2012 things to do

Hi.  Things are starting to take shape.  Let's get started.

Items in this message:
1. goals & methods
2. schedules

People who are reading this are to some extent interested in politics, the question is always what if anything do I want to do.  I have decided that voting, lobbying, and contributing to electoral campaigns are the main things I want to concentrate political time on rather than mouthing off, complaining, grumbling, or congregating with little nutjob organizations that can't get anything done besides irritate people and make small time trouble.

I put about 100 hours per year into trying to get more of the registered Dems in my precinct to vote than otherwise might have if no one was bugging them to vote vote vote.  All us politicals are trying to figure out how to get to the third of us who are independents who go "Eew, gross" about both of the major parties.  Statistically the best method seems to be to rile up the rileable ones with stupid negative ads.

I'm more interested in call-a-spade-a-spade kinds of arguments in political discussion, plenty of internal housekeeping and reform to be done in all political organizations.  I guess I just don't have a sense of humor about it.  Politicians find themselves forced to talk more and think less.  Then they are always trying to cover themselves.  Not edifying.

But if I don't try to do something about it other people will do it and of course they won't do it they I want it done.

So, there is the activity aspect: volunteering time for political work.  Then there is lobbying.  Anyone can lobby.  If I don't have money to hire someone to be a pest for me I can do it myself.  If I send a letter to an elected official about an issue the staff of that elected official (up to congressperson & state senator) will read it.  If I write 10 different interesting letters on that topic the staff will know me, at some point in that letter-writing process I'll probably be passed to the boss.  If I get a bunch of my friends and allies (those are people I work with on something who are not my friends) to write letterS the elected official will start to wonder if there is a constituency for that position.  If people bring up the issue in public face-to-face, make phone calls, DONATE, the issue of interest automatically becomes more interesting to the elected official.  Zillionaires hire people to do this for them.  Us little guys have to do it ourselves, which we are allowed to do in this country.  But we have to do it because we don't have money to hire people.

Donation: my people might be big disappointments but the the bigger picture must be always kept in mind.  I spend some of my money on political activity.  I have a budget, put the money where I want it do go, they can't get any more money out of me no matter how much they beg.  Where do I donate?  This year I will give money to the Wake Co. Dem. Party, all of my local candidates, probably I will throw a bit at the anti-amendment campaign, the presidential campaign, and perhaps a smattering to out of area candidates.  Anytime I donate and then later perhaps have something I want to discuss with them I can always start my letter: "Hi, I donated."  They're not going to be "swayed," but they read what I wrote.

That's how I do it.  Y'all do whatever you want.

Now: schedule:

1. Pre-annual meeting meeting - this to discuss if we want to submit any proposals for the platform at the state party convention (NOT the national convention in Charlotte).  We can also discuss how we are going to deal with the sustaining fund assessment that Wakedems will show us at the annual meeting.  And of course we can start to discuss how we will proceed with our electioneering and election activities, now that, for instance, we know for sure that the primary will be in May.  So I'd like to propose that we have this pre-meeting meeting around 2-3rd week February so that if we do do proposal(s) we can attempt an email or facebook page discussion before we pass them on.  I can't do Mon & Wed nights, any other time OK.  Who has a preferred time, date & place?  Who has forbidden times/dates?  I would like to set the date of this meeting by 1/30/12.  Feedback please.  OK?
     Oh, 01-37, you can come to our (01-15) meeting or have your own.

2. The annual meeting March 6.  Quorum of 5 people needed.  More is more "democratic."  Elect precinct officers, deal with the sustaining fund, watch a couple of local pols give rahrah speeches, probably Grier Martin will show up.  We are apparently up to 4 including me promising to attend.  I never believe in these pledges to show up, we do or we don't.  Please consider attending, especially if you've never been to one.  Perhaps too you are finding me tiresome and would like to boot me, just show up with 5 of your friends and vote me out.

3. The primary: there actually will be a Dem primary: all local candidates.  It will be important to get these candidates sorted out.  And then also the amendment.  I am thinking informational mailer: basic candidate info (their website address, etc.), something about the amendment.  Get that out timed so that it can also have absentee and early voting information.  Are we in the precinct going to try to do any voter registration? Probably not.  I think the Obama org. is doing that: 919-821-4875.  I think we have people in this precinct who will be organizing against the amendment, I can perhaps put you in touch if you're interested in that.

4. Get to the rest of the year later.

5. One of us volunteered to create a precinct facebook page.  Supposed to happen "next week."

silly season all year long

Why I do what I do politically & why I plan to continue to do it

I'm trying to remember when I first thought that things were arranged unfairly.  It was very early.  Kindergarten maybe.  That was the first time I remember being ranked.  In retrospect it seems that during those various rankings that occurred in that class I noticed people getting ranks they didn't deserve and not getting ranks they should have.  Unfairness was everywhere.

My initial training was that there was nothing you could do about "the way things were," you had no choice but to go along with it.  The 60s changed that mental stasis.  I ("we") realized (quickly) that change could be imagined, things could be done to promote those imaginations.  Various ways were looked at.

I have come to be a big fan of voting as a way of deciding things.  A lot of us don't want to bother that day, let alone do research to find out, and most of those candidates are mediocre at best, fools, gold diggers, paid hacks, etc.  But any other method of deploying power involves the arbitrary use of force by unaccountable people.  I want to be able to participate in the deployment of power.  Voting, to the extent it is "real," is the alternative to, essentially, gang warfare, in which weapons holders fight until someone dominates.

The ongoing issue is to make voting "real," in the various ways that can be defined.  The votes are really counted, the candidates are for positions that mean something, they are not themselves feckless, people who are eligible to vote are allowed to vote, people actually want to vote, etc.

Beyond that concern with the integrity of the voting process are my positions on "issues."  Because my views are what they are there are no Republicans anywhere that I can support at this time.  35 years ago there were times when I could have strategically supported a particular Republican here or there (Hatfield) but now they don't even speak the same language as me even though they use the same words.

Democrats are not a perfect fit for me either.  Disappointing in many ways.  But 2 things: 1. there is some congruence of belief, 2. there are only 2 parties in this country (despite the fact that getting toward 1/3 of the voters are now registered "independent" which means "no party.")  Maybe all those non-Dem-non-Rep voters should form the "Independent" party.  Anyway, for me there really is a difference between Dems and Reps, even if only at the edges.  The delirious flow of great rivers of money rushes on in the same unfair, sociopathic, oligarchic direction no matter, apparently, who's in charge.

I want to support the electoral process & I want to push the political scene in a certain direction not-the-direction-that-the-Republicans-are pushing.  The Democrats are pushing less in that direction.  I am a strong supporter of the lesser evil.  I work, therefore with the Dems.