[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: Re: [GPCA-CC] #2 County poll proposal: Impeachment Rsolution]

Mon May 8 12:29:18 PDT 2006

http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ccr/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2702

  taken from New York Center for Constitutional Rights which is fairly active in putting together a comprehensive Impeachment gameplan.
  ( http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/home.asp )

Gerry Gras <gerrygras at earthlink.net> wrote:

FYI,

Gerry

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [GPCA-CC] #2 County poll proposal: Impeachment Rsolution
Date: Sun, 07 May 2006 21:37:43 -0700
From: Michael Borenstein 
Reply-To: GPCA Coordinating Committee 
To: coordinating committee 

Dear CC,

This is #2 of two posts from Kent Smith, Navada County. They are long
but full of upbeat and interesting info on the impeachmnt issue.

We trust this helps the CC capitolize on this importance issue, and to 
emphasize
how engaging and positive a county polling on this could be.

This post includes a 1342 word essay entitled:
"IMPEACHMENT: A Great Local Organizing Tool"
Pease use it, copy it as y'll see fit.

Thanks, Michael-- & Kent
-----------------------------

From: kent smith

Here's the Update for April from our Impeachement
Outreach project here in Nevada County, as I promised.
Then my full report on our 4 months of grassroots
local involvement follows. Please send these reports
including the April Update to the CC members. I
believe it makes a very strong case for the
Impeachment issue as a proven great local organizing
tool.
Kent in sunny spring Nevada City finally...

"APRIL UPDATE.
At the April 13 Green Party monthly meeting 21
people came and we continued pushing impeachment. The
updated Resolution was presented and copies of our
Letters sent to Congress (as called for in the
Resolution itself) were shared. We were cheered to
learn that the Santa Clara County GP had rallied
around their Resolution in a protest at their
Congresswoman?s office and used it for Green candidate
Carol Brouillet?s CD 14 campaign. We were also glad
to hear that the GP of El Dorado County also approved
our Resolution at their monthly meeting. Our own
recent media successes included 2 more KVMR
interviews, 2 more Letters to the Editor published
locally, and the 30-minute impeachment TV show cable
cast 4 times over 2 weeks. We also handed out copies
of the Resolution at a well-attended progressive
fundraiser. We also ordered little copies of the
Constitution to carry in our pockets and quote from in
our education work.
Our Impeach/Outreach efforts also continued when the
local Democratic Women?s Club adopted our Resolution
on April 1 on a 11-3 vote. Next it will go to the
Democratic Central Committee (DCC) of Nevada County
for presentation and predicted passage. Local
Democrats also promised to take the Resolution to
their State Convention in Sacramento at the end of
April. The Democratic Party of California is the
largest single political organization in the entire
country with about 7 million members. If it
officially takes an Impeachment position-- thus
joining 5 other State Democratic Parties (New Mexico,
Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and now Vermont--
it will be big news nationally!
We?re riding the Impeachment dragon now and it?s
lots of fun."
---------------------------====

And here is the main report summarizing 4 months' of
political organizing around Impeachment here in Nevada
County:

