Last week, Americans Elect, the not-a-political-party
political party which achieved party status in Rhode
Island , announced that it was ending its nomination process for President and Vice President of
the United States .
American Elect attempted to use an online nominating
process to run a third-party ticket for the White House. Unfortunately, beyond
its long process for determining delegates, it was also largely established by
hedge fund managers closely tied to Wall Street and its interests.
Indeed, some of its most vocal supporters (such as Thomas
Friedman of the New York Times) basically were advocating for a
“centrist” president; someone who wouldn’t be mean to Wall Street, yet would
also be socially liberal.
Now that the dream of electing a not-Barack Obama is
over, it’s time that Rhode Islanders considered what it means for us.
There are twelve people registered as Americans Elect voters as of March 29th in
I don’t want to
rehash arguments about Occupy Providence that I’ve already made, so I’ll just
say this. Camping in Burnside
Park was not the same as
occupying a piece of Wall Street.
But Americans Elect is
a piece of Wall Street, created and funded by Wall Streeters. Could there be a
sweeter victory than taking it over and turning it against its creators?
Affecting change requires a political program. If you’re
looking for more diversity in Rhode Island’s politics, Americans Elect
essentially blew a bus-sized hole in the two-party system. A completely
undefined political party, one with no real pre-determined identity (beyond the
wishes of its funders).
All that is required is that someone drive the bus
through. Rhode Island ’s
political dissidents should consider the possibility here: register as an
Americans Elect candidate for state senator or representative.
An occupied Americans Elect could become Rhode Island ’s version
of the Pirate Party. To have any chance of survival, it would have to
be. It would have to fill a missing gap in Rhode Island politics; in this case,
adopting the Pirate Party’s message of radical governmental transparency with
the demand for social justice. Both demands are present within Occupy Wall
Street and its offshoots.
One of the most
interesting things about Occupy Wall Street was the way it was so highly public
in its process.
While maintaining that
openness was a struggle from the beginning for Occupy Providence, it would’ve
provided a nice counterpoint to the General Assembly, which will soon begin its
deliberations over how the budget will be shaped behind closed doors.
Taking over Americans Elect, and making its reformation be highly open and accessible would lend strength to the takeover as both a protest movement, and a reform movement.
Taking over Americans Elect, and making its reformation be highly open and accessible would lend strength to the takeover as both a protest movement, and a reform movement.
No party can force a voter to disaffiliate, according to
Rob Rock at the Secretary of State’s office. So far, I can’t find anything
within Title 17 (Elections) of
Rhode Island
state law that says that a party can block a candidate affiliated with their
party from running under the party’s banner.
I suppose the party’s state committee could raise an
objection to the candidate’s nomination papers, but it’s unclear whether that
would be enough. At time of writing, the Board of Elections has not responded
to my queries.
However, it’s unclear to me whether Americans Elect even
has a state committee to create bylaws for the party.
It once had a Northeast Regional Director, former
Operations Director of the Moderate Party Kathryn Cantwell, the Brown grad student who is now an unpaid
intern in Governor Chafee’s communications office. Ms. Cantwell is no longer
with Americans Elect. Between the lack of a regional director and the
unsuccessful end of its nomination process, I believe now is the time to
strike.
This shouldn’t
even be an “Occupy Thing”, this should be a pissed-off people thing. I’ve been
down on the movement before, and one of its big problems is a failure to
realize that politics is important.
You can’t always affect change by throwing stones and waving flags outside of the halls of power. What that can do is create a siege mentality among those inside, that the forces outside can’t be bargained with, and must be waited out.
You can’t always affect change by throwing stones and waving flags outside of the halls of power. What that can do is create a siege mentality among those inside, that the forces outside can’t be bargained with, and must be waited out.
Alternatively,
political action not only paints a movement as one willing to engage in
government, it also deprives the opponents of said movement a place from which
to attack.
Every seat that’s seized from a conservative Democrat or Republican, or a so-called “pragmatic” politician in favor of the status quo, is a seat that can be used to push for change and apply political pressure more directly.
Every seat that’s seized from a conservative Democrat or Republican, or a so-called “pragmatic” politician in favor of the status quo, is a seat that can be used to push for change and apply political pressure more directly.
Failure to
engage in politics is a failure to engage in autonomy. One of the large reasons
Pirate Parties have been successful in parts of Europe
is that rather than merely protest the heavy-handedness of their governments’
crackdowns on internet piracy, they followed those protests up with a political
vehicle.
Americans Elect
is a vehicle without a driver, the keys in the ignition, and the door
unlocked. All we have to do is get behind the wheel and put our foot on
the gas.