But the Greens have proven, through McKinney and David Cobb, they practice the same rituals they condemn. McKinney does more harm to the Greens than good.

The following articles explain my feelings pretty well:

http://www.counterpunch.org/walsh12302008.html

http://www.examiner.com/x-14373-Progressive-Geopolitics-Examiner~y2010m1d20-Memo-to-the-Green-Party-Ditch-Cynthia-McKinney

http://www.counterpunch.org/miller08072004.html

Thanks for enjoying my news.

About Robert’s Rules of Order:

Robert’s Rules of Order have many benefits. They come out of hundreds of years of parliamentary culture, with some aspects of democracy mixed in. And, they are a great place to set “common law” when new people and people from various backgrounds get together.

Though, Robert’s Rules came out of a patriarchal/heirarchal culture. They are not very friendly to minority positions. They give a lot of power to “the chair”. And, they are missing many lessons of consensus and group process learned by modern day progressives.

When a group uses Robert’s Rules, people who have been successful in this dominant culture have an upper hand. So, people who are lawyers, people with higher education, people who have been invited into leadership circles, they all have an advantage over young people, people from low-socioeconomic groups, people of diversity who have not been given chances such as working on community or non-profit boards in the past. When we adopt Robert’s Rules, we are giving the culture of power an advantage again inside our own organization.

Greens struggle with this all the time when trying to formulate meeting rules.

Here is what my response/suggestion has been in the past:

If you do not have a set of “core rules”, the bullies have more power in some way anyway. So, what often works is to do what the GPNYS had done for a long time…Make your by-laws say that Robert’s Rules if the fallback position when consensus process fails. Or, something like “Robert’s Rules will be the policy or rule applied where our own rules do not speak to an issue or process.”

Some greens also do something like give a regular time for all proposals, or set the time at the beginning of a discussion, and if there is not a consensus decision by the end, you start over again with Robert’s Rules or a called vote.

What government decision IS NOT a conspiracy?

So, guess Dennis and I disagree a lot.

In addition, have to pull out the old Gandhi quote (Sorry for old friends who have heard me say it before, but Gandhi was just a little wise):

First, they ignore you.
Then, they mock you.
Then, they attack you.
Then, you win.

Glad to see and read this.

Here’s another interesting Green Party story out of Minn… “..the Green Party caucus, held at the Lincoln Community Center…The caucus, run with a relatively rigid adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order”

adherence to ROBERT’S Rules of Order…

Would like to see all state Green Parties run by Robert’s Rules of Order…

Here’s story..

http://mankatofreepress.com/local/x1687376408/Caucus-Independents-Greens-embrace-the-moment

Are you saying that an old man who studies consumer rights and lectures around the country is cooler than an energetic, wise, black woman who was a Congressperson until she shouted truth to power?

Guess we see things differently.

I respect Nader and McKinney, each in their own right. Neither is perfect. But, both have done a lot to teach Americans about government and the duopoly. And, they are both kind of cool….

But, Cynthia rocks.