(very excited about all these various swaths of LOCAL green-rainbow organizing! that’s where it’s at! – promoted by eli_beckerman)

About 10,000 votes were cast in the Berkshires voted for Green-Rainbow candidates last month.  Many voters cast such votes for the first time and have told us they are interested in seeing the Green-Rainbow Party continue to grow.  Taking steps to grow the party, as these voters did, is important.  It is also easy.

Supporters need not wait for the next election to ‘go green and vote green.’  They need not all become activists, committee members, officers, or candidates.  They need not all go to any or all meetings.  They do not need to make a financial or a time commitment of any sort.

Of course the party needs some activists, some candidates, and some officers.  Voters can subscribe here for news and announcements of Berkshire Greens.  But for those who are interested in supporting the party there is a simple first step you can make that is public and meaningful.

(updated and edited on May 24, 2011)

Register

Anyone who supports the policies of the Green-Rainbow Party and wishes to help it attract more members, candidates, and activists can simply register into the party.  Because voter registrations are public, they can be analyzed to record support for the various philosophies of governance that are part of our democracy.  The Green-Rainbow Party is the only active party in the Commonwealth whose grass roots members, candidates and leadership are all united in the call for Tax Fairness, Public Health Insurance, Transparency in Government, Peace, Sustainability, and budget priorities that place people and communities first.  It is the only active party in the Commonwealth that does not accept financial contributions from corporations, lobbyists, or from officers of corporations that hire lobbyists.

If even half of the voters who cast a Green-Rainbow Party vote last month state wide were to register Green-Rainbow there would be a tectonic shift in the public records that would be instantly noticed.  It would also ensure that the party would retain its major party status and would continue to attract strong candidates in party primary and in general elections.

Snowball Metaphors

My Democratic Party opponent in last month’s election was quoted as saying that the Green-Rainbow Party ‘has a snowball’s chance in hell to make inroads on Beacon Hill.’  What better time than now to begin the work of proving him wrong.  It’s time to begin building that snowball and to start it rolling.  Beacon Hill will be less hellish when there are legislators on the inside of Beacon Hill whose power and party affiliations do not take lobbyist money.

“I’ll vote for you if you win!” “Well, vote for us so we do!

Our registration and votes are the most effective counterweight to the big money that permeates Democratic and Republican party politics.  We can most effectively mobilize this voter power when we focus on local district elections.  I’ll not forget the voter whom I met on the campaign trail who told me he really liked what Green parties locally and around the world stand for in general and liked my campaign in particular, but who added that he couldn’t vote for me unless I won.  Grassroots democracy works more effectively when votes and party registration reflect what the voters want.

Winning Political Power

The Greens Party in Australia had its strongest showing in national elections last year.  Here’s a video that it produced in Melbourne.  It was part of the strong effort that contributed to the party’s success in winning seats in both houses of its parliament.  Adam, who is the ‘star’ of the video, now has a seat in the lower house from the Melbourne District.  Voters in Melbourne have made history.

(Historic gains have also been seen in Germany and in Canada in the last few months.)

We can organize to make history, too.  10,000 voters in Berkshire County took a step this year towards real change.  Can we double or triple that in 2012?  With your support we can, even if the only time you have to give is the time it takes to register as a Green-Rainbow voter.

Let’s make it happen.  It can start in Berkshire County.  Monthly meetings of our newly-formed Political Action Committee are already occuring.  The next meeting is on June 9.

Wherever you are in the Commonwealth, our growth will be more meaningful when you become part of it.