[Peace-discussion] Byron De Lear's Blog and Call for GPCA and GPUS Reform

Mon, 4 Jun 2007 16:29:34 -0700

Henry, 

Thanks so much for checking out my open letter and considering some of what
I have suggested.

The term you used "central leader", is not the term I used.

I think we need a party chairperson, realistic voting thresholds that do not
fail the party's efficacy in the presence of factions -- a political reality
that ALL parties have to contend with successfully or just splinter -- and
look to other examples of successful Green Parties for guidance on how to
break the complete impasse we've been stuck in for OVER THREE YEARS.

This is unacceptable to me -- and that's why I've called for reform along
with MANY Greens who have in private and in public echoed my sentiments.

A party chairperson is a normal thing, and can be greatly beneficial in the
areas that the Green Party needs help with the most.

Henry, you can check out the whole conversation on the blog, it pretty much
says everything about the kinds of structural reforms I think are necessary
to bring the Green Party into a results oriented and more successful
position to contend with the duopoly.

Please consider chiming in with you observations at Green Commons.

http://www.greencommons.org/node/586

Also, Henry I just re-read your email and wanted to add,

You said, "When I clicked to go to your blog I noted you advocated...
...making our central issue/focus environmentalism."

My point here is not to marginalize immigrant rights or ending the war, etc.
but what I've advocated for is that the Green Party must be seen to be the
leader on the environment. We should give this goal our best effort.

It's kind of an emergency to see one of our most important and namesake
issues be co-opted and usurped.

To most in the world today, Arnold is the first green Governor; nightmare
for the Green Party of California, don't you think?

To me, it's triage time, and this is the motivation for me to suggest these
broad stroke reforms and to suggest we must attempt to stop the
marginalization of the Green Party in regard to letting the environmental
stewardship portfolio slip right through fingers.

ALSO,

You said, "So lets bear in mind, the greatest reason people are leaving the
corporate funded parties and may join our is the issue of war, peace, and
security."

We have LOST so many good activists because they don't see ACTION; they see
FIGHTING and a ridiculous and unbalanced predilection to emphasize IDEALISM
at the expense of RESULTS; real world success.

Certainly at the state level, our PARTY doesn't act in a way that will
encourage electoral success -- it's BROKEN.

This is why we need to act fast to enact changes to protect against being
paralyzed because we have no process in which to deal with when there's a
fight going on.

This is politics, there are fights. There will be fights.

BUT

Having a party mechanism that breaks down even after smelling a whiff of
contention is dysfunctional, and not seeing the big picture.

So we should consider that there will be MORE fights, and we should consider
what would we have to have in place to STAVE OFF political self-negation in
the future.

It will not be enough to get people just to join the Green Party, we also
have to REALLY compete with REALLY competitive major party actors, with LOTS
of money.

To me this means, getting rid of the necrotic wreckage impeding our ability
to work as a team, to marshal what comparatively meager resources we have
and to accomplish the kinds of events and actions that a party leader and
his/her office could get done.

The Coordinating Committee all pointing their fingers at each other, hardly
has any sense of accomplishing citable goals and milestones for the growth
and success of our party, because we've seen what they can do with the
system they're working with: hardly anything.

Let's not solely blame the PEOPLE involved, we are only recently upright
apes, emotions flare, egos burst, and we have ourselves a family feud --
it's not just the actors embroiled, it's also the STRUCTURE in place that
perpetuates the conflict, and paralyzes our ability to move past our brewing
cult of self-defeatism.

There is another blog that has picked up the dialog as well:

http://polizeros.com/2007/06/04/a-proposal-to-end-california-green-party-par
alysis/

Please do chime in!

Byron De Lear
Global Peace Solution
GPS... positioning the world in a different way
www.globalpeacesolution.org
byron@globalpeacesolution.org

-----Original Message-----
From: peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org
[mailto:peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org] On Behalf Of henry duke
Sent: Sunday, June 03, 2007 1:22 PM
To: 'peace- discussion'
Subject: [Peace-discussion] Byron De Lear's Blog and Call for GPCA and GPUS
Reform

Byron,

I think I hear your frustration with the GPCA plenary -- some said that they
had never seen such an adult display of immaturity, rudeness in any
so-called progressive group before.

[As is always clear the group was dominated by White males who did not seem
to shy away from talking and blocking the microphone 99 percent of the
time.]

When I clicked to go to your blog I noted you advocated as a solution a move
towards a central leader, lessening the supermajority/consensus rules about
policy/platform to majority wins, and to making our central issue/focus
environmentalism.

Towards these potential goals you took the opportunity to nominate Ross
Mirkami from the SF board of supervisors.

In terms of my county in California, Peter Camejo won nearly 70 percent of
our votes as in Los Angeles.

Here in my county, and I daresay, Los Angeles, we think ending the war and
supporting immigrant and human rights are our main growth and leadership
issues.

Growth and leadership and their intertwined relationship is the solution to
paralysis and infighting.

So lets bear in mind, the greatest reason people are leaving the corporate
funded parties and may join our is the issue of war, peace, and security.

Here in California it will also be because we are the frontline of
supporting human/labor/immigrants rights.

Appreciate further input.

Solidarity,

Henry Duke

-------------------------------------------------------------------

A LETTER FROM BYRON DE LEAR TO MEMBERS OF GPCA, GPUS

SUBJECT: FACTIONALISM IN THE GREEN PARTY AND VISION FOR REFORM

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

DAMAGE DONE TO GPCA, GPUS

Locally, the Green Party is continuing to make strides in bringing
innovative and environmentally friendly leadership to school boards, city
councils and even mayor-ships across the country, however, our inability to
successfully process conflicts in our state party apparatus in California
has made state wide growth nearly impossible.

This in turn, has negatively impacted the entire Green Party nationally, as
California represents the forefront of national green politics and the State
with the most Green Party members in the US.

As there have been quite a few efforts to mediate between the actors,
mitigate the damage done and then move on towards more productive activities
for the party, we have failed in arriving at a conclusive settlement
acceptable to the warring factions. (cont.) TO READ MORE CLICK THE LINK
BELOW -- BD

http://www.greencommons.org/node/586

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