[EM] A Reformer's Lament

[Michael Allan]

> A Public Party
> I believe this is the meme that is circulating now in the US amongst
> reformers. Essentially my site, aGREATER.US is choice creation of
> the "ax" or best practice/idea on any particular topic. Some ideas
> are nonpartisan (almost everyone loves it) or tripartisan (a
> combination of love and no one hates it too much).

I think you describe a facility of open, primary rule making (as I
would call it), in which the drafting of recommended laws, plans,
policies and other rules is opened up to the general public.  I agree,
that's crucial.  But a public party (as I define it) would also need a
facility of open, primary elections.  The core components are:

  * Open primary elections
  * Open primary rule-making

The idea of opening up rule-making is a common meme, as you say, that
has yet to "get off the ground".  But the equal importance of opening
up elections is rarely discussed, while the combination of the two is
nearly unheard of.  Yet it's this combination (the full memotype) that
I mean when I speak of a "public party".

So it is mostly a technical construct.  Indeed, we might even dispense
with the superficial formality of the party form in Anglo-American and
French states (where parties are not "baked" into the constitution)
because all that matters is the opening of these primary processes to
the public.  It is only there that individuals can hope to have a real
say (a real influence) over the outcome.  (So it seems to me.)

Michael


Jonathan Denn said:
> Hello Michael,
> 
> A Public Party
> I believe this is the meme that is circulating now in the US amongst reformers. Essentially my site, aGREATER.US is choice creation of the "ax" or best practice/idea on any particular topic. Some ideas are nonpartisan (almost everyone loves it) or tripartisan (a combination of love and no one hates it too much). 
> 
> Bipartisan Protectionism vs Public Party
> Groups like the Bipartisan Policy Center, and NoLabels are essentially working to protect the duopoly. These other groups forming are trying to bring in the 40% disenfranchised independent voters, and level the playing field so that "No Political Party Shall Be Privileged". Whether NL can make the transition into real reform work remains to be seen.
> 
> Policy Work is Really Hard
> The issue I see with getting this meme off the ground is no one, or almost no one, really wants to spend the time, effort, study, dialogue, scientific method, pain of changing positions necessary to do quality policy work. I'm a centrist, and have changed my mind in both directions (individual vs common responsibility) several times this year. Partisan politicians might call me a flip-flopper, but the difference is after doing considerable work in an area, and given a certain context, I don't mind admitting I was wrong or perhaps not fully informed. E.G. I am now not for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact because a 26% candidate in a four way race, that 74% of the public hates could become leader of the free world. (Nope not going there). Vice Versa; Decriminalizing Personal Drug Use is not best practice compared to a War on Chronic Drug Users' Behavior. 
> 
> Policy Work Doesn't Pay.
> Based on the work of your Canadian MacClean's People's Verdict, and subsequent work of Tom Atlee and Jim Rough, it really does take only about 12 diverse people to hear all sides of an argument and arrive at a solution the larger universe will embrace. BUT, who wants to employ 12 people to do this work? Maybe that should be in the Commons, but it isn't. My goal is to seat an editorial board at aGREATER.US to vet the policies and write new ones. That looks a lot like a public party. By writing content that can be used on multiple sites, it might be able to be done with "true-believer" volunteers.
> 
> The Ship May be Sailing
> If over the next few months these left/right/center groups do coalesce into a "network" or "movement" there really does need to be a best practice in general elections to rally around. The Top Two red herring will not help this as it taints future departures away from single mark ballots. I hope you folks can help give us the "answer" that can be sound-bited and reduced to an easily given elevator speech. I had an almost perfect math score on my college A.C.Ts, and while I could understand the posts of the last couple days, it is way too esoteric for me to explain to let's say my conference center staff where I work (until we close forever in two weeks, but that's another story).
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> Jon