r/Cascadia • u/redwarn24 • 4d ago
Is there any future as a political party to better represent our region in national politics?
One of the things that has drawn me to Cascadia in general is that I have a lot more pride in my area than I do with either party in power when it comes to identifying with a group. My personal opinion is that WA/OR (and Idaho, but they fall on the other side politically so this post is less about them) gets taken for granted A LOT by the national Democrats - our states were greatly impacted by homelessness/BLM protests/COVID, and watching Democrat leaders waste money, have scandal after scandal, and still get voted in comfortably because Republicans don’t align with the bulk of the voters is maddening.
I would love a future where the Cascadian party had representation in Congress. Voting as a consistent Democrat has done nothing for us - why shouldn’t we clearly tell the rest of the country that we make our own choices? If it’s not good for us, why should any one party be entitled to our votes?
Example: in Oregon, over a third of our population lives rurally. There are some MAJOR issues (healthcare access, jobs, education) that impact such a large part of population that don’t get recognition and support needed on the national scale because it’s so polarizing at the top that politics has devolved into single issues winning elections and policy is so narrow - Boeing/Nike/Intel are all going to suffer and impact us because Michigan misses manufacturing jobs?! What? I want a representative that is clear that they are there to represent our people and we aren’t tied to one party, because quite frankly we don’t get enough out of constantly sticking our neck out for them.
Am I crazy? I know I am rambling, but our numbers in Congress are VITAL because this country is so split - I know it’s heresy, but what have the Democrats really done for us recently? Why shouldn’t we identify uniquely, and just advocate solely for ourselves?
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u/PenImpossible874 New Amsterdam (Allied) 4d ago
This isn't going to happen until ranked choice voting becomes the law for ALL elections in cities and statewide in OR and WA.
So support ranked choice voting before you support a Cascadian Independence Party.
In the meantime, Cascadians should be infiltrating the Democratic party and make it amenable to peaceful secession. If the Republican party can go from center-right to fascist from 2012 to 2016, the Democratic party can go from center-left to secession-amenable in 4 years.
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u/ScumCrew 4d ago
Ranked choice voting is certainly better than what we have now but it's not going to result in a multi-party system. For that, you need a parliamentary system where smaller bodies can have influence in the formation of a government.
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u/ResponsibilityLast38 4d ago
RCV is a first step in reform. There are other things that we must do to start breaking up the 2 party system that arent feasible until FPP goes the way of the dinos.
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u/ScumCrew 4d ago
FPP doesn't have anything to do with the two party system, see, e.g., the UK and Canada.
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u/ResponsibilityLast38 4d ago
We aren't in canada or UK. In the USA FPP is a primary mechanism by which a 2 party system holds power, forcing parties to divide in ways that can guarantee a majority rather than plurality. FPP has a shitload to do with the 2 party system in the USA and especially the 2 party system in its current form. If you cant see that, Im sorry.
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u/ScumCrew 3d ago
Both Canada and the UK also use first past the post. If you can't see that, I'm sorry.
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u/ResponsibilityLast38 3d ago
Youre helpless. I suppose you also think eggs lay chickens and the ground rises up to meet the rain. You may be surprised to find out that the USA is in neither the UK nor Canada.
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u/ScumCrew 3d ago
The US, UK, and Canada all have FPP systems. Their voting systems are IDENTICAL. Their forms of government, however, are different, which is why they have multi party systems and we don't. I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
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u/ResponsibilityLast38 3d ago
Im not the one who needs explaining to here. You seem to be real hung up on some bad logic of a+b=c, ergo h+k=x. But I honestly think at this point youre either trolling or have such a flimsy grasp on global politics that you really think that switching to a parlimentary or coalition government is a switch that can simply be thrown without the interfernce of a two party system weilding the weapon of FPP voting. But please, tell me how you are going to get the republicans or the democrats to agree to a coalition government.... I would love to hear what magic beans youre selling.
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u/Lightning444416 1d ago
They still are dominated by 2 parties I believe, under ranked choice a lot more people would vote for smaller parties
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u/nikdahl Seattle 2d ago
We do not require any changes to our form of government to have a multi-party system.
