For many of us in the Green Party it can be easy to become insular and isolated from the larger political landscape. The antidote for this, of course, is to stay better aware of that landscape and our relative position within it.

Finding a reliable or objective overview can be difficult (to say the least!) in a subject devoted to competing opinions. A recent essay, published by the organization Waging Nonviolence, does seem useful for this purpose so I thought I would pass it along.

The essays theme is about political party “re-alignments” – the efforts of factions working to steer the direction of a party.  It notes 3rd parties occasionally but is mainly about intra-party politics like the efforts of the Sunrise Movement, Justice Democrats or the Democratic Socialists to push a more progressive agenda than mainstream Dems are comfortable with. It also provides some historical context and examples from both sides of the political spectrum. As an example of how these movements can affect our party remember the influx of Bernie supporters to the Greens when he was passed over for Hillary in 2016.

The essay seems reasonable even-handed and non-judgmental and Waging Non-Violence has a good site and newsletter as well.