The Status Quo - everyone talks about it, but what supports it?

The two-party system is the status quo in the United States. We all know this like we know the sky is blue. I have been doing a lot of thinking about what pillars or foundation the current system of power rests on, and I have come up with some ideas. These pillars are by no means a comprehensive inventory of how the status quo remains in place, but they are important pieces of the puzzle.

If you want change, you have to collapse one or more of the pillars that the status quo rests on. Ready for some demolition?

The Pillars:

1. Corporate and Special Interest campaign financing. Corporations and special interest want to stack the sytem to their advantage, so they donate - as individuals, via political action committees, via 527 issue-groups, etc.
2. Politics has been turned in to a spectator sport. Either by accident or by design, the two major parties have turned politics in to a spectator sport, where supporters sit in the stands and cheer for their team, but never take the field as players, or even work the sidelines. Their job is to simply make noise when their side tells them to. Citizen politicians are by far the minority in elected office, especially at the federal level. The career politician, supported by special interest financing, and an army of paid political operative, run the show, and amateurs need not apply.
3. Winner-take-all voting for single-seat elections. When elections roll around, we are sternly warned by the status quo not to waste our votes on third party or independent candidates. The participation of these candidates is somehow a problem, and a "spoiler." This voting system, and the message put out regarding it, serve as a method to coerce people into not voting their conscience. All registered Democrats must for a Democrat, no matter what. All registered Republicans must vote for a Republican, no matter what. Independents may vote for either a Democrat, or a Republican, but NOT for an independent candidate and not for a third party candidate.

In order for a system to collapse or be forced to change, at least one of these pillars must be kicked out from underneath it. I am aiming for #3. And you?

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Daryl Northrop

My segment from The Alyona Show on RT Television

Here is my segment on campaign finance reform and related issues from The Alyona Show on RT Television. The link to all their segments is on YouTube here.

It was great to be on so viewers could hear about campaign finance from somone outside of the two corporate-dominated parties!

Enjoy the segment...

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Daryl Northrop

Shameless self-promotion: Will be on the Tee Vee tonight!

Hello everyone!

I was contacted by a producer for The Alyona Show on RT Television, a Russian network with offices here in DC.

The topic will be campaign finance reform, something I believe strongly in. Elections should be contests of big ideas, not big fundraising contests. Glad that they will be including a Green Party organizer in their show to give a real life example of a group of citizens forming a political groupo that is not dominated by PAC and corporate cash.

I should be on sometime between 6pm and 7pm EST. In the DC area, tune in at: ch. 274 (Comcast),ch. 34 (RCN), ch.455 (Fios), ch. 474 (Cox) or ch. 30.4 with your antenna. You can also watch the show in live streaming at www.rt.com/usa.

Below is a full-length broadcast from a previous week

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Daryl Northrop

Why are Green Party candidates better? Take a look at the video:

Why Are Green Party Candidates Better? from Tom Tresser on Vimeo.

These are real citizens running real campaigns. They are not funded by corporations and PAC's, so they can do what the Republicans and Democrats cannot do, and that is represent you.

Click here to learn more about Green Party candidates in Illinois.

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Daryl Northrop

Green Party of PA running multiple candidates

The Green Party of Pennsylvania is running multiple candidates for office this fall! Per this post at the Houston Examiner, the GPPA will be running one US Senate, on Congressional, and four state house representative campaigns. Way to go!

The author of the article raises two very good points, in one race, a candidate needs to raise $2 million to be considered a "serious" candidate. In another race, the magic amount is $500k! These are challenging fundraising goals for even Democratic and Republican candidates, who are lavishly funded by corporate special interests.

This raises an important question: should elections be big fundraising contests, or, should they be contests of big ideas and leadership?

Greens support comprehensive campaign finance reform, so that voters can know that their candidates are fueled by real citizen support, and are not beholden to special interests. When you are choosing a candidate, ask yourself "where does their funding come from?" Does it come from individuals like yourself, or does it come from corporations, unions, or political action committee's? It matters.

The Green Party: standing up for real campaign finance reform. We practice what we preach - no funding from corporations, unions, political action committees.

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Daryl Northrop