"IMPEACHMENT: A Great Local Organizing Tool

Here in Nevada County Greens have been using
Impeachment as an organizing tool for three months --
and the results are impressive. A strong local
Impeachment campaign can inspire current Greens,
reactivate old Greens, add new members, and
passionately reenergize the local Green Party.
IMPEACH ON THE AGENDA. Starting early in January,
2006. we formally put ?IMPEACHMENT? on the agenda for
the monthly meeting. We sent out the Agenda to our
e-mail list of active Greens and progressives. We
sent out press releases about our Impeachment meeting
to local print media. We also had two interviews
about Impeachment over KVMR, the local community radio
station. We publicly invited everyone to attend, not
just Greens. We also posted flyers in Nevada City
created by a local Green artist with ?IMPEACH BUSH?
prominently displayed.
The result? Instead of the normal 5-6 at the local
library, we had 16 people, triple the average!
Expanding beyond the usually core, we welcomed old
Greens, frustrated Democrats, peace activists, and
independents.
THE FORMAL RESOLUTION. At the first meeting we had
a long and lively discussion about Impeachment itself,
its mechanics, and its political implications.
Several people said they were tired ranting about Bush
at home and welcomed the opportunity to join others in
actually doing something about it. It became clear
right away that everyone in the room wanted to remove
Bush from office. So we easily came to a general
consensus on the concept of Impeachment itself. But
different ideas emerged on the specific content of our
Resolution. We collected the various suggestions
concerning Who to impeach, What for, When, and What
next to do. It was clear the large group could not
draft language acceptable to all in such a short time.
So we created a special ad hoc ?Task Force? to meet
separately and come up with a collective draft. We
left the meeting feeling empowered and energized: an
official ballot-status political party local had gone
on the record supporting Impeachment.
The new 10-person Impeachment Task Force met at a
well-known coffee shop two weeks later. Personal
phone calls and e-mails reminded the volunteers to
attend. This newly created subgroup of writers agreed
on certain principles: we would use the Resolution
format so we could bring it before city councils, we
wanted to focus on ?Constitutional-level? crimes (not
policy issues or incompetence issues), we wanted to
reference specific crimes and the specific laws
violated, and we wanted it short and clear all on one
page for easy reading.
We came up with a short list of top ?high Crimes.?
Everyone at the meeting submitted drafts of specific
crimes, violations, and legal citations. Another
meeting was set to iron out the final draft. Using
previous drafts from the Arcata City Council and
former Attorney-General Ramsey Clark from Impeachbush.
com, we came up with a strong and compelling
Resolution.
We promoted Impeachment heavily to build interest
and attendance at the next monthly meeting in
February. We used our e-mail and phone lists again
and the local media, print and radio. 30 people
showed up, more than we?ve had in years. We had
placed the draft Resolution on our web site ahead of
time so people could read it
(www.nevadacountygreens.org). We also passed out
photocopies for everyone present. After vigorous
discussion and debate, we had a specific draft
Resolution we all consensed to. We also agreed to
incorporate a few other ?friendly? amendments into the
final text. We all celebrated. We had all taken a
strong stand together and it felt good.
IMPEACH/OUTREACH EFFORTS. The special Task force
decided to meet again between the monthly Party
meetings to perfect the text. The 10 volunteers also
started to brainstorm about how to expand media
coverage for our Impeachment position and how to get
other groups ( like the local Peace Center,
progressive groups, and other political parties like
the Libertarians, the Democrats etc. ) involved in a
coordinated way. Once we had a list of possible
actions, individual volunteers took on specific
assignments. We agreed to carry out our tasks and to
report back our results at the next monthly Green
Party meeting in March.
* Our Impeach/Outreach efforts took 3 major
directions. First, we wanted to involve other Green
Party groups. We notified the State Party
spokespersons and the State Media Committee about our
Resolution. Sara Amir vetted our news and passed it
on to our Media folks. IT Coordinator Jim Stauffer
sent out our call for other counties to join us on his
1600-contact ?Updates? e-mail list. And Michael
Borenstein carried our resolution to GROW and to the
CC for cosponsorship as an Agenda Proposal for the
next April State Plenary in Ventura.
* Secondly, we pushed for expanded media coverage of
our Impeachment position. State Press Advisor Cres
Vellucci in Sacramento crafted a press release and
sent it out to his 2,000+ media outlets. He also
notified the GP National Media operation in
Washington, D.C. We had 3 more interviews over
regional and internet radio station KVMR. We also
proposed a community town hall meeting and debate on
Impeachment live and on the radio. We also moved to
produce a 30-minute Impeachment show on local
