[Peace-discuss] Progressive Fest 3 this Sat - Getting Out The Progressive Vote

Fri Aug 1 17:03:01 EDT 2014

For me the most valuable part of this meeting will be discussing what 
happens beyond the elections - at least to the extent of working to 
influence our elected officials (which is of course not the only sort of 
influence progressive people could hope to have, but it's important).

It is absolutely *NOT* a premise of this Fest that our job as citizens 
should be to find which party best represents us, and then go get lots 
of people to vote for that party's candidates.   However engaging people 
to vote, who wouldn't otherwise vote, is worth doing - and that kind of 
engagement can change political outcomes.   Jesse told a nice story 
about this at an event this spring: of a Joliet, IL plan to bring in an 
immigration detention center which looked sure to pass, but because of 
local mobilization of mostly-unmobilized people, it didn't.

Engaging people to be politically active outside of campaigns is 'way 
more important, and I think we'll be spending a good part of this 
Saturday's event talking about that.   (See "power training".)

Personally this season I'm looking forward to voting for a few 
candidates, reluctantly voting for others, and then after campaign 
season trying to lean on whoever gets elected to act the way we want 
them to.

I'd be very interested in being part of a strategic discussion which 
would look more broadly, and where getting-out-the-vote would be a less 
immediate part of the picture.    Its results might influence the 
tactics we'd choose going forward.   But I don't see why one needs to 
wait for the other.

On 8/1/14 11:58 AM, David Green via Peace-discuss wrote:
> It seems to me that those in our community who define themselves as 
> Progressive should be having meetings to openly and honestly discuss 
> what a consensual and moral position might be, and at that point 
> discuss if/how it might be worthwhile to engage in the political 
> process either within or beyond the current boundaries. It's 
> understandable that many who call themselves Progressive might want to 
> vote for Carol Ammons or even Quinn, but we must also develop a 
> strategic vision, electoral and otherwise, beyond that. Tactical 
> approaches should wait for this broader discussion. This event puts 
> the cart before the horse.
> DG
>
>
> On Friday, August 1, 2014 11:50 AM, C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss 
> <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>     How can anyone regard the Democrats in state or national office as
>     "progressive"?
>
>     From support for mass murder by Ukraine and Israel to the refusal
>     adequately to fund social supports in Illinois by adequately
>     taxing the rich, the Democrats have shown that they're working for
>     the interests of the 1% - and therefore against the directly
>     opposed interests of the majority.
>
>     It's nothing short of a crime against the community at home and
>     abroad to "Get Out the Progressive Vote" for Democrats. As Glen
>     Ford eloquently pointed out, they are not the lesser evil but the
>     more effective evil:
>     <http://www.blackagendareport.com/print/content/why-barack-obama-more-effective-evil>.
>
>     --C. G. Estabrook
>
>
>     On Jul 30, 2014, at 12:33 PM, Aaron Johnson-Ortiz, GEO &
>     Progressive Fest <aaron at uigeo.org <mailto:aaron at uigeo.org>> wrote:
>
>     > C. G.,
>     > The November election is coming up and the stakes could not be
>     any higher.  Republican Candidate for Governor Bruce Rauner, who
>     earns $25,000 an hour and who has proposed cutting the state
>     minimum wage , has been ahead in the polls by an average of 9
>     points since January*, and he is running on an anti-union platform
>     similar to that of Scott Walker in Wisconsin.
>     > This Saturday we are holding an event for community groups,
>     unions, and student organizations for us to work together and
>     strategize on how to register new voters and make sure to turn out
>     irregular voters.
>     > Are you able to come?  please let me know by replying to this
>     email , or RSVP on facebook . Details:
>     > Progressive Fest 3: Getting Out The Progressive Vote
>     > Saturday, August 2, 2:30 - 5:30PM
>     > Champaign Public Library, Robeson Rooms A&B
>     > This event is non-partisan: we will not be telling people to
>     vote for a particular candidate or party.  However, we will be
>     making commitments about voter registration targets, and
>     discussing how to talk to our members and the public about the
>     issues that matter to us.  This will allow members of non-partisan
>     organizations to join us, as well as those who are part of a
>     partisan organization.
>     > Will you come?  Please let me know if you can.
>     > In addition to union rights and workers issues, we will be
>     talking about immigrant rights, reducing mass incarceration,
>     increasing environmental protections, LGBTQ rights, women's
>     reproductive rights,  and other key issues.
>     > Please also forward this to your friends and allies.  The agenda
>     is below.
>     > in Solidarity,
>     > --aaron
>     > Aaron Johnson-Ortiz
>     > GEO Staff Organizer
>     > Graduate Employee's Organization
>     > IFT/AFT 6300
>     > www.uigeo.org
>     > 217-344-8283[Call: 217-344-8283]
>     <https://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=62far07jaa795#>
>     > What is Progressive Fest?
>     > Progressive Fest is an event for all sorts of progressive
>     organizations and individuals, including community organizations,
>     unions, faith-based organizations, student groups, environmental
>     activists, etc.  Each Progressive Fest is hosted by a different
>     local organization, but it is open to any and all groups. 
>     Progressive Fest is a non-partisan informal network of progressive
>     organizations in the Champaign-Urbana area and its surroundings. 
>     Some of the organizations that participate are partisan, other are
>     not.  "Progressive Fest 3: Getting Out The Progressive Vote" is
>     hosted by Central Illinois Progressive Democrats of America.
>     > FLIER (feel free to print and distribute):
>     >
>     > *
>     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_gubernatorial_election,_2014
>     and
>     http://www.buzzfeed.com/iftaft/who-is-the-real-bruce-rauner-the-top-10-things-yo-ji42
>     > Progressive Fest
>     > for more info about PF, please contact Aaron Johnson-Ortiz at
>     1001 S Wright St, Champaign, IL
>     > Unsubscribe
>     >
>     >
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Peace-discuss mailing list
>     Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
>     <mailto:Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
>     https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Peace-discuss mailing list
> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net
> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20140801/91b790b4/attachment-0001.html>