BILL MOYER's BACKBONE CAMPAIGN

[paineinthearse]

I learned of the GOLDEN SPINE AWARD from the Barre-Montpelier (VT) Times Argus - http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050226/NEWS/502260372/1002/NEWS01 - see story below. This organization was started by BILL MOYER the day after the 'nauguration. See press release below.

http://www.backbonecampaign.org/



What is the Backbone Campaign?
The Backbone Campaign is a grassroots effort to embolden citizens and elected officials to stand up for progressive values. We are expanding the political dialogue by providing creative tools for citizens and the progressive movement. The backbone symbolizes an interlocking agenda, a coalition, and the personal courage necessary to fight for a future worthy of our children.

A PROGRESSIVE PARALLEL GOVERNMENT

The Backbone Campaign and a growing coalition of grassroots organizations from around the nation have come together to initiate a process to empower citizens to nominate and elect "The Backbone Cabinet, A Progressive Parallel Government"
Join the thousands of people who have already visited the site to add their nominations, ratings, and comments. - http://www.backbonecampaign.org/cabinet/

Join the Process! - http://www.backbonecampaign.org/cabinet/

[paineinthearse]

1. Formation press release

http://www.backbonecampaign.org/page.cfm?id=72

Following Inauguration, Citizen Group Urges New Direction for Democratic Party

WASHINGTON- On the day after inauguration a Seattle area group, The Backbone Campaign delivered a 70-foot spine to the Democratic Party headquarters asking the party leadership to take a more progressive approach to the country's challenges, and a stronger stance against what it calls the "Regressive policies" of the Bush Administration. The spine is the symbol of the Backbone Campaign, a citizen-driven project that seeks to embolden the Democratic Party.

"The backbone is our symbol for an interlocking agenda, a coalition, and the personal courage necessary to stand up for a future worthy of our children," said Bill Moyer, Executive Director of the Backbone Campaign.

As the group gathered in Folger Park on Friday morning, they called on the Democratic Party to elect new progressive leadership, adopt a bold grassroots strategy and articulate a clear progressive agenda.

Demonstrating their demands with symbolism, the group brought a 70-foot model of a human spine, with progressive agenda planks written on each vertebra. As the huge puppet rolled through the streets, festival artists led spectators singing and calling for a bold new direction for the Democratic Party.

"The Democratic Party has relied on progressives to swell its ranks, while we hold our noses and sacrifice our values to provide a united stand for the sake of elections," said Moyer. "Progressives are not a threat to the Democratic Party. We are its future, its only future. Without the support of the progressive base, the Democratic Party is doomed to irrelevance" he added.

The group urged voting members of the Democratic National Committee to honor their values and lifelong work by electing a leader who will be responsive to their base. They also urged Democratic members of Congress to introduce legislation to address the crisis of confidence in the electoral system with a Voter's Bill of Rights, and for Senate Democrats to vehemently oppose the "Piratization" of social security and right-wing cabinet and judicial Bush appointees.

The group is offering a Backbone Award, a symbol of courage, to those Senators who lead the effort to block the appointments of Condoleeza Rice and Alberto Gonzales. They claim that for the past three elections, Democrats have insisted that progressives have no better home than the Democratic Party, and griped if anyone considered voting for a third party candidate. However, according to the Backbone Campaign the Democrats have repeatedly put forth bland, ambiguous platforms and muted, losing candidates.

"The Democratic Party is at a crossroads right now. They can choose to either embrace or alienate their progressive base," said Bill Moyer. "The choices that the Democratic Party makes in the next month will resonate through history. They will either unite us or trigger an exodus of voters from the Democratic Party"

[paineinthearse]

2. VT Times-Argus - Liberals hope Dean stiffens party's spine

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050226/NEWS/502260372/1002/NEWS01

Liberals hope Dean stiffens party's spine

February 26, 2005

By Malia Rulon Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A year ago, an activist group from the Seattle area gave Howard Dean a thin, golden statue of a backbone. The Oscar-like award honored the former Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont governor for standing up against the Iraq war and other Bush administration policies. Now, as Dean settles into his new role as head of the Democratic Party, that golden spine has come to represent, for many liberal Democrats, Dean's potential to develop a tougher, take-no-prisoners attitude among the party faithful.

