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Towards a just & healthy democracy in the Commonwealth... and beyond!
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Sun Jan 10, 2010 at 19:00:23 PM EST
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(How do the Greens get to the point where they can field that many State Rep. candidates? It's not just signatures... you need to find 133 people willing to take the leap to put their names forward. And that's no easy task. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
The one thing I can't stand more than Republicans is Republicans in Democratic clothing. We all know them and we all know that they are not good representatives of us. I think it's time for the Green Party in Massachusetts to become the opposition party in Massachusetts.
If the Green Party became a dominant party here in Massachusetts it would not only force the Democratic Party more to the left but maybe even the Republicans.
More below the fold |
| GreenDem :: Making Greens the Opposition |
| We have so many races in Massachusetts where the incumbent or Democratic candidate running unopposed. We have 200 seats in the House and Senate combined and 21 of them are held by Republicans.
In 2008 there were 9 contested elections for State Senate out of 40 and only one of them had a Green-Rainbow candidate. In 2008 there were 40 contested elections for State House out of 160 and we had ZERO Green-Rainbow candidates. The only way you can win an election is to RUN!!! So we need to recruit as many people as possible. We need to have at least half of the 200 races contested to at least become viable.
It takes 150 signatures to get on the ballot for State Representative and 300 for State Senator. We collect 20,000+ every time a member of the Green Party runs for Governor and LT. Governor I think we can collect at least that many for the down ballot races. If we did that for just the House races we would get at least 133 candidates on the ballot. Or we could get 40 Senate candidates and 50+ House races.
The party needs to rethink its strategy because we will never win the Governorship or a Federal Senate/House seat without elected officials in lower positions. I'm not saying don't run but I am saying do two things at once get signatures for both at the same time or just focus on the lower races. One thing is clear the Green Party can easily become the opposition party here in Massachusetts we just have to work just a little harder for it.
Just my two cents,
GreenDem |
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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