By the People

Yesterday, when I looked at a map of Barack Obama’s campaign victories, a striking pattern was apparent: his victories came in states that had strong populist histories and political cultures.

Populism, in its deepest sense, is about civic agency, people developing the awareness and skills to be culture makers and authors of their own lives, not victims or spectators. In the great populist movements of our history––the family farmers cooperative movement of the 1880s and 1890s, the reform movements of the Great Depression, the civil rights movement of the 1960s––people were agents, not passive recipients. They learned to work with others across differences to address common challenges, to build healthy communities, and to create a more democratic society.

Minnesota’s populist history may explain the avalanche of support for Barack Obama in this state.

Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Journalism project is an important example of civic engagement. It explores issues that are of concern to voters but may be overlooked in the hype and hurricane-like coverage of what candidates are paying attention to in the presidential election.

But I would add -- as a different kind of issue -- that the new November 5th Coalition asks citizens to think about how we can be partners with politicians in public problem solving, and what we bring to the election and afterwards. The November 5th Coalition is a broad, all-partisan alliance of citizen groups including the American Democracy Project, members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the National Civic League, and Mobilize.org.

We ask all voters to consider which candidate would be best to work with as a partner, not a superhero who will save us or fix things. Our most basic issue is citizenship itself. The November 5th web site lists many ways to be involved.

So are we.

And so are millions of other Americans, who, polls show, are frustrated by campaigns and politics dominated by mudslinging, sound bites, money, and polarizing partisanship.

But the answer isn't to walk away. The answer is more participation.

We need to put people back into politics. And we need to start now.

The good news is that there's a new national coalition focused on doing just that. It's called the November 5th Coalition, named to send the message that politics and civic engagement isn't just about election. It's about what happens after and between elections. It's about creating what we're calling a new civic politics—one that truly believes in government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Members of the November 5th Coalition—an all-partisan, grassroots effort—include groups as diverse at the National Civic League, American Association of State Colleges and Universities' American Democracy Project, Mobilize.org, and the Association of Young Americans.

Our Declaration is endorsed by a network of citizens, including former governors William Winter (D-Miss.) and Al Quie (R-Minn.), former civil rights leader Dorothy Cotton, former USA Freedom Corps director John Bridgeland, former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, and many others.

Members of the November 5th Coalition, previously described in this blog, are beginning to affect the 2008 election season. On Saturday, October 13, the Edwards campaign was the first major presidential campaign to respond effectively to the challenge of all citizens to reclaim democracy as the ongoing work of the people. One of our coalition partners, AmericaSpeaks, helped the Edwards campaign to develop an initiative for "Citizen Congresses" that would involve one million Americans deliberating on the issues of our day, as part of his "One Democracy Initiative." Another coalition partner, the Study Circles Resource Center has also blogged about Edwards’ speech. We welcome this initiative, as well as John Edwards' important acknowledgment of citizen centered work and a movement in New Hampshire and around the country in deliberation, new forms of democratic and shared governance and many other forms of public work. We look forward to other candidates' ideas and proposals for partnering with the new citizen movement.