community access Nevada County Television (NCTV). Our
local group of Green writers has recently published
several Letters to the Editor on the Impeachment
issue. We also created new Impeach flyers and
gathered Impeach buttons and bumper stickers.
* Thirdly, we started contacting other political
organizations in our community to share our Resolution
and request that they take an official stand too.
Stand up now when it counts. The Nevada County Peace
Center and the local chapters of Veterans for Peace
were the first to sign on. These pro-Impeach groups
will form the nucleus for a broad-based local
coalition for Impeachment in the future. We were
rolling.
In March we again publicized the monthly GP meeting
widely. Then, on a dark and snowy winter night, we
had 21 people show up. A dozen people reported on
their projects and what had happened. There was lots
of ?good news? to share. We felt fulfilled and
empowered. We passed around a sign-up sheet and
invited others to join us. Several new people agreed
to join our Impeachment Task Force and meet again in
two weeks at the coffee shop. It?s amazing what an
empowered and dedicated small group can accomplish
with a good cause.
After more e-mails and another radio interview, the
group expanded to 15 at the next special meeting at
the Cafe Mekka. We shared ?good news? including the
national Impeachment movement and our own local
actions. Our media efforts were expanding and several
local groups decided to formally support Impeachment.
We also agreed to set up our first table and speak
publicly at the local Peace Vigil and Rally March 18
in Nevada City. We brainstormed new ideas on
expanding our Impeach/ Outreach. Members volunteered
for some new tasks. We agreed to undertake our
individual missions and to meet again at the next
Green Party monthly meeting in mid-April. The group
was energized and we felt we were moving forward
successfully.
APRIL UPDATE. At the April 13 Green Party monthly
meeting 21 people came and we continued pushing
impeachment. The updated Resolution was presented and
copies of our Letters sent to Congress (as called for
in the resolution itself) were shared. We were
cheered to learn that the Santa Clara County GP had
rallied around their Resolution in a protest at their
Congresswoman?s office and used it for Green candidate
Carol Brouillet?s CD 14 campaign. We were also glad
to hear that the GP of El Dorado County also approved
our Resolution at their monthly meeting. Our own
recent media successes included 2 more KVMR
interviews, 2 more Letters to the Editor published
locally, and the 30-minute impeachment TV show cable
cast 4 times over 2 weeks. We also handed out copies
of the Resolution at a well-attended progressive
fundraiser. We also ordered little copies of the
Constitution to carry in our pockets and quote from in
our education work.
Our Impeach/Outreach efforts also continued when the
local Democratic Women?s Club adopted our Resolution
on April 1 on a 11-3 vote. Next it will go to the
Democratic Central Committee (DCC) of Nevada County
for presentation and predicted passage. Local
Democrats also promised to take the Resolution to
their State Convention in Sacramento at the end of
April. The Democratic Party of California is the
largest single political organization in the entire
country with about 7 million members. If it
officially takes an Impeachment position-- thus
joining 5 other State Democratic Parties (New Mexico,
Nevada, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and now Vermont--
it will be big news nationally!
We?re riding the Impeachment dragon now and it?s
lots of fun.
CONCLUSIONS: Impeachment is a great local grassroots
democracy organizing tool. Used skillfully, it can
revitalize a Green local, reenergizing current Greens,
reactivating old Greens, and adding new activist
members. But it is much more than a Green issue.
Activists who belong to other third parties,
Democrats, independents, and political neophytes are
also strongly attracted to the common cause of
removing our corrupt rulers and restoring our
Constitution. Just passing an impeachment resolution
at an ordinary Party meeting means very little. Using
the issue creatively by publicizing meetings
extensively beforehand, inviting everyone to come,
involving them all freely in the decision-making and
in the followup actions, and publicizing the results
widely brings us all together into an expanded and
powerful political community. Impeachment, I believe,
more than almost any other issue, has the proven
potential to make this happen in cities and counties
throughout California and across the entire country.
Kent Smith (1342 words)
__________________________________________________
_______________________________________________
gpca-cc mailing list
gpca-cc at marla.cagreens.org
http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/gpca-cc

_______________________________________________
sosfbay-discuss mailing list
sosfbay-discuss at marla.cagreens.org
http://marla.cagreens.org/mailman/listinfo/sosfbay-discuss

---------------------------------
Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.cagreens.org/pipermail/sosfbay-discuss_lists.cagreens.org/attachments/20060508/0c933532/attachment.html>