How Best to Mount a 2008 Election Political Challenge

How Best to Mount a 2008 Election Political Challenge to the Pro-War Parties

From: solidartattack@verizon.net
Date: 2007/05/03 Thu AM 09:20:03 CDT

First, we have to assess the difficulty and plan to avoid the pitfalls of the past. In my opinion, another Ralph Nader campaign is to no one's advantage, and neither is the creation of another tiny splinter group led by an ideologically pure elite cadre. To have genuine relevance in the 2008 election, a new party or candidates running on an anti-war platform would have to attract a much broader swath of people than typically participate in non-mainstream political action. From the beginning our call would need to be a call to political activism, not just a call to vote in November or donate money. To do this, we can't rely on old leaders (ourselves included) and we can't set anything up in the initial stages in a rigid fashion. The process has to be broad and democratic and exploratory, letting excitement build before any kind of national or regional event.

Second, we'd have to create a logo and a package of materials that would mark us as a seriously different alternative. We need a working group to begin this process, one that possesses a breadth of experience and talent, fired up by passion and energy. We also need an initial action plan, which would focus on web site creation and on identifying opportunities for attracting new people and meeting people face to face. The web site would be the joint effort of this group, which would then expand itself into committees, as new people enter into the planning and the execution.

Third, we need to use the internet creatively.The internet site should be a resource center (news updates and analyses, recommended readings with reviews, speakers bureau) and a platform through which people share their experiences and their dreams. In addition to on-line contacts, the web site should be tapped as way of quickly creating and communicating public live events.

Fourth, as a kind of bottom line, there eventually has to emerge a group of viable candidates with the kinds of credentials that make them estimable competitors. The goal of all of our organizing, I believe, should be to create the opportunity for an exciting nominating convention (or series of regional nominating conventions), to be held no earlier than September 2008, where delegates will debate over platform issues and vote for presidential and vice-presidential
candidates.