PHOTO/STARLENE RANKIN
SAN JOSE, CA — The Green Party’s annual national meeting was held in Iowa City, Iowa from July 25-28.
There were several notable outcomes of this year’s Green Party annual national meeting. The most important was the sense of commitment to building the party in a healthy and sustained way. The level of seriousness of the party leadership exceeded my expectations.
We made a realistic assessment of both our successes and the challenges we face. The Green Party has had over 300 elected officials, including Mayors and city councilmembers, and 100 of them are still in office right now. This has been done in spite of enormous obstacles in place against ballot access for third parties.
At the same time, we understand just how far we have to go. To be effective we have to grow the membership and financial resources necessary for the big victories. One sign of our seriousness was the hours of debriefs of the 2012 presidential campaign. These presidential campaigns are critical to building the party, and they offer an essential national platform for the local campaigns and organizing efforts.
Another outcome was the serious grappling with issues of class and racial diversity. The focus on issue-based outreach, and intentional work on creating leadership space for people of color, indicated a new commitment to building a party that accurately reflects our base in the broad movement fighting for our program. It was understood that a party that fails to do this is a party that will never get off the ground.
The 2012 Stein – Honkala campaign represented the growing convergence of the economic and environmental movements. Jill and Cheri like to joke that since they began their campaign, Jill taught Cheri how to eat blueberries and Cheri taught Jill how to go to jail, but it is deeper than that. It is spelled out in the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal was the centerpiece of their campaign, and continues to serve as a visionary program to inspire the party going forward.
More and more, leaders of the resistance to economic austerity and leaders battling climate change understand that they cannot advance one without allying with the other.
Although the meeting produced a number of structural improvements, the most important accomplishment was the setting of a political tone for the times we live in. No political, electoral organization is better positioned to resist the devastation of corporate America today than the Green Party. The Green Party is an opening and a vehicle for the social movement that is arising in America today. It is up to us to take advantage of this opportunity.
