Toward a revolutionary Green Party.

• Author: Kamleiter, Mark
• Position: Thinking Politically

I have been thinking a lot about the Green Party lately. My reflections have led me to consider some of the deep philosophical and political foundations of the party. I love the Green Party and its key values. I particularly love the Party's potential to be a change agent and force for positive political, social and environmental evolution. I have had moments of great pride with the Green Party. I have also been disappointed. It is probably because my deep sense of the Party's potential is so great that my disappointment is so profound.

I was, and am, absolutely convinced that the Democratic Party is the most dangerous threat to democracy in this country. It has intentionally and strategically sold out all the principles so vital to the people of this country. Over the years I have seen the Democratic Party first oppose and fight every important social movement in this country, including but not limited to the workers', women's, and civil rights movements, as well as the various antiwar movements, including Iraq. Worse, the Democratic Party then seduced and absorbed each of these movements, eventually robbing them of their spirit and power. They are doing that now to the Iraqi War Opposition.

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I have watched in pain as this deceitful dance of the Democratic Party repeated so many times over the years. As a powerful social movement arises, the Democratic Party will first try to ignore or silence it. Then, if the independent movement still gains strength, the Democrats attempt to absorb the movement into the Party mainstream. Once this is accomplished, they swing immediately further to the right in order to placate their financial base.

Each time this occurs "progressive" Democrats say that they will work harder and "take back" the Democratic Party." The controlling centralist-right Democratic leadership will then stroke these progressives and tranquilize them with some lip service, but they will give them absolutely nothing of substance or meaning.

The Democratic leadership is corrupt and beyond any reform. The fact that they pretend to speak for, and then blatantly betray, progressive values makes them more despicable and dangerous than the Republicans. With Clinton, Gore and now with its present leadership, the Democratic Party has moved so far to the center-right that for the first time in a long time there is a clear, defined void on the Left to be filled by an energetic, value-based revolutionary people's political party--the Green Party.

All we needed was courage, fixed focus on our values and willingness to put our shoulders to the task. We needed to translate our ideas and values into action in the realm of social reality. We needed to strike out boldly, as a new, visionary, revolutionary, populist and absolutely independent political...