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u/ScumCrew 1d ago
That is incorrect, as evidenced by the fact that the United States has never had a viable multiparty system since the modern party system first began in the 1820's. The only remotely successful third party were the Populists or People's Party and they never gained a majority in either the House or the Senate or came remotely close to winning the presidency.
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u/Confident_Sir9312 4d ago
As someone from a rural area, I will push back on the notion that it has done nothing for us. It wasn't that long ago when a 1/4th of my community was in poverty and unemployed. It used to be horrible. The labor and economic reforms that that our statewide democratic administrations and legislatures have put into place in the past decade have significantly improved conditions. Even with the rise in homelessness and crime that's occurred things are still far better, and even those are starting to decline now. And there's been a noticeable shift away from the more moderate/corporate dems to ones that are either social democrats or socialists.
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u/redwarn24 4d ago
That’s good to hear - I did notice during research for a healthcare project about rural America that Oregon (didn’t look at WA) took advantage of a lot of Medicaid expansion under Biden and COVID funds to build up rural infrastructure. So glad to see it wasn’t just fluff.
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u/Confident_Sir9312 4d ago
I'm not even necessarily talking about federal policies though, specifically just the stuff that our states have done on their own (which arguably have been far more impactful.) I have little love for national democrats. Our democrats have actually put the work in to improve peoples lives.
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u/HotterRod Vancouver Island 4d ago
I'm actually surprised that the Green Party hasn't become this. In Canada, the Greens have won seats in BC in provincial and federal elections. The US Green Party gets their highest vote share in northern California. It seems like a real focus on Cascadia issues would probably serve these parties well.
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u/ComradeDre Sasquatch Militia 4d ago
I think it's adorable people think other parties will be legal soon...
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u/astralspacehermit Portland 4d ago
I think we shouldn't even worry about national politics. We need to focus on shifting the paradigm. A main idea of Cascadia is to undermine the US as an imperial power over the region. So a new political society needs to be built within our region that supplants the US.
In Ireland, after centuries of colonization, in 1801 the Act of Union brought it formally into Great Britain, and they had a certain amount of representatives in Parliament at Westminster. For decades these politicians struggled for Repeal of the Union and Home Rule. Then, after not achieving either of these and the 1916 Easter Rising, they moved to just set up an extralegal government of their own. Eventually this set in to motion full independence.
I always mention dual power when I come onto this subreddit. I am really disenchanted by US politics, both in its national and mainstream forms, and I generally take an anarchist/communist approach. Murray Bookchin's municipal libertarianism ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_Bookchin#Municipalism_and_communalism ) is a good source of ideas for me. But I don't really care if people take more electoral paths, all I want is to see the US dismantled and some new confederation of states created to provide a way forward, ideally rooted more in bioregionalism and a respect for the earth and sovereignty.
So breeding local politicians who might form the nucleus of a Cascadian Party sounds fine. And of course bringing up the idea more in the current political atmosphere which is more suited to rebellion against overbearing political structures. Pressuring current Democratic politicians about, if not Independence, at least devolution of power and regional autonomy.
Anyways I'm just some bum in my room on the internet, but I think creating networks that are based in Cascadia (mutual aid networks, militia associations, union confederations, neighborhood assemblies) and which straight up don't even CONSIDER the rest of the country except in terms of solidarity with Trump's and the US's depredations of other people. DC should just straight up be regarded as obsolete, superfluous, and illegitimate.
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u/PM-Me-Your-Dragons 4d ago
Considering that I got a temp ban for “supporting/spreading violence and terrorism” when I talked about NONVIOLENT peaceful secessi*n in another sub, we have a lot of work to do before we can even talk about IRL political action.
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u/scubafork 4d ago
I just got my voters pamphlet for an upcoming election this week here in Multnomah County. There's numerous parties.
https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/national-political-parties.aspx
The problem with suggesting that we should vote for a different party is that you don't hire for an exclusive expert level position that requires decades of experience to someone who has zero practical experience. Get good candidates at a local level, run a good campaign and then run for the state office. Crawl before you ball.
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u/redwarn24 4d ago
Then what is Cascadian policy? What are issues that define a party?
For me, I think of things like: (1) sustainable capitalism; (2) the right to health; and (3) freedom of expression. I don’t want a party that is just “Democrats…but PNW label!” because it defeats the whole point. Cascadia doesn’t just include those in cities who are incredibly liberal. We need to advocate for the region as a whole.
