Proposals for Action

Political

Imagine. At the same time each month, an average of 2,300 people in each Congressional district urge their Congressperson to take action in support of progressive social change. Those one million Americans could have an enormous impact. If they shared a common long-term vision, they could eventually help transform American society.

Only some 40,000 votes can win a primary election. Since Congressional districts are relatively small, grassroots candidates can rely on inexpensive person-to-person contact to prevail. For these reasons, the progressive movement needs to focus on the House of Representatives like a laser beam.

The American people hold progressive positions on most issues. If Congress respected the will of the people, this country would be much different and much improved. We need a mechanism to overcome our fragmentation so that we can press Congress effectively.

A Million Member Monthly Mobilization would energize progressives and build momentum by winning concrete victories that improve people’s lives.

The Monthly Mobilization could give discouraged people hope.

The Monthly Mobilization could galvanize people who have little free time, including people already deeply involved in activism.

Members would choose their own method of contact. They could make a phone call, send an email, mail a letter, visit their Congressperson's local office, organize a picket line, or leaflet people in shopping areas.

Members could press their demands at monthly Congressional Community Dialogues, which the Monthly Mobilization could convene along with other community-based organizations. At these public forums, to which the Congressperson would be invited to participate or send a staff person, randomly selected constituents would make statements or ask questions on any subject related to “how we can improve America.”

When appropriate, Monthly Mobilization members could also be encouraged to communicate with their Senators and the President on the same issue. But since the Monthly Mobilization’s top priority would be the House of Representatives, members would contact their Congressperson first (and that's all that many members would do).

In addition, Monthly Mobilization members would organize social, cultural, educational, recreational, and other enriching activities to foster self-improvement, supportive friendships, cultural celebrations, and a sense of community. Some of these events could be open to the public.

One example would be to convene small “soul sessions." Small groups of twelve or less would gather periodically to share a meal and then engage in focused conversation with one another on “what is happening in my life.”

With this approach, the Monthly Mobilization would not compete with other organizations and would not aim to be the premier progressive voice. Other organizations would continue to do what is needed during the rest of the month to achieve lasting change. The Monthly Mobilization would support demands developed by other organizations, rely on the leadership and literature of those organizations, encourage members to join those organizations, leave the negotiation of compromises to those organizations, invite organizations that actively support the Monthly Mobilization to nominate a representative to the Monthly Mobilization's board of directors, and only take one joint political action a month.

In these ways, relationships with other organizations would be cooperative, not competitive. The Monthly Mobilization would provide concentrated, timely, limited backing to efforts undertaken by others, thereby helping those organizations achieve more than they could otherwise. Activist organizations would endorse the Monthly Mobilization, encourage their members to participate in the monthly action, and nominate a representative to the Monthly Mobilization board of directors,

By agreeing to founding documents that would articulate a clear, coherent worldview and basic, long-terms goals, the Monthly Mobilization would:

• attract people who want to contribute to fundamental social change and help correct underlying causes of chronic problems rather than merely apply Band-Aids;
• be able to take quick, timely action in support of a whole range of progressive issues;
• be able to stay together over time because its members would not be satisfied with any one victory or discouraged by any one defeat.

To maximize its effectiveness, the Monthly Mobilization would need to be a democratic, member-controlled organization. This goal could be achieved, in part, with the following methods:

• Each year, members nationwide would elect one-third of the board of directors.
• The board and staff would be diverse and representative of the American people.
• The board would not micro-manage but rather would adopt written policies to guide the organization, hire an executive director, and regularly evaluate that director.
• The executive director would delegate authority, establish democratic work teams among the staff, and establish a mechanism for determining the monthly action quickly.

As ambitious as this plan is, it could be achieved through a series of steps. First, a small, diverse initial organizing committee consisting of only a few people forms. Members of this committee pledge at least three hours a week to review proposals, participate in decision-making, and help build the Monthly Mobilization.

This organizing committee drafts the founding documents, perhaps using the Declaration for a New America as a starting point.

To assure diversity, the committee expands by invitation only. Though they may not agree with every sentence, organizing committee members generally endorse the founding documents. As they see the need, the organizing committee modifies the founding documents, based in part on input from people invited to join the organizing committee.

Once the founding documents are complete, the organizing committee then finalizes additional organizing materials, including an organizing plan, an application for membership, and a pledge to recruit members. The organizing plan might include a stipulation that a certain number of members, perhaps 200,000, must be recruited prior to launching the monthly mobilizations, so that members would be assured that their efforts would be effective.

The organizing committee then begins to recruit members. In addition to endorsing the founding documents, applicants for membership could be required to first recruit at least three other people to sign a pledge to recruit other applicants, who would sign the same pledge. Applicants would identify their recruits on the application and the national office would confirm that those recruits had signed the pledge before accepting the application. In this way, the organization could grow through person-to-person recruitment.

Prior to reaching the threshold required for launching the monthly mobilizations, members could be encouraged to organize informal, enriching activities with other members in their Congressional district. These efforts could focus on developing simple structures for such activities. These methods could then be posted on the organization’s website for consideration by other members.

In these ways, step by step, the Million Member Monthly Mobilization could build itself into a formidable force.