Winston Grizzard

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What's Next?
Reaching out on consumer issues
By Winston Grizzard

The question for Greens, having realized some small gains in the 2004 election, is what next? How does the party remain energized and grow between election cycles? How do we attract nonvoters, those convinced no party represents their interests? This tract offers an electoral strategy to make the Green Party more competitive and to build a base of power among those who know their problems are ignored by the major parties.

We must begin by speaking to issues that are most important to the clear majority of people in this country. We won't have to convince them that these issues are important; Greens will only have to demonstrate that we are ready to fight on their behalf. We will be speaking about their quality of life/consumer issues such as the high cost of utilities, housing, health and auto insurance, higher education for their children and on and on.

By offering progressive solutions to issues like these (e.g., the corporate control and price rigging of home heating oil), we can begin to build a base among individuals who have been excluded from the political dialogue. Equally important, we will meet people at their primary concerns, rather than asking them to meet us at our concerns (Instant Run-off Voting, etc.). If we ignore their issues, we risk placing ourselves outside of the interests of the people we desire to represent.

If Greens do not reach out to ordinary citizens, whom then will we organize? Who will be attracted to our party? If we continue to push an agenda that appeals to the 2-3 percent who already support us, then we will never contend for power outside of places like California and liberal college communities.

Moving ahead on the consumer front does not mean that the Green Party will abandon our Ten Key Values or end our opposition to the war in Iraq and the right-wing attack on civil liberties. However, the Party must first and foremost identify and provide advocacy on issues that unite the American people.

Of course we will continue to take principled positions on vital but contentious issues that divide the American people (the right to choose, gay marriage, racial justice, etc.), but there are no issues that can unite the vast majority of the American people across racial, gender and class lines like fundamental consumer issues.

The vast majority of Americans believe:

• heating bills and/or electric rates are too high;
• mass transit is inadequate and too expensive;
• gasoline prices are too high;
• auto and health insurance is too high;
• health care is inadequate, inaccessible and too expensive;
• housing costs are too high.

A political party that provides consistent and effective leadership in demanding that these basic consumer necessities be available to all Americans at decent quality and prices they can afford will attract the attention and, if it maintains its advocacy and organizes effectively, the support of those Americans. No other set of issues provides this avenue of access to the American people.

One or more of these issues is always current in every American community. A political party that leads the opposition to the exploitation of citizens through petition campaigns, picket lines, and so on will develop public support on Election Day. Similarly, no issues better demonstrate the collusion of Republicans and Democrats with corporate power; electric deregulation in California is a shining example of this.

A plan of action

An informal network is forming that will encourage Greens to organize around local consumer issues through petitions, demonstrations, testimony at hearings or legislative committees and intervention in rate cases. (If a local Green Party were sufficiently mature and ambitious, it could engage individual consumer complaints such as payday loan sharking, lemon cars and predatory mortgages.) And from time to time, Greens nationally could push a shared issue in some way to be determined.

This network will offer analysis and advice to locals who would like to adopt a consumer-oriented approach to politics. We do not advocate ignoring larger national and international issues; but until the Greens evidence leadership around local issues, our party will remain marginalized.
Greens in Delaware have already successfully won rate freezes and a halt to layoffs from Potomac Power. And Philly Greens spearheaded the coalition that stopped the proposed service reduction and rate hike of SEPTA, the public transportation company that serves Philadelphia. If this analysis could benefit your local, contact oldnewleft@rcn.com for further information.

Winston Grizzard, co-founder of the GP-TN (1996) and the GPDE (2000), is currently a member of the GPPA.