Potlucks for Democracy Roars On in New Haven, Back-to-Back with People’s Debate 2.0
Tuesday, October 12, 2010 @ 6pm. Andre and Renee Cala-Yap host U.S. Senate candidate John Mertens, inviting friends and family to an inspiring evening of sharing and participation. After our kickoff potluck in Hartford, we are happy to be in New Haven to continue Potlucks for Democracy, our grassroots movement to rebuild Democracy by inspiring people to participate again:
We have searched our soul and we have concluded that politics still has the power to inspire. Yes, we each have our list of what’s dirty and wrong. But at its core, this winter of our Democracy stems from the politics of money and two-party machinery that robs us of the indispensable sunshine of our Democracy: Inspiration.
Without Inspiration it is impossible to participate; without participation Democracy is impossible. But is Inspiration itself impossible?
And so we start with Inspiration. Today we begin a movement called Potlucks for Democracy. To help this 2010 candidacy finish the final 30 days with faith and hope, and to march on beyond November, to rebuild Democracy, to inspire our people to participate again. This we seek through the humblest of American traditions: the potluck. To potluck is to bring something good of yourself, and so to inspire participation in a community.
We will also continue the People’s Debate format where we use multimedia technologies to show The Day/WTNH televised debate and candidates Blumenthal and McMahon (live), pause to allow candidate Mertens to answer each question, then resume the televised broadcast, giving equal voice to all three candidates. The entire event will be broadcast via live video stream, with audience inputs streamed live via Twitter hashtag #CTSen. See our first People’s Debate last Monday, October 4, 2010.
Political Scientist Paul Scaglia wrote this letter to the Hartford Courant last October 6, a reminder why we are all diminished when we do not stand up to a negligent press:
By not inviting Dr. John Mertens and William Mosler to the U.S. Senatorial debate on 4 October 2010, The Hartford Courant and Fox News 61 failed to carry out the independent and impartial role as envisioned by the framers of the U.S. Constitution in the First Amendment. The Hartford Courant excluding these qualified and competent candidates, who are on the November ballot, undermines the political process and raises the issue of press independence and standards of accountability. The Hartford Courant and Fox 61 also denied the public access to a wide-ranging political debate.
The exclusion of Dr. John Mertens and Warren Mosler from the Senatorial debate on Monday night, between the democratic candidate Richard Blumenthal and the republican candidate Linda McMahon, reveal how the status quo political parties work together to protect their own political power and interests from grass root political movements. In an election campaign dominated by over whelming anti establishment and anti incumbent rhetoric, it is no surprise that both establishment political parties are working together to prohibit independent candidates like John Mertens and Warren Mosler from participating in the public debate.
So like the potlucks we all know, you are invited to bring something of yourself: food, drinks, conversation, ideas, art, and more. This is a private event for friends and family.
Livestream details of the People’s Debate via @Mertens4Senate and #CTSen, where we invite the public to experience our movement and inspire Potlucks of their own for Democracy.
