Though we believe that these parties are too wedded to their fundraising and media machinery to be viable agents for social change, the Green Party hopes to work productively with these progressive factions. The major parties are not oriented toward real participation by their members. They exist between elections as small groups of insiders with no accountability. They appeal to their membership at campaign time for financial and volunteer support, then disappear once the election is over. Decisions as to candidates, policy, and endorsements are made with little regard to the general membership.
Candidates are accountable only at election time.
The California Green Party is trying to build a political party whose philosophy is to keep its membership involved in the working of the party and the government. In short, the Green Party will be structured more like the activist organizations from which it sprang than like the present political parties. This will lead to better accountability and grassroots democracy. The between-elections activities will represent real political power even before there are Green Party members in office. What the CPG Will Be Doing.