Base-building, Electoral Politics and Public Policy

Todd Gitlin describes how the "movement and the machine" must work together to take our country back in this column at Mother Jones News.

"In the tangle and promise ahead, much will depend on activist networks like MoveOn and America Coming Together, but also on lesser-known movement-party hybrids like Wellstone Action. A national effort to train political candidates, teach activists how to campaign, and turn out the vote, Wellstone Action is driven by the fierce desire to harness movement spirit to organizational force. Its director of education and advocacy, Pam Costain, knew Paul Wellstone for 30 years, starting as his student at Carleton College. She spoke to me of 'the Wellstone triangle: base-building, electoral politics, and public policy. You have to work at the intersection.' Wellstone Action trained 7,000 citizen-activists in 21 states in 2004."