A local Centre Region Coffee Party, held at Irving's Bagels on Saturday, March 13, attracted ten people with diverse interests in regional issues.  The meeting was hosted by Kathryn Bullington, an undergraduate student in Agriculture who gained some experience in community activism and leadership  at Penn State Altoona.  Participants  came from all over the region:  Bellefonte, State College, Spring Mills,  and Warriors Mark.  The group adhered to the Party's Civility Pledge rather closely.  (See Facebook for the Civility Pledge).

(Tentative) Mission Statement:  Community members meeting to engage with one another on political issues of local, regional, state and national importance.

The Agenda:

Getting acquainted.  Estabishing goals.  Issues of concern. Bringing our views to local politicians and to the community. Publicizing meetings.  Sponsoring information symposia/seminars. 

For the most part, the group consists of voters who are registered as Independents, with the possible exception of myself, a registered Democrat.  Because of this, I often felt that folks intended to re-invent the wheel.  We tended to be like the "Blind Men and the Elephant", with some people quite well-versed in issues on energy, the climate, civility, concerns about racism in the region, community cooperation, elder care, animal rights, sustainable agriculture, etc.  The majority of the group wanted to focus on local issues, rather than national ones.

Initially there seemed to be more focus in the agenda on taking action (demonstrations, etc.?)  without really focussing on what to take action about.  I expressed some anxiety that our group would not serve as a "bully pulpit", pushing agendas in such a way that they'd antagonize the public or induce public apathy.

The group has begun to share resources related to issues of common concern:  web addresses of the Centre Regional Council of Governments, PennPirg, County Government, AARP, Orion, Grist, etc.

***The next meeting will be held on March 27, 2010  from 12 Noon- 2 PM at Irving's Bagels on College Avenue, at the basement level.  Look for posters.  Bring friends and ideas.

One of the issues I had with the coffee party presentation as I was reading over it was that it seemed to be heavy on snarkiness and light on policy and action points and issue clarification.

That is, it was hard to tell what they were on about, and what they planned on doing.

I'm not at all surprised to hear that the event you went to was attended mostly by independents. Firstly, because that vague grouping called "independents" is where everyone tends to go once the republicans and democrats have dissapointed them sufficiently, and secondly, because it's the independents, the unaffiliated, that have the most interest in third party organization.

I've been a registered libertarian for a long time - but as a fairly intelligent person, I understand that libertarians can't govern. Much like conservatives can't govern, and certainly the tea people can't govern.

And that's the challenge for the coffee people - can they govern? Which is another way of say, or asking, "do they have a plan?".

(actually, it's probably vain to even ask that question, just like it's vain to ask the question "can libertarians govern". Coffee people don't have a snowballs chance of governing. Their role is to push the process, not to make the rules and crack the whips.)

So, did you hear anything at that meeting that made you feel any glimmers of hope?

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As far as I can tell, only one thing has a chance of working, and it seems unlikely. That one thing is sweeping election reform, with public funding of elections, combined with a push for transparency and the creation of a corruption investigation system that strips the political aristocracy of their priviledges and turns government back into a public service.

Fat chance, right?

I am glad to see a little bit of discussion about the coffee party meeting on this site.  However, as the host of the last meeting I have to rebutt some of the 'facts' in the last post.  Also, to respond to some of the cynicism about the possibilities of the Coffee Party.  The success of such groups depends on the people in them.  Apathy is a pervasive problem in our culture, and so is the disease of self-importance.  If the people in this community want to become a part of the political process in a civil way, they can with the coffee party platform.  My intentions are to set up a structure that facilitates individuals education and path to community/government involvement.  I was drawn to the coffee party becuase they recognize the importance of engaging our leaders in a civil manner, and more particularly-suporting them instead of bashing them.  As citizens, we have a responsibililty to take part in governing, not just yell and scream at our leaders who were elected by the people to facilitate governance.  There are many people working in the community already toward good ends.  As citizens we have to understnad who these actors are (like Voices), how the community is already working and find our place in it.  Civil civic engagement requires cooperation with our leaders that are already in place and in action.  If the people of centre county have passions related to these goals, they have a tool for success with the coffee party.  The success of the movement depends on the people who become part of it.  I am not sure what will transpire, as we have only had one meeting.  Come and join us for the next!

