"All politics is local." - Former House Speaker Tip O'Neill
|
Politics/Congress LOCAL APPROACHES
An illustrative bottom-up approach is that taken by the Ann Arbor, MI area
community. This work is very difficult (even impossible) to do alone, so the first task, of
course, is to identify a half-dozen like minded individuals. This can be done in several
ways.
Our next task in Ann Arbor was to attempt to agree on an organizing statement, evaluate our assets, and begin community outreach. Community outreach has taken various forms; letters/op-eds, leafleting churches, protest actions at local venues (including arrests), local and national speakers, booths at local art fairs, hiring a banner plane to fly over the University of Michigan stadium, etc. We have also managed to get two resolutions on the sanctions issue passed by our local City Council. The first resolution (4/5/99) was analogous to a resolution passed by the Detroit City Council welcoming Bishop Thomas Gumbleton to speak in the city. Our council allows 32 minutes of public comment on any topic (8 speakers), and we managed to occupy the vast majority of those segments in both the council meeting in which the resolution was passed, as well as in the previous council meeting. We also had numerous people calling their councilmembers and asking them to support the resolution. In short, we did a LOT of homework, and the Council responded with unanimous support for the Resolution. This in spite of a local newspaper that roundly castigated Council for its actions. Our second foray into Council politics took place on 7/17/00, in order to recognize the tenth anniversary of the imposition of sanctions. This was a much more encompassing resolution, tying the sanctions issue into military spending and budget priorities in general. Once again, we followed the basic homework format of the previous resolution, and despite an Ann Arbor News editorial against the resolution on the day of the vote, Council passed the Resolution with but one dissenting vote. Our next step was to distribute the resolution widely, along with directions for modifying it for local use, and we are attempting to have similar resolutions passed in other Michigan cities. Next we will move to the state level. It is true that Ann Arbor has a reputation as a "liberal outpost", and it was no doubt easier for us to generate support here than would be the case in many other cities. Nevertheless, I was surprised at how powerful the argument against sanctions was in convincing fair-minded people of more conservative political views. In our council, 5 Democrats and 2 Republicans (including the Mayor) voted for the resolution. Also be aware that virtually nobody on the local level is likely to make a strong organized argument in favor of the sanctions. Genocide is a tough sell. But be aware of the response of "It's all Saddam's fault", and consult the information packets for the Ann Arbor resolutions for refuting arguments. Keep in mind that politicians respond to numbers, and the more people you have contacting a politician, the more optimistic the outcome. It doesn't take that many; Jesse Jackson, Jr. reportedly signed the recent Campbell/Conyers letter to the President after less than half a dozen constituents contacted him. Statements by cities/counties against sanctions: ACTION: Modify the Ann Arbor Resolution for use in your community. It contains powerful arguments in terms of military spending per capita for the local community, and contrasts that number with the amount spent on local city services and education. |
