What is to be done? Autumn Equinox 2017

    There's not much time. There's a lot to do. That much should be obvious to anyone with a pulse and a little compassion.  Everything I'm talking about has to be understood within and emerging from a realization that humans are committing ecocide.  This self-destructive pattern has opposing forces, communities and networks devoted to extinguishing those disastrous ideologies that have brought us to this precipice.  In the long run of history, it is my hope to see an end to capitalism, imperialism and male supremacy, the breeders of war and misery.

    In the short run, this could be a moment of rare opportunity.
    After eight months in office, there are more public calls for the impeachment of the President.  This will not happen as long as the GOP holds majorities in both houses of Congress.  With the mid-term elections next year, there is a serious possibility that the Republicans could lose that control.
    The other party, the Democrats, is in perpetual confusion.  Without dissecting the factions, let's allow that Sanders' campaign disproved the "conventional wisdom" governing the DNC & DLC campaign strategies.  Fortunately, the Sanders team has continued to work inside and outside the official party, pushing the conversation to the left, supporting local action committees, identifying and promoting progressive candidates to challenge the Wall Street Democrats.  For example, Every Voice http://www.everyvoice.org/  is a spin-off that's getting good results.
    This is a chance to challenge the old guard.  We need to find a lot of good, qualified people to get into races up and down the ticket, from school boards to Senators.  School boards?  We need to defend our schools from privatization as "charter" schools, don't we?  City council?  We want decent housing, fair wages, safe streets and clean water, don't we?  We know this if we studied "Civics."  These are abiding concerns for many of us on the local level.
    The unusual circumstances right now will require an enormous, coordinated effort to succeed.  I believe it would be possible to impeach the president and vice-president and choose a new Speaker of the House, who would ascend to the White House.  To do this, we would have to challenge and defeat many Democrats and Republicans currently sitting in the House.  With a progressive-tilted House, a new Speaker could be installed as the 46th President.  Think about that.

    Where do candidates come from? 
    Honestly, I don't know, but I have some ideas that suggest an historical trajectory we should take advantage of. 

   (At this point in composition I stopped to see what was causing Lambert's distress... )

    It's difficult to say how many authentic grassroots political action groups are functioning today. All the well-known and established non-profits have their spin-offs and astro-turf fronts competing for attention and dollars as well. (Check your Inbox if you doubt me. ) There are reports now, in the wake of the Democrats' purge of progressives, that the field of challengers the GOP will face comes from the Democrats' loyal donor class & "bundlers."
    If you participate in a group that has taken a stand to resist the GOP and Trump/Pence regime, look around and think about who might be a serious candidate for a local or district campaign. Who are the "spark plugs" and who are the stalwarts? What is the passion that drives them?
    Every day my email box is full of appeals for money, reports and alerts, projections and analysis, frequently above or below a name that's become familiar from repetition. Do any of these people aspire to public service, representing the folks they live with and advocate for? They are well up on current events and their public record should be readily available.
    Maybe you are the person to step up? Or a family member? A friend among your circle? It seems so remote, I know, and yet this is the essence of civic life and citizen democracy. As a democracy, we must insist upon respecting both "majority rule" and "minority rights" lest we perpetuate the present plutocratic hierarchy of power into the future.
    Last, here is a short list of groups from my inbox. You might recognize some of them. Just to repeat myself, "Who are these activists and could they be successful candidates who win elections?"

Rachel Warino   CA Labor Fed

Sabrina Joy Stevens   National Women's Law Center

Lucia, Candace, & Dutch   freepress.net

Emily Heffling  Western States Outreach Coordinator, Union of Concerned Scientists—       
    Oakland Office

Shaun O’Brien  AFL-CIO

Good Jobs Nation

Our Revolution

Sum Of Us

Avaaz

Ben Wikler  MoveOn

Brandy Doyle  CREDO Action 

Lena Moffitt  Sierra Club

Jay Henderson   Democracy for America

Reuben Hayslett   Demand Progress

     There are a handful of special elections coming up. It will be interesting to see what happens. In Alabama for example.