Now to set some of the 'facts' straight:

I am an undergrad at Penn State studying agricuture, but also interntional politics...I will graduate in May!

I did get some community experience in Altoona, but it was not part of Penn State.  I founded a community organization, "The Community Interest Group" whose mission was to connect commuity members with their leaders and facilitate cooperation between community leaders.  Also, I am an adult student and spent many years after high school travelling the country and have gained lots of experiences in community activism in different communities. 

Our tentative mission was actually:

Community members engaged in civil discourse about issues. 

Our agenda was actually:

Introductions; Additions to the Agenda; Host Statement; Coffee Party issues; Civility, Engagement; Who wants to lead; and Discussing the next meeting.  Addtions to the agenda included: sharing resources, encouraging/voicing different viewpoints; and issues like gov't accountability, energy, ethics, media.  However, most of the meeting was focused on the themes of partisanship, structure (gov't, and Coffee Party), and the importance and strategic value of focusing locally. 

If you would like to be caught up on the details, come to our next meeting and recieve a copy of the official meeting notes from our last meeting and join in on voting for issues most important for discussion and action. 

Also, I don't think there was any evidence to report that most of the people were registered independent.  I am not, and no one really said what they were registered except one. 

As for the other comments, I do not think one can read so much into the first meeting, though what the poster percieved is very text-book for initial stages of group norming/forming.  I like the reference to the Blind men and the Elephant, because this is inevitably what happens to people who come together for the first time in a group, especially if the goal is complicated and ambitious.  I think the person who posted on the meeting is a good reflection of this, and represents on of the blind men explaining their part of the elephant as we all tried to figure out the big problem/opportunity before us. 

Finally, I am not sure which of our members posted, but the Coffee Party group I hosted was not interested in being the bully pulput for a particular party or even issue (due to the diversity of peoples individual views and interests), i.e. repubs or dems, but rather want the opportunity to discuss and deliberate issues respectfully and civily with one another, to come to a position of greater clarity for understanding a possible action.

Please join us for our next meeting, as our country needs a place for civil discussion about the important issues of our time. We can change the political/social culture little by little by creating sustainable, civil, community connections. 

I've been contemplating the coffee party, trying to model out in my mind what it might actually do.

The most interesting thing about the tea party, for instance, is the way it's eating the guts out of the republicans, like a kind of parasite. Soon it will have eaten the republicans brains as well. Watching McCain on his knees begging the tea party to allow him to continue presages the effect the tea party will have/is  having on republicanism as a whole.

Which is fascinating when you think about it - the corporate funded republican thinks tanks and the republican puppetmaster billionaire Rupert Murdoch perfected the mental technology of polarization and institutionalized hate and FUD as a political instrument, and it may well doom paleo-conservatism AND neo-conservatism and usher in a new era of KKK-conservatism. Which may be a winning play in this era of a contracting nation and a declining economy.

But, it's a model with a tactical and strategic lesson for the likes of the coffee party. Do you want to be the parasite riddling the host-body of the dems?

So, the puzzle then, is how to force the dems to stop being such a treacherous pack of corporate toadies, without eating out their hearts and brains?

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I'm reminded of what conservative pundit David Frum said recently - that the republicans now work for Fox news, when they thought Fox was working for them:

Among the comments Frum made to "Nightline" was the assertion that "nobody ever won an election by spitting at his political opponents" and that "anger trapped the [Republican] leadership."

But it was this exchange, which you can see starting at the 2:20 mark, that is generating some buzz today:

Moran: "It sounds like you're saying that the Glenn Becks, the Rush Limbaughs, hijacked the Republican party and drove it to a defeat?"

Frum: "Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us and now we're discovering we work for Fox. And this balance here has been completely reversed. The thing that sustains a strong Fox network is the thing that undermines a strong Republican party."

http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2010/03/david-frum-on-gop-now-we-work-for-fox.html

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In any case, the coffee party really has only one important platform plank it must establish.

Who do we vote for?