An Open Letter to the Democratic Party

December 10, 2003

Democratic National Committee
430 S. Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003

California Democratic Party
1401 21st St, Ste 100
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Democratic Party:

I have been a Democrat since I was 18 (almost 25 years). When I
first
registered to vote, I assumed as a matter of course that I'd be a
Democrat
for as long as I lived. But the recent mayoral race in San Francisco has

changed my mind. Today, I called the San Francisco Elections Department
and requested a new registration form, so I could change my party
affiliation to Green. I am writing to tell you why.

The mayoral campaign of Green Party candidate Matt Gonzalez was
an energetic, impassioned, grassroots progressive effort, the likes of
which
I've never seen in my nearly 25 years as a voter. People worked for
Gonzalez who had never been involved in politics to this degree, and
despite the tremendous financial and institutional resources of the
Democrat Gavin Newsom, they made the race an extremely close one.

Gonzalez's supporters are young, enthusiastic progressives, both

Greens and Democrats, who were willing to put in a tremendous amount of
work for a candidate they believed in. And their commitment and
intensity
could have been a powerful resource for the Democratic Party, especially

in the upcoming presidential election.

Instead, you chose to marshal the full force of the Democratic
Party
against them, not just locally but on a state and national level. You
even
sent in both former president Clinton and former vice president Gore to
make appearances for Gonzalez's opponent. In doing so, you have
alienated
Gonzalez�s supporters and made them even more angry and disillusioned
with the Democratic Party than they already were.

I am gravely disappointed that you chose to use your visibility
and
resources to defeat a candidate from the left, rather than working to
fight
our common opponents in the Republican Party. And I am by no means
the only Gonzalez supporter who feels this way. The Green Party -- its
candidates, officials, and voters -- share many of the same goals as the

Democrats, and they could potentially be strong allies of yours.

In fact, they already are -- most Greens currently vote
Democratic in
most important elections. But by putting such a high-profile national
effort
into defeating the Green candidate -- a candidate who represents
Democratic ideals far better than the actual Democratic candidate for
the
office -- you have shown yourselves once again to be short-sighted,
cowardly, and somehow both craven and stupid.

I'm not going to resort to dishonest hyperbole and say that I'll
never
vote Democratic again. I almost certainly will, at least in big
elections
such as the 2004 presidential race. But I am now far less willing to
support Democrats in local and statewide elections, and far more likely
to
vote Green. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Representative Nancy Pelosi
will
no longer have my vote. And I am unlikely to ever again donate money or
volunteer my time to support the Democratic Party or any of its
candidates
for any office. You have disappointed me many times before, but this
election was the last straw.

If the recent San Francisco mayoral election was any indication,
the
Democratic Party is scared to death that the Green Party might become a
real political power. And frankly, you should be scared. Your party has
been taking progressives for granted, assuming that you can count on our

support no matter how often you betray us -- and if the Greens continue
to
gain in strength, this will no longer be the case.

The Greens represent the ideals that the Democratic Party once
stood
for and has abandoned for corporate largesse, and the fact that they
came
as close as they did to winning this race should make you pay
attention. But
putting such a strong, high-profile effort into defeating them is not
going to
help your cause. It is going to have the opposite effect. It is going
to alienate
your progressive base even further than you already have.

Shame on you.

Sincerely,
Greta Christina
San Francisco

cc:
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Examiner
New York Times
Washington Post
Mother Jones
Harper's
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Representative Nancy Pelosi
Green Party USA
Green Party of California
San Francisco Green Party
Supervisor Matt Gonzalez
-- -Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island
http://www.anaphoria.com
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