Forum Post: Public Policy and Political Strategy Working Group formation
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 10:30 p.m. EST by OwenSanders
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Tomorrow night, I'm proposing to the Portland GA that we form a Public Policy and Political Strategy Working Group to assist the GA in articulating its grievances and coming up with public policy proposals and the political strategies necessary to enact them. The committee would consist of 12 people. Half of them would be professors and academics with relevant expertise recruited from local colleges and universities such as Reed College and PSU, and half would be ordinary citizens from within the camp. The citizens would rotate out of the committee on a weekly basis so everyone would have a turn. The academic members would have to be consensually voted in by the General Assembly after giving a brief speech to the GA explaining their relevant experience and general political stance.
I want to stress that this working group would be entirely answerable to the people and to the GA. The purpose would not be to dictate to the group what we should be striving for, but to help us to see clearly what our points of commonality are and what laws and proposals we can all get behind as a community.
If you’re interested in making this project into a reality or hearing the outcome of the GA proposal tomorrow night, please contact me at 503-459-6391 or owensanders@gmail.com.
The vast majority of the American public is not behind us...yet. It is ill-advised to enter into an uphill fight in a flawed political system before that is so. It is equally unwise to be formulating demands. Each new demand is an opportunity for a potential ally to dismiss us as not representing their perceived interest. The only thing that the 99% will be able to unify behind during this period of distortion and misrepresentation is the belief that, in this country, people have the right to peacefully assemble and speak their minds. This is the totality of what should be done. This act alone is intolerable to the 1% and their functionaries. It is more than enough to create the violent repression that will bring new individuals into the movement. Civil disobedience beyond this simple scope is premature. This is a long fight, breaking the law and inconveniencing the 99% will not create empathy. Disobedience should only be exercised to the extent necessary to defend our right to freedom of assembly. I demand only to exercise my right to peacefully assemble in a public and accessible location and to voice my dissent. Everything else is incidental.