specific goals and objectives, and our activities in the electoral field should receive the same kind of attention.

I am for a Stein-Anderson or Anderson-Stein ticket with them announcing very quickly a cabinet that would consist of an even broad range of thinking from liberal to progressive and left from all regions of the country.

Many people fed up with this two-party trap would appreciate us forging a new political party bringing together the historic coalition which has won so much over the years--- and in this situation, finally breaking free from the Democrats and Republicans in challenging Wall Street for power would be an important accomplishment. Plus it would leave us with a strong movement to push forward for real change.

People should not write-off that it is not possible to win. There will likely be a few more parties capable of getting significant numbers of votes in the mix of things. In a four or five way race everything changes and with a focus on reflecting at the polls the historic coalition of liberals, progressives and the left we would form the largest POTENTIAL voting block--- hence we see the desperation and meanness of these Obama sock-puppets and their friends from outfits like the "Progressives for Obama" whose intent it is to bully us into silence. Let's not get demoralized and feel beat down before we begin to fight.

The die-hard Obama boosters want us to think the world will end if Obama isn't re-elected. This is why they don't want to go up against Romney. Because Romney, where he stands now, is no different at all from Obama. Should Romney get smart and move towards the domestic policies of Richard Nixon, Obama is in big, big trouble. Kind of strange and sad, but if one studies Nixon's record on labor, civil rights (especially Native American issues), the environment--- Nixon comes out light-years ahead of Obama; and, if one looks at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under Nixon, while George Romney was at the helm, George Romney makes Obama entire cabinet look like a bunch of fascist morons.

Richard Nixon said: "A good job is as basic and important a civil right as a good education . . . which would require such [affirmative] action by law, was both necessary and right... would require federal contractors to show affirmative action' to meet the goals of increasing minority employment."

Tricky Dick Nixon, speaking of ending discrimination in employment declared: "Neither the President nor the Congress nor the conscience of the nation can permit money which comes from all the people to be used in a way which discriminates against some of the people."

Obama is sunk if Mitt Romney starts speaking in this way.

People still clinging to two-party politics will likely turn to Romney as "the lesser evil."

Most people will be turned off as Obama and Romney argue over who is the best candidate to carry on the "virtues" of this rotten capitalist system as they argue over whether or not Romney is a vulture capitalist or a venture capitalist.

Not to mention rising food, clothing, gas and home heating oil prices to together with continuing massive unemployment, rising student debt and tuition costs, unending wars and occupations with austerity measures being shoved down our throats with Social Security and all of our public institutions from schools to libraries and roads taking hits.

Under these circumstances we have the perfect opportunity to break free from this two-party trap. And if we don't seize this opportunity to at least build a lasting base for our third party alternative we will have lost a great opportunity. 

Such a political development would have the possibility of electing candidates at other levels--- local, state and congressional if some activists with an inclination to run for public office begin making plans now.

One such activist who has seen the opportunity here in Minnesota is Michael Cavlan who has come out swinging against the Democrats and Republicans. He has hitched his cart to the Rocky Anderson wagon--- good thinking in my opinion. Consider what impact a couple dozen campaigns like this across the country would have.

For those who live in areas of the country where it is hard to imagine a snowstorm; think of a little raindrop. One little raindrop doesn't amount to much--- but let it pour!