"There's no gut-check required for Dean. Dean just needs to be Dean," said Dal LaMagna, founder of the Progressive Government Institute. "He's the kind of person who's a collaborator, a facilitator. He's not someone who has a clique or who will only talk to people in his clique." In an e-mail sent to supporters Thursday, Dean said he has gotten an overwhelming response from "grass-roots Democrats" offering input on the party's agenda. "So many Democrats can't wait to get started. They want to grow our party from the ground up. And that's exactly what we're going to do," Dean said.

<snip>

Bill Moyer, executive director of the Backbone Campaign, said he hopes Dean will continue to be a leader among liberal Democrats and that his chairmanship will mark a turning point for the party. "Dean is the link to this progressive movement," Moyer said. "The Democratic Party can either use that or squander it."

The latest recipient of the golden backbone was Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio, who challenged Ohio's electoral college results from last November's election in Congress, forcing a rare debate in the House and Senate. Tubbs Jones said having a backbone, for Dean, may mean bringing liberal Democrats to the table with the rest of the party. "There are some that worry that he will move the party too far to the left, but I'm not worried about that," she said. "I think he will give definition to the party and allow Democrats to define the party instead of allowing Republicans to define us." Another golden spine recipient, Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, said the Democratic Party's problem is that it needs to stop talking in generalities and start articulating its message: "I don't know why the Democratic Party even exists if it can't advocate for universal health care and ending the war in Iraq."

more........

On the Net:

Democratic National Committee: http://www.dnc.org

Backbone Campaign: http://www.backbonecampaign.org/

[Andy_Stephenson]

3. I want to toot my own horn here...if I may

Backbone Presents Plaques to Alice Woldt and Andy Stephenson

by Jason

The Backbone Campaign presented two of our new Vertebra Award plaques at our benefit in Capitol Hill on Sunday, June 27th. The new plaques are meant to compliment our other award by recognizing people who have shown a spine in local politics or on a specific issue. The first recipient was Alice Woldt, a longtime peace activist and proponent of education and healthcare. Alice has been a constant voice for those who are most vulnerable in our society, and has decided to run for a state representative position because she felt the 32 year incumbent, Helen Sommers, was no longer in touch with the problems of her district. We applaud her courage to stand up to the status qou in the Democratic Party through this primary challenge. She has been a great voice for change, a courageous leader, and a constant community activist. Our second recipient was Andy Stephenson, a former candidate for Secretary of State who ran on the issue of Blackbox voting. Andy has traveled tirelessly around the state in his campaign bringing awareness to the lack of security in electronic voting machines. Now he is taking the expertise he gained in researching Bev Harris' book "Blackbox Voting" on to national activism on this issue. Andy ran a truly amazing grass roots effort in his campaign, which has made both the current Secretary of State and his challenger address the issue of voting machine security. His work has brought much needed attention to this issue and we applaud him for his work.

http://www.backbonecampaign.org/printme.cfm?ID=29

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. WTG, Andy!

Congratulations! :toast:

[paineinthearse]

5. Andy.....

:yourock:

I'm ashamed to admit I did not know about the organization until reading the VT article.

[Wilms]

7. I'm glad your mom raised a boy...

that knows about good posture.

(Belated) Congrats, Andy!

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Great!

:toast: God bless Moyers!

[blondeatlast]

11. Toot away, Andy--you've earned it! nt

[Ladyhawk]

12. Hey, welcome to phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata! :)

You're a higher lifeform than most of Congress, that's for sure! :D

On edit: you're also a hero. :)

[Nothing Without Hope]

13. How wonderfully well-deserved, Andy! You've just made my day. n/t

Edited to add: This IS one of the Greatest. Recommended.

