Dare to Hope: Saving American Democracy

by Jason West

Jason West has become a political force for his generation. With logic, charm, and conviction, he has used his platform as mayor of New Paltz, New York, to present a radical vision of human rights.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1401352383
• ISBN13: 9781401352387
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Miramax Books
• Length: 180 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

great book

This book tells the story of a great man who has fought for justice. Read it!

West is actually growing the Green Party

The American Green Party obscured itself in the 2000 national campaign by spending the bulk of its time arguing there was no difference between the two parties as opposed to showing voters where they personally stood on the issues which voters wanted to know about. Subsequently, the only thing which many people knew about the Greens was they did not like either Republicans or Democrats. These voters had no idea how they differed from the two parties though. The young mayor of New Paltz New York took a genuinely radical strategy when he ran as a Green. Jason West instead focused on 'bread and butter' issues of the people in his community. His campaign went door-to-door promoting tenant rights, affordable housing solutions, a healthy environment, and a more open government. This unglamorous grunt work is what builds up common people's trust in any political party. West wants to make government more accountable to people. He proposes to do this through Instant Run-off Voting (IRV). Allowing people to rank their preferred candidates in order of preference, IRV is already being used in the City of San Francisco. He also supports Proportional Representation; parties should get whatever percentage of seats they received votes for. Many European countries already use this system and it's inherent nature requires more parties to have a say in the government. In 2004 West made international headlines for marrying 23 same-sex couples. Although the charges of performing marriages without a license were finally dropped in 2005, they provided inspiration to me. This public official was standing in solidarity with GLBT people AND personally willing to challenge the bigoted marriage statues which were allegedly enacted to protect our heterosexual unions. Even though I am a Democrat, I really liked this book. West isn't throwing around 'progressive' and 'grassroots' to draw attention to him; he really wants an inclusive and genuine democracy. This book is good reading for anybody on the left genuinely interested in working to make our governments much more responsive and accountable to the public.

Helping Redefine the Green Party

For as long as I can remember the Green party has been a joke in American politics, however Mr. West has created a new more rational view of the party along with smart clear arguments, his book is full of the hope for a better country that we need now. Mr. West is a hero and a true working class politician with heart and compassion.