Comments for greenpolitics.ca

Comment on Where did it all go wrong? by Stuart Hertzog

Stuart Hertzog — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:21:58 +0000

The more you read, the sweeter I sound.

Comment on Where did it all go wrong? by Brittany

Brittany — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 00:04:48 +0000

I didn’t read too much of this but you sound really bitter…

Comment on Time for a Liberal-Green Coalition? by Jim Vav

Jim Vav — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 03:51:25 +0000

Bob Rae was in Calgary July 16 for a Liberal Party roundtable on renewal. I put forward the idea of a merger of the Liberal Party with the Green Party, for many of the reasons you suggest. A number of people I spoke to later that day were open to the idea. Or at least too polite to say it was a bad idea. I hope there are enough people in both parties to put some momentum into the merger idea.

Comment on Time for a Liberal-Green Coalition? by Hipwood

Hipwood — Mon, 09 May 2011 04:38:23 +0000

Interesting point of view – the country needs new progressive thinkers that can give hope for the future.

Comment on Where did it all go wrong? by Stuart

Stuart — Fri, 06 May 2011 21:20:14 +0000

Great to hear from you again, Alan! I hope the years have been kind to you.

Those early years were full of hope and idealism, but the Green party today is a far cry from that idealistic time. This is not the same Green Party any more, as waves of dispossessed Red Tories and Green Conservatives have fundamentally altered the nature, membership, and aim of this political movement.

I don’t see any possibility of a big coalition uniting against Harper. Even if it did, it would have to be extra-parliamentary, as Harper has a strong parliamentary majority. But there is the very strong likelihood of many Liberal MPs defecting to the Greens as their party crumbles into obscurity.

I see the Greens displacing the Liberals to become the dominant centre-liberal party of Canada, with the NDP to their left and the Conservatives to their right. But as the Green party ascends to political power, it is very like to become diverted from its original aims and disconnected with its grass roots, just like the others.

The corporate industrial machine will grind on. Yes, everything is going very well….

Comment on Where did it all go wrong? by Alan Blanes

Alan Blanes — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:43:41 +0000

Hi Stuart -
I remember the sense of potential that was germinating in 1985. I attended the Alberta Green conference held at Vic Yanda’s house that year. I believe you were also there, and I found that this was the best seminar that I attended during the mid 1980s.

Your analysis is extremely valuable in steering the Green Party in a direction that will enable a genuine acculturation of democratic practices. Have you modified your position now that Elizabeth is representing the Green Party in the House of Commons? Do you have any recommendations that you could share on creation of a genuine grass roots policy development process – that does not get mired down in the distracting corporate/fund raising aspect to running a political party? I see by reading your web postings that you are interested in seeing an NDP revival, and with the success of the NDP in this week’s election, there is some potential for positive developments – provided that NDP supporters generate a public engagement process that enables community development to be something that is actively developed by the party machinery. I am amazed by how unfamiliar even many activists are with such important things as the Canadian Social Economy Hub, and CED [community economic development] in general. If you know of anyone in the Okanagan Valley that is interested in creating a steering committee to build these resoruces, I would be very grateful for your letting us know.

Hope everything has been going well with you since your days in Edmonton!

Comment on The Failure of Green Electoralism by Stuart Hertzog

Stuart Hertzog — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:58:54 +0000

Happy New Year to you, Mr. Shavluk. Soon, you will have your day in court. Good luck!

Comment on The Failure of Green Electoralism by Stuart Hertzog

Stuart Hertzog — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:57:09 +0000

Well put, John. It sounds like we need an entirely new Green party.

Comment on The Failure of Green Electoralism by Stuart Hertzog

Stuart Hertzog — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 17:55:06 +0000

For the Green Party to take politics seriously, it has to seriously examine its structure, its actual political philosophy, and how it behaves. It can’t just be a case of “full ahead and damn the torpedos,” Mark. That’s what it’s doing right now. Unfortunately, I doubt that the Green Party has the capacity to question itself at this time. I’m not too optimistic about its chances of surviving.

Comment on Where did it all go wrong? by Excited Delirium » Blog Archive » Green Party Backgrounder

Excited Delirium » Blog Archive » Green Party Backgrounder — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 11:48:49 +0000

[...] Original link here and background piece on the Failure of Green Electoralism. [...]