[Kelvin Mace]

18. Congrats Andy!

It is well deserved.

[Lorien]

28. I applaud you too

bravo! :toast:

[Mojambo]

6. Very cool site. n/t

[donheld]

8. I wish like hell Bill Moyer was President

[Nothing Without Hope]

14. He may not be president, but he sure as hell is an ACTIVIST!

and oh, am I glad he didn't retire to a quiet career limited solely to writing beside a babbling brook or something. I eagerly welcome his writing -- he can be depended upon for major insights and clear-thinking warnings and suggestions -- but thank goodness he's not ONLY writing.

[Andy_Stephenson]

19. Different Bill Moyer

but the mistake happens all the time.

[Nothing Without Hope]

20. There are TWO Bill Moyers!? Gee, what a great choice for cloning!

Sorry for the mixup, Andy. Do you have a link handy to info on YOUR Bill Moyer? I don't want to make this mistake again. I scanned through the interesting pages at the links in the OP and didn't see anything on him. (If you would have to dig a lot to find a link, don't feel bad about not doing it.)

Sending you get-well vibes every day, by the way. That includes during a recent ceremony led by Tibetan Buddhist nuns who were completing and dispersing a mandala of love, compassion, and healing. It was an wonderful experience. Here's more about it, including a report I wrote on it. (in the second reply):
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=291&topic_id=551

[paineinthearse]

21. That would have been a once-in-a-lifetime experince

in my back yard and I missed it.

Oh well, maybe in my next life.

[paineinthearse]

10. Another round of applause for Andy and Bill!!!!!

:yourock:

[prairierose]

15. I really like their backbone awards, but they also have....

a spineless award too. I think these could be really useful tools to get people's attention. How many times have we talked here about wanting to bop some Sen or Congress critter for voting against something we believe is important to the future. Here is a way to do it & it ends up on the backbone website in the forum. The offending congress critter has the opportunity to reply & explain why they voted as they did. This could also be a way for progressives & others to reiterate that trying to compromise with the cons is like sticking your head in the lion's mouth...The lion is going to bite down & then what will you do?

http://www.backbonecampaign.org/page.cfm?ID=64

I like this whole site...very interesting place.

Congrats Andy!!!!! :toast:

[demodonkey]

16. Congratulations Andy!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but of all the people who deserve an award like this, YOU really do!

:yourock:

:hug: to you from

MB in PA

[paineinthearse]

17. Chris Smither / Cambridge connection

I just received an email from Club Passim that Chris Smither will be playing as part of Passim's 47th anniversary (PM me if you are local and want details).



In Chris' honor, here are lyrics that are appropriate:

Love Me Like A Man -
written by Chris Smither

The men that I've been seeing
Well they got their soul up on a shelf
You know they could never love me
Cuz they can't even love themselves

But I want someone to love me
Baby I want one to understand
Won't put himself above me
Who can love me like a man

I never seen such losers
Even though I tried
Find a mind to take me home instead of
Taking me for a ride

Baby, I use someone to care
Believe it when I tell you darlin'
You can love me like a man

Oh they want me to rock them
Like my back ain't got no bone
I want a man whose gonna rock me
Like my backbone was his own

Baby, I want to wait until you can
Believe it when I tell you darlin'
You can love me like a man

Come home sad and lonely
Feel like I wanna cry
Come over here and hold me baby
And don't ever ask the reason why
I said I, I want a lover
Won't have to work to understand

Don't put yourself above me baby
Love me like a man

(If this sounds familiar, a Cambridge native named Bonnie Raitt covered it. It's good, but Chris's original rocks!).

See Chris website at http://www.smither.com/index.html

[BillMoyer]

22. A Couple Friendly Corrections, from Bill Moyer

First of all, I must admit that though it has helped getting my phone calls returned since organizing in High School, my last name is "Moyer" not "Moyers." I am not the Moyers of PBS fame.

