Pocketnaomi nailed it.

[catsittingstill]

In this discussion on FilkerTom's journal when she said

National elections are won by who you put on the city councils and the school boards 10-20 years before. We need to set up that kind of groundwork with real liberals if we expect there ever to be real liberals in the White House or much of Congress.

So. Obama isn't working out all that well.

We need to start growing some better (as in "real") liberal politicians.  And, frankly, in my county?  The county commission just cut the funding for the school building program by 60% with something like 25% of the present students in "classrooms" made of trailers and boiler rooms and closets.  The Jefferson City City Council?  Just elected Jefferson City's mayor because the main election was a tie.  These local offices matter, all on their own even when we don't consider them proving grounds for potential Presidents.

So.  Who do you know that you can nudge to start running for your city council and school board?

Comments

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd like to see Catherine Faber in office but she's not in my district.

Actually, I'd be tempted to nudge my ex to run. He's a lawyer, he's not employed right now, he's an experienced political activist, he's roughly as far left as I am (give or take on certain issues), and he's much more effectively Machiavellian than I'd've liked him to be when I was on the other side of the lawsuit. That might translate into a respectably good politician.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I don't think I would have much chance of winning; I am too apt to let people realize it when I disagree, or think they are being stupid. I think I would alienate too many people.

Your ex might be better at it than me, though.

I'm poking my brain to come up with someone local who would be good.

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

I think it's pretty near that your own assessment of why you wouldn't be a good candidate is that you're, well, too candid, rather than too shy. I suspect the answer might've been different some years ago; you've grown a political voice that's fearless, and a lot of fun to listen to. I can understand your point about how having that clear a voice makes it hard to be all things to all people very successfully, but I still think it's great as a personal matter that you've grown such a confident one.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

Are these things necessarily handicaps? Not for the wingnuts, that's for sure. And at least you have ideas that have a hope of working.

BTW, the path to Federal office generally leads through the machinery of the national parties, less so through local offices, though I agree these are important. Seattle columnist Joel Connelly has a whole rant about how this works, and how the Bill Clinton did this during his campaign, and the Obama campaign didn't do it, and stiffed a whole generation of young people, who put their careers on hold to help elect Obama. They will not get most of those people back. Really, I think that in 10 years, the Democrats are going to be the conservative party, the Republicans will have shuffled off to the backwaters, and there will be a new liberal party.

& again, congratulations on your birthday.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) Thank you for the birthday wishes.

The rearrangement of parties you describe would be a radical shift--right now about a third of the country is aligned with the Republicans and it's hard for me to imagine these people shifting to the Democrats no matter how conservative the Democrats get, as long as there is a more conservative alternative. Is your thought that the diehard Republicans are so much older than the rest of the population that in 10 years they will have died or become too frail to take an interest in politics?

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

That shift is already in progress. Aging, as you say, is part of it. Also, the alienation of women. You and I are old enough to remember what outlawing abortion meant in terms of women's lives: there's a lot of younger women who don't know, but are finding out. The Republicans adopt more and more extreme positions. They have to scare people, because they have nothing left to offer. I don't think the support for the Republicans goes very deep--certainly the support for the radicalism of the Tea Party Republicans is not deep. I think a lot of that support will evaporate, as times get harder. I've written quite a bit about this on my political blog over the past year. See:
http://adviceunasked.blogspot.com/2010/09/revolution-reagan-bush-obama.html
http://adviceunasked.blogspot.com/2010/01/us-poltical-parties-outcome.html
http://adviceunasked.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-brung-them-part-iii-or-like-young.html
http://adviceunasked.blogspot.com/2010/11/split-between-liberals-and.html

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

Totally hate our school board. If we could find someone sane to sit on it, OUR district wouldn't have a chunk of OUR kids being taught in trailers (my darling daughter among them.)

Oh, and Happy Birthday to you, Cat!

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Eeeeep! I forgot the happy birthday part! Please forgive, and many happy returns, Cat!

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

*hug* It is quite alright. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the birthday wishes :-)

I am sorry about your daughter being stuck in a trailer. If I had my way all kids would have real classrooms.

I didn't like school when I was a kid, but at least I realized that everyone thought it was important. We had enough classrooms for everyone, the school didn't leak, the windows were all in good repair, and so on. The community plainly *cared* about the school.

If your county is set up anything like mine, the County Commission may be responsible for the trailers. Our school board fought for 8 years to get the money for the school building program, the old county commission FINALLY approved it, then the new county commission gutted the funding by 60%.

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

I think the positions that have the budgetary authority are the ones to aim at. Probably not for a first run, though. The basic problem here is that people can't decide whether to pull together or run apart. It's not yet clear, though it will be, I think, before this depression ends, that pulling together is by far the more effective strategy.

Meantime, we need to keep plugging along.

Who do you know that you can nudge to start running for your city council and school board?

[bigbumble.livejournal.com]

This is really the key question. I'm on my city's planning commission. David likely would be too, if he were still living. But running for city commission? I'm not sure if I have the courage for that. (The planning commission is appointed by the way.)

Re: Who do you know that you can nudge to start running for your city council and school board?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Do you know someone on the planning commission who would be a good choice? Do you know someone not on the planning commission it might be good to suggest be appointed?

[antinomic.livejournal.com]

I want a party that is socially liberal and fiscally conservative. *SIGH*

Is there a politician that understands not to spend what we don't have, no matter how wonderful the cause might be?

And let them all leave their religions at home. I don't want to hear about it.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Well, better be prepared to cut Social Security, Medicare, and the military then.