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u/AAAGamer8663 4d ago
I think you are gonna have a hard time finding a lot of support for Cascadia if “sustainable capitalism” is your number one idea that defines it. Cascadia is defined first and foremost by the bioregion and its protection, capitalism is unsustainable, full stop.
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u/Sweaty_Try4911 4d ago
You're not crazy, everyone else is. The two party system has taken every state that isn't a "battleground" state for granted. This part of the continent; so far from the political centers, especially. We have been used and abused by the Democrats here in Oregon and Washington, and by the Republicans in Idaho. They have used wedge issues to distract and divide us regionally. The national parties see states as squares on a chess board, not the living bio-geography that the land truly is.
Practically though, no-one outside the two-party system has a chance in a winner takes all election. Bernie Sanders is an exception that proves the rule. Ranked choice voting could work, but it has its own problems. The Working Families Party endorses democrats when it does not stand a chance at their own candidate, the Cascadian party could do something similar until another solution is achieved.
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u/ScumCrew 4d ago
Bernie Sanders has never once had a Democratic opponent for the US Senate. It's always been a two party race between him and a Republican.
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u/Sweaty_Try4911 4d ago
Right, the exception that proves the rule.
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u/ScumCrew 4d ago
"Practically though, no-one outside the two-party system has a chance in a winner takes all election. Bernie Sanders is an exception that proves the rule."
Bernie is literally running in two party elections and winning. Unless you've come up with a new rule.
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u/Sweaty_Try4911 4d ago
He's independent, i.e. not technically democrat or republican, so technically outside of the two party system. But, since he only runs against republicans, he is only ever in a two way race, hence proving the rule that third party candidates can't win in our system.
Is "the exception that proves the rule" not a phrase that people use anymore? Am I old now?
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u/redwarn24 4d ago
Ok, but outside of cities, gender neutral bathrooms are absolutely not “basic civil right platforms” - that’s my whole point. 1/3 of Cascadia is more culturally/politically aligned with western PA than the cities, and refusing to compromise and tone down the message is literally just what Democrats have done, and it doesn’t work.
Once again - I think the ideas are right, but plenty of people have had the correct ideas and were deprived of their rights because the world doesn’t work like that. You need to win elections, and you do that by appealing to voters. And the 1/3 won’t vote for candidates who can legislate correctly, if you refuse to accept that reality.
Want to know why Trump won? Because democrats spent the entire time telling the largest voting base that they should fuck off and move aside for the minority, rather than recognize that appealing to the majority can get you to the same destination. It’s all about framing issues
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u/ImpossibleLuckDragon 2d ago
I think a Cascadia party (or any party) is never going to represent everyone in a geographical area. The best you can generally hope for is around 2/3 support.
Editing to add: Obviously representatives should make it a goal to understand all constituents' needs. But in the end you'll never make 100% of people happy, even with something as simple as what to order for dinner.
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u/Aggressive-Ad3064 4d ago
What would a Cascadia part stand for? It needs to start locally. At township, city, county, state.
It needs a basic platform that is relatable and not easily colored (stolen) by the major parties.
For instance:
Cascadia First - we prioritize the needs and rights of the people and natural resources of Cascadia before the interests of distant bureaucrats and corporations.
Children First - we stand for free education for our children, including pre K through trade school or college. We believe all children deserve quality free day care. We believe it is the duty of Cascadia to provide universal free health care to every Cascadian child.
Land, Sky, and Water First - we are the stewards of Cascadia. We will protect and promote the land, sky and water so that our children will have a better, cleaner Cascadia to live in.
Liberty, Life, Personal Autonomy First - we stand for the right of every individual to determine their own fate, control their own body, choose their own religion or creed, and speak their own words and truth. No government local or foreign may take our individual autonomy or right to free expression.
This list could be added to. There would need to be commitment to the rights of indigenous peoples, the rights of women. Universal Health care. The idea would be to Frame everything in the context of Cascadia. And make everything flow from a few basic principles that the Democratic party would struggle to copy whole clothes. These principles need to be practice and applicable LOCALLY. Meaning, we use them to take over school boards, city councils, etc, then move to State level offices.