Alternative Visions - US Grass Roots Protests Rising? - 02/12/14

Dr. Jack Rasmus welcomes guests, Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, to discuss the rising crescendo of grass roots protests in the US and “what’s next”.  Organizers of the popular website, ‘popularresistance.org’, that reports daily on grass roots movements in the USA, Zeese and Flowers give their impression of what appears to be growing resistance and protests along a number of fronts.  Jack and guests discuss growing movements of opposition to TPP and free trade, what’s happening in North Carolina, restaurant workers’ strikes, New York city demonstrations, labor union reform slates and movements, XL pipelines and other environmental protests, and other regional protests. Discussion focuses on ‘what next’ and how to bring more coordination nationally between the various ‘single issue’ movements and the need for developing a common national strategy by all, while retaining local movements’ integrity.  Jack argues for the need to consider a National Organizing Convention of the divers movements, out of which initial agreement on common elements of strategy might emerge, including an incipient national coordinating organization and the need for political action independent of the two political parties. Jack argues unification of movements and the organizational question are key tasks now on the agenda, if protests are to rise beyond localized and ‘single issue’ politics.