PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS. EMAIL IT. PRINT IT OUT AND POST IT ON YOUR FAVORITE BULLETIN BOARD. A FEW MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE!
The biggest party in the State will be next February, but you have to request an invitation by next Wednesday.
Next Wednesday, December 5, is the deadline for affiliating with the political party of your choice to be to participate in the February 5 meetings that will be held across the state.
One survey has shown that only 8% of Colorado citizens even know these open meetings exist, and most of them don't attend. Why? Because of poor party leadership over the past couple of decades.
Why should you join a politcal party? Political parties with good leadership are the megaphone of the grassroots in America, the place where the humble voice of the common person is best heard.
February 5, 2008 the Colorado Caucus starts the process of not only nominating candidates for President and hundreds other local offices, but also of electing the leadership of both major political parties. The League of Women Voters says your voice and votes are most potent when you take the time every two years to participate!
My friend Sue said it best when she was still with us:
"(The Colorado Caucus is) a vibrant neighborhood forum for hashing out ideas-the last remaining arena in which you can get on the first rung of the ladder toward political effectiveness by just showing up." (Sue O'Brien, Denver Post Columnist, 10/6/2002)
How do you register? See
www.JohnWren.com, click on Colorado Secretary of State in the Pre-December 5 Caucus PR Contest Entries in the upper left hand box. While you're there, take a quick read through all the contest entries for a quick education about the Colorado Caucus. Warning: the New Era entry is semi-XXX rated video.
Why go to the February 5 caucus? It's the best way to get your voice heard in our political system. Whenyou vote in November, 2008 don't complain about the quality of the candidates if you didn't attend your neighborhood caucus!
Our US republic has three parts:
1) Our elected representatives at the local, state, and Federal level and the system that supports them;
2) The grassroots, the common person expressing him- or her-self to our elected representative directly, through political parties, and through interactive media; and
3) The elite, people able to exert extraordinary influence on our representatives and our grassroots because of their monetary and non-monetary power.
Together, these strands form the strong rope of our Republic, the source of our freedom and justice for 232 years (if we take the founding of what we now call the U.S. Marine Corp on November 10, 1775 as the true start of our country.)
Each of these stands is important, but the first among equals in our American Republic is the grassroots. Not the unchecked mob-rule of a direct democracy, but the humble participation in our processes of freedom, being an active participant in reading, discussing the issues, and then electing and holding accountable our representatives.
Our two party system has served us well. Ego driven third parties almost always backfire. Both Ross Perot and his party and Ralph Nader and his party got the candidate they'd least like to see in power elected.
Some criticize the Democrats and Republicans, saying there is no real difference between them. Well, do we really want a big difference? To win elections each party must move towards the middle of what the country wants. Democrats usually stress justice; Republicans usually stress freedom; but both are for freedom and justice. (over)
Demonizing the other side is sometimes just good fun, but too often sharp attacks are a tool of manipulation, the cheap shot of poor leadership and talk-radio.
There are good Democrats and good Republican. It's like choosing up sides in a touch football game, does it really matter if you are a shirt or a skin, a red or a green? Two teams enables a healthy contest, but at the end of the day there is something very wrong with my thinking if I hate the other side.
Registering as a Democrat or a Republican is just a tool, your ticket to the process that starts at the February 5 caucus with your neighbors, where the League of Women Voters has said you can best make your voice heard and your votes count.
To find out more, talk with someone like Sue O'Brien who has seen the system work under good leadership a couple of decades back. Ask your favorite newspaper to write an article about our Colorado Caucus system and its history, and ask your local librarian for information. Join us for the new Denver Grassroots Rally (we may be moving our meeting time and place, to get a notice of each meeting RSVP yes/no/ or maybe at http://cocacop.meetup.com/2.)
If nothing else, go to a nursing home and talk with someone who has been involved in politics here in Colorado. They will remember, and you can help us recreate on February 5, what Sue knew was and with good party leadership potentially still is
"the last remaining arena in which you can get on the first rung of the ladder toward political effectiveness by just showing up."
Will you help us restore our Colorado grassroots?
John Wren www.JohnWren.com is a business consultant and adult educator. He is the founder of the new Denver Grassroots Rally. His is currently the GOP Denver District 5 Captain. He can be contacted at (303)861-1447 or
JohnSWren@aol.com. Join John Wren each Friday afternoon for these free meetings:
Denver IDEA Café Startup Workshop. 2 pm, Panera Bread, 13 th & Grant St. Free and open to all, we just as you bring your brain for the brainstorming. Info & RSVP at
http://ideacafe.meetup.com/1
Denver Grassroots Rally, 4 pm, Panera Bread, 13 th & Grant St. Like a poetry reading for politics. Sign up sheet to speak opens at 3:30 pm, or RSVP at
http://cocacop.meetup.com/2 This afternoon we will be discussing the Colorado Caucus system, or whatever else is on your mind. Join us!
Vote in the Denver Grassroots Rally Pre-December 5 Caucus PR Contest!
Check out the entries on
www.JohnWren.com, then email your vote for the top 3 to
JohnSWren@aol.com by December 7 or come to our December 8 Denver Grassroots Rally (see above) where we will collect final votes and announce a winner. It's not too late to enter! Start a blog, write a letter, shoot a video! Email your entry to
JohnSWren@aol.com or deliver it to John Wren at the front desk of the Colburn Hotel, 960 Grant Street, Denver by midnight, December 7. Questions? Call (303)861-1447.