Occupy The Ballot?

From The Northern Virginia Green Party http://www.novagreens.org/journal/2011/11/14/is-occupy-wall-street-transforming-into-an-electoral-movemen.html

Occupy Wall Street, and its related regional and local movements, have captured the attention and imagination of American's everywhere who fight for the rights of the 99% (in simple terms, that everyone who isn't a millionaire). The current political system serves the needs of the top 1% of income earners and wealth-owners quite well. They and their corporations fund the candidates, and the PAC's, and the think tanks, and the research instutions that support their system of greed. The "Occupy" movement has been characterized by a populist, non-partisan orientation. Meaning, they support values and policies that lift up the poor, the middle-class, and the small business owners, while standing against huge corporations that buy off our politicians, and send our jobs and profits overseas.

Read more here

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Daryl Northrop

4 issues for the Northern Virginia Greens

Hello readers-

The Northern Virginia Green Party has been working on our slate of top issues to continue organizing and outreach around, and to serve as a focus of any possible electoral activity.

Here they are, the 'fantastic four' - they include the issue, the value statement that underlies the Green Party thought on the issue, and the policy statement that follows.

1. ISSUE: Smart, sustainable, local development. VALUE STATEMENT: We believe that everyone should be able to support themselves and their family through the value of their work. Creating a vibrant, sustainable, and diverse local economy is essential to sustaining and improving the quality of life for everyone in Northern VA. POLICY STATEMENT: The Green Party stands in support of Northern VA small business, and advocates for the robust support of local small business owners who provide the majority of job opportunities and growth in this region. Northern VA governmental efforts and public development funds should be directed to support locally owned small to mid-sized businesses, and not used to subsidize the corporate welfare of large multinational companies.
2. ISSUE: Green jobs and renewable energy. VALUE STATEMENT: We believe that responsible stewardship of our natural resources is the moral duty to current and future residents of the region. Our prosperity and economic development depend on developing new forms of sustainable energy. POLICY STATEMENT: The Green Party supports the development and use of renewable and zero-emission energy sources. The highly educated human resources, and technologically advanced capital resources of Northern VA should be directed to creation of thousands of new Green Jobs focused on creating new, cleaner energy sources.
3. ISSUE: Full support of our soldiers and veterans. VALUE STATEMENT: Soldiers and veterans who have taken an oath to protect our nation and citizens have more than earned the right of full support when they return from service and/or re-enter civilian life. POLICY STATEMENT: The Green Party supports soldiers and veterans in our region. Medical care, psychological care, education, job training are the focus of Green Party programs that honor the dedication and sacrifice our citizens soldiers are called to make for their country.
4. ISSUE: Fair trade and local/regional trade. VALUE STATEMENT: We believe that a strong local and regional economy based on fair trade is vital to supplying meaningful work, respecting the rights of the individual, and supporting a decent standard of living for all in the region. POLICY STATEMENT: The Green Party supports the growth and development of local and regional markets through new and enhanced "Buy Local" programs, the establishment of regional trade links, and working to link local consumers with local and regional small business.

Questions, comments? Let me know!

Welcome back, sort of!

Hello everyone! Thank you for your patience while DarylNorthrop.com was constructed and the content from the old blog migrated over. Much thanks to the hard working coder folks at SquareSpace for making it easy enough for even ME to accomplish with a minimum of cursing and heartache.

While this blog will be where I post my thoughts and ideas about all things Green Party, it will be a work in progress. This will also be the site where I start my work as a political consultant for Green Party candidates in the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia regions. One of the main goals when I started grad school at George Washington University in their Political Management program was to bring an effective, professional level of political consultancy to Green Party efforts. The goals being to increase organizational strength, coordinate and streamline messaging/outreach, and most importantly - help Green Party candidates win at the ballot box.

Because that's where the rubber hits the road.

So in the near future, check back to the site often for blog updates - (you can subscribe to them via RSS on the left side of the screen above my Twitter feed), and new content as I get the consulting side of this venture up and running. Also, if you are a fellow political hack and are reading this, unsolicited advice is not only graciously accepted, but certainly needed.

Thanks again for stopping by.

Greens helping Greens

As a soon-to-be-graduating student from the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University is to help my fellow Greens and regional Green Party's (DC/VA/MD).

In the VA area, I am working with the Northern Virginia Green Party to help them get their message out. Right now, they are more focused on issue work, as opposed to electoral, which is fine. The chapter has recently started to get more active again, and it will take a bit of time to grow membership, energy, and finances to a point where supporting candidates for local office is viable. I look forward to helping them use email, twitter, facebook, youtube, and other tech tools to help them with the strategy. Helping them get control over their message and get the message out the community and press is something I think is vital!

Over in Maryland, the U.S. Senate race to unseat Senator Mikulski is heating up! Natasha Pettigrew, a Maryland native, and law school student at University of Miami has decided that it is time for Marylander's to stand up against the two party system - she is currently meeting with local Green Party's across the state, and working to earn their ballot. Today, she was in Baltimore, meeting with the Baltimore Green Party, and she will address other party groups in the near future. Natasha's energy, drive, and respect for the citizens of Maryland will make her a great candidate, and I look forward to assisting in her campaign!

2010 will be a busy year for me and my involvement with the area's Green Party groups!

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Daryl Northrop

Northern VA/Fairfax County Green Party meeting April 3rd

Hello everyone!
The Northern Virginia Green Party meeting is scheduled for:
Saturday, April 3rd 3pm
Oakton Public Library

10304 Lynnhaven Place

Oakton, VA 22124

Looking forward to a great meeting with a great group of people. The Northern Virginia Greens are looking to organize structurally, reach out to other groups, update their web presence, and plan for future elections. You can be a part! Stop by and meet citizens just like you who are taking control of their political futures.

The Green Party - Representing one special interest group: Citizens!

Great meeting with the Northern Virginia Greens on 02-20! Next mtg 03-27 (tentative)

I would like to thank the Northern Virginia Greens for a very informative meeting on 02-20-10 at Oakton Libary!

Around 10 local Greens met to discuss organizing and strategy regarding activism, the Green movement, and electoral politics. A review of Green Party members holding elected office shows that currently there are 4 elected Green Party members here in Virginia.

We also discussed the current events surrounding the radical expansion of corporate political power from the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court. This ruling expands the concept of corporate personhood to include unlimited political spending.

You might be scratching your head right now and wondering "Are you saying corporations are people?"

The Supreme Court said it in the late 1800's. Then in the late 1970's, spending money was ruled by the Supreme Court to be protected political speech. Now the Supreme Court combined two branches of already twisted logic to say that corporations may now spend unlimited funds to directly influence elections.

Paul Hughes of the Northern Virginia Greens presented Sierra Club's power point presentation on the history of corporate power in America. Very informative! Sierra Club's corporate personhood page is here, and the powerpoint may be downloaded here.

The Green Party supports the rights of citizens, first and always. Corporations are not people, they should not have the rights of individuals, and they should absolutely not have political rights. Too much power is concentrated in the hands of far to few corporations.

The next meeting of the Northern Virginia Greens is scheduled tentatively for March 27th. I will announce it on my blog as soon as I hear, or you can always check the Northern Virginia Green Party website.

Not in Northern VA and want to link up with your local Green Party? GREAT! Go to the national Green Party site and you can find a link to the Greens in your area. Click here.

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Daryl Northrop