Project Update, Thank You, and More Thoughts
I know I haven’t posted in a while, and I apologize to any who’ve been anxious for an update.
So far, the project is actually going pretty well. We haven’t picked up any real party connections yet, but I can finally say “We” with some meaning. A few new people have come on board, and I’d like to welcome the first people to join the project. Steve will be heading up the graphic design needs, so we should have a logo, some printed matter, and an improved site design soon. Marc Lefton, who created adholes.com, has come on board as our new Social Marketing Director, which will be a crucial position when we start reaching out over Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Adholes, and other similar sites. Steve Woolsey, an up and coming musician and a new marketing professional in Buffalo, will be our new Art Director/Graphic Designer. Additionally, Dan Mahoney of Gushi Systems has graciously offered hosting and technical services for our web system, and we should be switching from GoDaddy to Gushi in the next month or so, hopefully as the new site design hits.
The past few weeks, it seems like I’ve talked with everyone I’ve met about the Polypartisan concept. I’m learning a lot about what needs to be done and what obstacles will be faced. I have come to feel that the largest obstacles to true polypartisan or apartisan (without parties) representation are doubt, fear, and lack of understanding.
Doubt is perhaps the largest obstacle we will have to address, and make no mistake, it has served to hold America bound to the bipartisan system for many years. The basic principle is that voters don’t believe that their vote for an alternate option will be effective. There is an element of truth to this, but it is a social construct and a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is the collective doubt itself that makes the votes ineffective, and it ties directly to fear. If our voters don’t know that their vote for a third party candidate will result in that candidates election, we’ll see a kind of “Bradley effect” as they change their minds in the voting booth to defect to a major party in following with their doubt and fear.
Fear represents an overwhelming obstacle in a number of ways, but the greatest is the worry that, “If I vote for a third party candidate, I’ll be throwing my [Democrat/Republican] vote away, and the election can tip to the [Republican/Democrat] instead because of me.” The so-called Nader Effect, based on the hypothesis that, if most of Ralph Nader’s votes had instead gone to Al Gore in 2000, then Al Gore would have won. This is a real phenomenon, and we should not dismiss it. It is a natural consequence of “first past the post” voting systems, and I maintain that we should eventually strive to replace FPTP with instant runoff or proportional representation. (The Constitution does mandate FPTP, but only for the President and Vice President, and even those have a complex system of exceptions; conversely, other systems are often employed in America for local elections.)
Fear not- There’s Hope! Still your Doubts- Have Faith! Indeed, recent political elections have shown that Hope and Faith can overcome fear and doubt. Hope that the future can be better. Faith that with our efforts, it will. It will only work if we believe it works: if a voter is confident that their third party vote will make a difference, not only will they follow through with the vote, but they will feel confident and involved because of it. And when that candidate wins, and does a great job as a Representative, those voters will be more motivated to volunteer and help get the message out.
The key to all this is understanding. Faith and Hope will only come about through knowledge and understanding of the issues and concepts. The central role of this campaign is to educate people about the possibilities and values we stand for. We need to disseminate these ideas, not just to our potential voters in our targeted districts, but to everyone. I’m only expecting about 2% of the country at large to be eligible to vote for our candidates in 2010, but everyone you meet is a potential volunteer. There is so much opportunity for involvement. I’m really excited about the start we are getting, and even though we’re just a few people so far, that means a lot. I can’t overemphasize that what we are planning to do has never been done before, and will be done against overwhelming odds and powerful opposition. So every person who gets involved will play a crucial role.
Just a quick reminder about urgent jobs that still need people:
- Researchers to identify parties, party contacts, and candidates
- Researchers to compile data about parties, assigning issue categories and “rating” positions
- Writers to expound upon these ideas and share them outside of this site
- Representatives to make contact with parties and candidates
- An attorney to ensure our compliance with election and lobbying laws, to help file any necessary registrations, and to defend against legal attacks.
- An organizational professional to help determine the organizations structure and legal status.
Many more tasks will be needed as we move forward, and hopefully things will get extremely busy. If you think you may want to get involved down the line, even if not yet, please don’t hesitate to contact me anyway, even if just to help me gauge the level of interest out there.
(By the way, there is no money at this point, and until our economic and legal status is established, there can be none except that of my solitary and meager personal income. Ergo, the last two bullets are rather crucial.)