With the election of some new more moderate folks into SF government and a more tractable national ideological climate, a bunch of us seem to be thinking the same thing: lets develop a new politics for san francisco. SF is uniquely upstream so this is also a great platform to influence the national future as well.

My vision here is pretty simple: lets get together monthly or weekly in SF to eat, drink, and scheme SF’s future. We will invite the sharpest intellectuals, civic organizers, and tech executors to pool their ideas and resources to make things happen. The platform can be really simple to start with: we want to build lots of housing, transit, industry, etc. We want public order, an end to public sector corruption, and streamlined everything. What produces great results for a city is not rocket science.

The hard part and the real meat of it is the organizing and fighting and the coalition that comes out of that. How does one actually make such things happen? Again my first pass is simple: start by getting people in a room and brainstorming. Keep in mind ultimately that this stuff comes down to organized willpower and effective execution. And of course we have to be having more fun than the enemy if we want to keep it up. Thats the sense in which I mean “Party”.

I already ran one such party in December and it was a blast. I have lots of fun and competent people lined up excited for the next one. Supposing we do it, how should we make it maximally successful? Would love to hear your thoughts here.

One fork in the road is whether or not one has a (long-term) goal of radical reform for the nation.

One tendency says: we would be happy to return to moderate, non-crazy Democrats, something like Bill Clinton, first for San Francisco, then for the nation.

The other tendency says: We already had Bill Clinton, and it led to exactly where we are today. Even Bill Clinton endorsed all the later crazy. Swimming back to yesterday's Cthulhu doesn't solve anything.

This isn't just a theorycel difference. It has immediate practical ramifications, e.g., in the range of solutions one is willing to consider to the homeless problem. Many of the moderate Democrat types still seem pretty brain-wormed concerning the homeless.

That doesn't mean one needs to lead with provocations or unnecessary friction in communication. Not at all. But it's good to have internal clarity.

>>2341
Yes we have radical aspirations. Our worldview is completely alien to american liberalism and our vision for the nation is revolutionary. That said, in san francisco i believe the correct tactical orientation is muscular moderate.

Read radical literature, think radical thoughts, have radical aspirations, organize in radical ways, but maintain a straightforward moderate platform tactically. This is the formula.