Secondly, the Backbone Campaign grew out of an effort by a group of artists offended by the pathetic acquiescence of the Democrats to the aggressively regressive affronts by Bush and the right, made worse by 9-11. For over a year we concentrated on "Freeway Blogging" like the wonderful work viewable at http://www.freewayblogger.com/ and a puppet spectacle at the Seattle Feb. 15th march before the war on Iraq.

We wanted to initiate a more coordinated campaign and came up with the giving Backbone Awards and bringing the giant backbone puppet to the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Hoping to find a beltway progressive organization to adopt us I took some props to DC in late October 2003. I met a lot of folks, but few besides some Code Pink and the Institute for Policy Studies folks were willing to give us the time of day.

Learning from the advice of a local who advises "Grow where you're planted," we had our first House party inviting in broader community involvement on December 12th, 2003. Our subsequent adventures have dwarfed our initial expectations, as has the generosity of our community on Vashon Island and nearby Seattle.

We are very excited by the opportunity to expand our collaborations with folks like yourselves. Our tool kit is evolving quickly, especially the Platform/Framing tool. Check out this most recent announcement with info on hosting the platform tool at your sites or RSVPing to participate in our conference call with Bill Fletcher Jr. of TransAfrica Forum. http://backbonecampaign.org/page.cfm?id=76

Warmest regards to Andy, an inspiration and Black Box pioneer.

Bill Moyer (No "S")
Executive Director
Backbone Campaign
206-463-4784

[proud patriot]

23. I bought your book "Doing Democracy" at an event in santa rosa

a couple years back .. I think that's you anyway .
Welcome underground :hi:

[BillMoyer]

25. He's great too, but I'm not him either. "I'm just a Bill...."

[BillMoyer]

26. I think that Bill Moyer passed away

"The late Bill Moyer spent more than 40 years as a full-time theorist, writer,organizer, consultant, educator and participant in social movements focused on a wide-variety of issues on three continents. The originator of the MAP Model, Moyer gave training courses and workshops to over 20,000 people."

[proud patriot]

27. Okay got it

well it's nice to meet you :hi:

It's sad that the Bill Moyer that I met passed .
He was a nice fellow . His book is great .

[paineinthearse]

24. Welcome to DU, Bill without the 's'

:hi:

Check your PM, I have an "inside the beltway" contact for you.

[omega minimo]

29. Brilliant! "Demonstrating their demands with symbolism"

Thank you so much PITArse for the heads up. Whether it's the Bill Moyers we know or the Bill Moyer we don't (yet) this is fantastic and much needed.

"Demonstrating their demands with symbolism, the group brought a 70-foot model of a human spine, with progressive agenda planks written on each vertebra."

Democrats discuss framing and try to fight the propabullshit artists with dueling rhetorick :puke:

On one DU thread tonight "Is American Democracy dead?"-- folks answer YES! and then seem RESIGNED! What?

Another thread suggested watering down Dem positions to win elections (as if). Allow me to copy my post in that thread, as it echoes the comments from The Backbone Campaign:

"Elevating election strategery over threatened human rights will continue to water the down the message and the relevance of the Democratic Party. Ultimately, this will lose votes and lose elections. It is the wrong direction to head.....To recover relevance, credibility and votes, this party must embrace the traditional Democratic association with human rights, civil rights and Constitutional rights.... We must stand with the same courage Barbara Boxer has shown. Not capitulate and think strategery allow the ends to justify the means. It won't end the way you think."

And to tie all these threads together, into the bow on my thanks to you for posting this: We have been suffering from a crisis of imagination. Folks, don't let the bastards tell you what kind of future you can create. If it takes props to cut through the chatter, so be it. At some point you can't fight bullshit with bullshit.

Backbone is what we need, interlocking, strong and flexible. New cliches and metaphors for a new era. Art will save us all.