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we have to think so much less about finding the right candidates and so much more about building political power that makes individual candidates simple stewards of the will of the bases they are accountable to

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I disagree so strongly with this take. The last thing I want is for my local representative to be a partisan robot in the way you are describing. We need smaller and less gerrymandered (safe) districts that force Reps to actually deal with local issues and priorities.

My statement doesn't change much, though I appreciate the clarification. Let base orgs duke it out in the primaries - once someone is in a seat I expect them to be loyal to the people of their district above any particular org.

you misunderstand the role of an organized base. you organize their constituents through a base so they actually have the power to hold an elected official accountable. you aren’t depending on the elected to just do the right thing, you are showing up with the power to compel them.

1 step. No private funding of election campaigns. Everyone who passes a petition quota gets exactly the same public funding + mandated equal broadcast time.

i do not mean the democratic or republican base i mean independent political power, like unions, base-building organizations, member-led movements

That means building durable structures between elections—tenant unions, workplace organizing, and local chapters—that can reward alignment and impose real costs when officials drift.