Forum Post: Occupy "Americans Elect"!
Posted 12 years ago on Feb. 9, 2012, 5:49 a.m. EST by gorillawill
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For those that aren't aware, there will be an 3rd party candidate on the ballot in all 50 states under the Americans Elect party. It would be great if that candidate supported the occupy message.
Currently Ron Paul is the #1 most supported and Bernie Sanders is #3, but with Occupy's support, just about anyone could be pushed to the top.
OWS would be foolish--wasting its clout--if it does NOT participate in Americans Elect.
AE has the POTENTIAL to transform politics in America. Buddy Roemer is my candidate and he has definitely expressed interest in aiming to be one of the six finalists on AE. For me, Buddy is the perfect first AE candidate--something of a rebel himself, running in an unconventional way, barred by Republican establishment from participating in the debates, and a good and "populist" type campaigner. Has the background, and he's a Harvard MBA educated banker who agrees with OWS that both Wall Street and the investment banks need reform. OWS doesn't have to endorse a candidate to be a powerful participant in AE, it can help by keeping up pressure on AE to be more transparent for one thing about its backers. I am what I call a"guarded" enthusiast. I want AE to succeed, I can live with a few things I don't like about its operation, and I read its critics like Irregular Times. But its potential is simply too amazing to not participate.
Only a few hundred thousand have joined Americans Elect so far and it seems like establishment Dems and Reps are avoiding it, fearful it will spoil their 2 party Presidential contest. Independents and Paulites are mostly participating so far, as well as OWS supporters. If OWS supporters got behind it with enthusiasm, they could help put another choice for Pres. on the November ballot in all 50 states. The AE process could revolutionize our political process and help it to evolve toward direct democracy (kind of like crowdsourcing for choosing leaders, making policy decisions, and perhaps eventually writing legislation. E Pluribus Unum may no longer be an imaginary ideal. Join AE, have an equal vote, and really make history
Americans Elect say they are not a political party, but they have become, essentially, an official political party in some states, and people can register as Americans Elect party members. In my state, for example, if someone registers as an Americans Elect party member, they can run for Congress or statewide office with just a single write-in vote in a primary they can force by filing as a write-in candidate with the secretary of state. They will then be the party's official candidate in November! We can not just "occupy" Americans Elect, but take it over completely on the state level because there is a whole power structure totally empty, since the AE leaders definitely do NOT want state parties, registered members -- they are focused totally on the presidential race. Check to see if Americans Elect is now an official party in your state. If it is, Occupy people can register as party members, run for office, and get a big platform for our views. (I am not mentioning our own state because this is going to be done covertly, and by the time it is, it will be too late for the Wall Street people who are funding the party to respond.)
That presumes there is a singular point of view in OWS regarding the Presidential elections. I've been to several different GAs and I am unaware of any consensus on the question. The dominant (though not universal) position seems to be that OWS as a movement should take no position on the question. Within that there are many points of view. Many OWS activists will choose not to vote. Some will vote for Obama. Others will vote for a third party candidate. All of which is as it should be. That is, the movement is not sufficiently mature to take a coherent position in the electoral arena. I suspect when it does the first offices we will run for is sheriff, which is the only elected office which is mandated to bear arms and if we win such an office it would put an armed force on our side, not against us and we could also deputize occupiers.
I agree with you on not having a singular message, and I certainly did not mean to suggest that OWS should endorse someone. I think that would be a terrible idea actually.
What I was suggesting is that OWS supporters likely look at the current choices and are unhappy with them. If these people went to Americans Elect and voted for their choices, there is a good chance that a more agreeable candidate could emerge. There has not been many people voting over on Americans Elect yet, so it would be great if the OWS supporters were to show their numbers
I fully realize that the point of Americans Elect was to find a 'centrist' candidate. However, this does not mean that OWS supporters could not subject its founders to the law of unintended consequences and get a real reformer nominated!
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