Tools

A lot of the recent discussion among Greens about MoveOn.org's success bemoans the fact that too few Green Parties are using the kind of grassroots e-mail activism and outreach that MoveOn has been using so effectively.

There are exceptions, of course, such as the campaign Linda Schade and Kevin Zeese launched in Maryland against their state's computer voting machine contract . They've pretty much discredited Diebold in Maryland.

Here are some suggestions for Greens, Green candidates, and local and state GPs who want to establish a strong e-mail communications operation that ties a lot of Greens and Green-friendly voters, activists, and media folks to the party, keeps them informed, ready to mobilize on important issues, etc.:

-- Put out a regular (weekly, biweekly) e-mail newsletter with a schedule of upcoming meetings and events, announcements, maybe a few news items or articles, and lots of links. A good model is the Weekly Bulletin issued by the Montana Greens . Send a note to Paul Stephens to get on his list -- it's a great read even if you're nowhere near Montana. State GP newsletters don't have to be as long, professional-looking, and inclusive as Montana's -- all you need is one party member to spend a few hours each week putting together and sending out a brief update that Greens and other progressives, environmentalists, reporters, etc. will come to depend on for information. As your mailing list grows, so will your pool of potential volunteers, supporters, and contributors for the party and for local and state Green campaigns. (And don't be afraid to include regular pitches for donations.)

-- Make sure everyone on your mailing list receives Greensweek , which comes out Monday of every week. You can also subscribe to receive it directly from us at . Send state and local announcements and news items to Greensweek at , so we can circulate your party's and candidates' news nationally.

-- Every state and local Green Party should have a media coordinator. Every Green candidate should have a media coordinator too, but if you have several Green candidates running in a single city, town, or county, one media coordinator might be willing to work for all of them. Put out regular press releases to all reporters and editors in your area (compile a list and keep adding to it) and to all Greens and friends of the party. Outstanding example: Tom Hutchings, who's running for the California State Assembly (33rd District) in 2004 and who already puts out a release a week on average. Tom's web site is also excellent, prominently featuring his appearance schedule, donation information, a good picture of him that reporters can download, and latest releases. (If your local party or campaign is just starting out with media work, press releases, etc., send me a note so the national Media Committee can provide some assistance and advice.)

-- Speaking of web sites: promote your party's and candidates' sites shamelessly. Every announcement, press release, etc. should feature your web site address prominently, at the top and at the bottom. Do everything you can to get people to your web site, and make sure your site is updated with news, useful information, and suggestions for action on various issues, as well
as solicitations for money and volunteers. Visit the web sites of other Green Parties, Green candidates, MoveOn.org, the Maryland campaigns against computer voting machines , and steal their best ideas.

-- Come up with actions on various issues of importance, especially actions in which lots of people can participate without having to devote long hours, such as e-mail letter writing campaigns and phone zaps (e.g., 150 people calling up a legislator in a single hour to urge passage or defeat of a bill). Use all the above channels to promote such actions.

Here's an idea for a letter-writing campaign right now: Newspapers are currently carrying articles about Ralph Nader's possible candidacy in 2004, with lots of whines from Democrats (and sometimes the reporter who wrote the article) about Greens spoiling, and claiming that no Green candidate is necessary because "Howard Dean is progressive" (ha ha). This is a good opportunity to send letters to the editor, noting that it was the Supreme Court and the Florida GOP that really spoiled in 2000; that 11 million Democrats voted for Bush while only 2 million voted for Nader; that the Green Party will decide whether, whom,
and how to run in 2004 at our Milwaukee convention in June; that the Green Party is not a progressive eco wing of the Dems but a permament party that's an alternative to the two established parties owned by corporations; etc., etc.

The more letters that get sent, the more likely a few will get published. Also, editors prefer letters that are short (3-5 sentences) and make their points vividly, concisely, dramatically, humorously.

-- Finally, do lots of NONpolitical things. Throw parties and picnics, organize concerts. New members will feel more at home with Greens if they get to know us on a personal and social level first. Remember that the civil rights movement began in African American churches, the gay rights movement in gay bars, the 60s student antiwar movement in dormitories. Every important political movement in history also had a cultural side to it, with music, art, theater, etc.

Recommended reading: "The Nonpolitical Side of Politics" by Sam Smith . Sam, editor of the The Progressive Review and a member of the DC Statehood Green Party, once observed that Democratic Party wardheelers were so successful at organizing in cities because they put newvolunteers on baseball teams.

In the article, Sam quotes Joe Hill, who once said, "A pamphlet, no matter how well-written, is read once and then thrown away -- but a song lasts forever."

This is the kind of stuff that our local Green Parties can do but MoveOn.org, which only exists in cyberspace, can't. The Green Party is something people should enjoy belonging to.

Scott McLarty
Media Committee, Green Party of the United States