AN ELECTION OFF-YEAR: GREAT TIME TO NOURISH PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS

By Jerry D. Rose

2010′s “off year election” (no presidential contest) is followed today by a year in which there will be neither presidential nor congressional elections (except perhaps some “special” ones). It can and should be, however, a banner year for progressives to do something rare for their breed, and that is to GET ORGANIZED for the promotion of their political perspective. I’ve written about (in “Now That the Election is Over, Let the Politics Begin”) that prospect in an essay shortly after the November elections in launching the companion site to this weblog, The People’s Caucus. And I’ve made some preliminary efforts both locally and by promoting this idea throughout my U.S. and world network of progressive friends, holding a “convening” meeting in Gainesville Florida that was sparsely but enthusiastically attended.

These early efforts have floundered somewhat on the aftermath of demoralization and over-moralization of the losers and winners in those elections. But we are far enough distanced in time and emotions from the November trauma to prepare ourselves to enter a new year with a new level of resolution to pursue the political interests of “the people” at all levels from the local to the world community.

My personal resolution for this hopeful off-year is to double-down on a proposed People’s Caucus for Gainesville and the state of Florida, to use these as “demonstration” efforts if you will, and to share the successes and problems of this project with associates throughout the U.S. and the world. To facilitate this transferability of local to more global results, I’m expecting to “re-brand” the effort as the formation of a Progressive Alliance, FPA for Florida, ORPA for Oregon (for example) , APA for the U.S., WPA (that’s right!) for the world.

Floridian associates are hereby officially warned that they will be mercilessly “bugged” by me to join in this alliance in whatever way he or she cares to join in this effort to promote a progressive agenda both in future elections and in the important decisions to be made between those elections. In Florida there should be little cause to doubt the urgency of this effort, as an already-regressive state legislature and executive cabinet has been replaced by an even more Neanderthalian group of office-holders. Arizona-style immigation enforcement laws—further assaults on the state’s beleaguered teachers—opening even wider the gates to unregulated growth—a likely frustrating of the people’s will in upcoming “fair districts” electoral re-districting. These are but a few of the issues on which a mobilized Florida Progressive Alliance should have its say in the decisions of this off-year and the next important on-year of 2012. Substitute for FPA the initial of your city, state, country or the world—and you have the agenda of political activism that should be the master resolution for the New Year.

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Jerry D. Rose is the founding editor and chief contributor to Principled Progressive