Green Party Watch

In a low turnout Dec. 6 election yesterday Green Party candidate and New Orleans Activist Malik Rahim took 1,880 votes for 3% for Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. The incumbent, Democrat Bill Jefferson, finished with 31,296, 47%, losing his seat to Republican unknown Joseph Cao, who finished with 33,122 votes, 50%. Libertarian Gregory Kahn came in fourth with 548 votes, 1%.

The Green Party had directed a lot of resources to this race in the last month, hoping for a big impact in this race. While the loss was not unexpected, and the Green Party learned a lot about grassroots mobilizing nationally for a local race, I am sure I wasn’t the only one that was imagining how wonderful it would have been for Rahim to be the first Green in Congress.

The show is over. The chief executives have driven to Congress in their electric cars and have proposed to shelve their corporate jets. With hat in hand and the UAW President singing the same tune with them, the Big Three showed up to testify before Congress pleading for $34 billion to get them out of the hole that they dug themselves in. Once again we are being told that “What’s good for GM is good for America”. The presumption is that this a sound economy that just needs a little tinkering and that the automakers will pick themselves up with a lot of money from the Federal Government. Unfortunately, this premise fails to recognize the great gap in income, the approaching Peak Oil and global warming. It ignores that plain fact that the auto industry does not hold the key to economic recovery. If, as Congressional Democrats say that “one in ten jobs are tied to the auto industry”, it is long overdue to restructure the economy from what it has been, rather than prolonging its death.

The economic extortion from automakers “Pay Us, or We Kill the Economy” to maintain continued growth disregards the inherent contradiction that we are facing in the long run with Peak Oil and global warming. Things do not just become better and better and better, just because GM gets a hand from taxpayers.

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For immediate release
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Contacts:
Co-chairs: Peter LaVenia 518-463-8653, albanygreens@yahoo.com
Eric Jones: 716-908-5226, eriecountygreens@yahoo.com

GPNY Calls the Appointment of Sen. Clinton as Secretary of State “Four More Years Without Change!”

The Green Party of New York State strongly condemns the decision of President-elect Barack Obama to appoint New York Senator Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State in his incoming administration.

By choosing Clinton, Obama either has failed to understand or, more likely, has simply decided to ignore the will of his constituents, who overwhelmingly oppose the war. In every respect, this appointment, as well as the fact that not one Senator or House member who voted against the war has been considered worthy to join his foreign policy team, appears to suggest that the new president’s policies will, in substance, continue the bellicose policies of previous administrations which have brought such turmoil to our county, and particularly to the people of the Middle East, resulting in a world outraged over American foreign policy.
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By Jason Neville, posted at Green Change:

In Final Days of Congressional Campaign, Green Party Candidate Fights Local Media Blackout in New Orleans

In the years following the collapse of the federal levees after Hurricane Katrina, activist Malik Rahim was busy organizing one of the most influential recovery organizations in the Gulf South. The organization he founded and currently leads, Common Ground Collective, was gutting houses and providing medical and legal services to tens of thousands of New Orleans residents.

His work was so prolific that it was featured on 60 minutes, ABC News, Democracy Now!, and a host of other shows.

“I’m from New Orleans, and I stayed here after the flood to serve my community, at a time when neglect from the federal government was as chilling as it was apparent,” said Rahim.

Even the local paper in New Orleans the Times-Picayune featured him in an article after the storm, stating that his work was “so far-reaching that it has brought over 10,000 volunteers to New Orleans since the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina.”

But the media coverage ended once he decided to run for office this fall.
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Shopping “Green Party” allows you to give a gift, promote the Green Party, and support the Green Party all at the same time!

Visit the Green Party Holiday Store for great gift ideas at many price options.

Find union-made, sweatshop-free apparel, Earth friendly products, and other great stuff including the 32 ounce BPA-free water bottle with Green Party insignia!

Also check out the Green Party Book Store that has books by Malachy McCourt, Jason West, Pat LaMarche and others.

If you are going to one of those gift exchange parties, or need to get some $10 gifts or $20 gifts for family and friends, why not buy Green? (I’m getting my mother-in-law a Green Party tote-bag for X-mas, don’t tell!)

The December issue of Ballot Access News reports on 2008 October Registration Totals by political party for those states that have party registration, 21 states do not.

According to this, the Green Party’s registration numbers are at 255,019 (0.25%). This is below the October 2004 numbers (298,701, 0.34%) but still over 20% higher than October 2000 (193,332, 0.22%). These numbers are heavily dependent on California (118,416 registered Greens as of Oct 2008) followed by New York (28,983), Maine (27,354), and Pennsylvania (16,686).

Other states with reporting numbers include: Alaska (2,926), Arizona (4,009), Colorado (5,526), Connecticut (1,906), Delaware (587), DC (4,548), Florida (6,007), Iowa (356), Kentucky (329), Louisiana (1,040), Maryland (8,384), Massachusetts (7,522), Nebraska (1,041), Nevada (3,349), New Jersey (953), New Mexico (5,290), Oregon (8,834), and West Virginia (973).

The Reverend Elston McCowan, a Green Party candidate for Mayor of St. Louis next year, speaks out about the prevalence of lead paint in the St. Louis school system in this AP piece in the Missourian:

[McCowan] said people have known for decades that exposing children to lead could harm them. Lead paint has been banned for residential use since 1978, but is still present in older buildings.

“We don’t want to be apathetic about a problem just because somebody hasn’t solved it,” he said.

The article paints an ugly picture of the state of lead paint in schools in America.

By Jennifer Sullivan, “Area coordinator for the Florida State Green Party, Spring Hill” in the Dec. 3 St. Petersburg Times:

Bring in change that helps people

Nationally we look to be changing for the better, politically. But locally and statewide? We look to be in a red county after all. In a frenzy for change we left in what many say is a puppet-like, do-nothing District 44 state representative, Robert Schenck; U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite flip-flopped once again after getting re-elected. Before Election Day she fiercely opposed the bailout, but now (safely back in D.C. for two more years) she’s thinking some bail-outs may be okay.

Will this county continue to favor the building industry and be anti-people? In goes yet another approval of a Wal-Mart, including the huge space-wasting parking lot. Where are the sidewalks for children and families to safely walk on to get healthful fresh air and exercise? What’s up with so few plans for bike lanes and better mass transit? Will dumb road project boondoggles continue to dominate? (Elgin Boulevard comes to mind.)
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Excerpts from an article posted by John Deeth:

“My suspicion is that there is a kind of ‘automatic’ knee-jerk third party vote which is almost always guaranteed,” said Holly Hart of the Iowa Green Party. “None of the third party candidates since Nader’s 2000 run have broken past that.”

Third party vote percentages dropped steadily from Ross Perot’s 1992 peak through 2004, but held about steady, increasing just slightly. from 2004 to 2008.

“Perhaps just the increase in voter turnout drew out more third party votes; plus, I think conservative third party supporters tend to be less apt to part from their far-right third party candidates,” said Hart.

“Voters are more pragmatic, not interested in risking a vote for a top-of-the-ticket third party candidate,” said Hart. “But an increasing number are willing to vote for down-ticket candidates if they think they can actually win.”

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From the GPNYS website:

The Green Party of New York has endorsed demonstrations on Saturday, March 21, in D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco , Chicago , Miami and other cities marking the sixth year of the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Marking the sixth anniversary of the criminal invasion of Iraq, thousands will take to the streets of Washington D.C. and other cities across the U.S. and around the world in March 2009 to say, “Bring the Troops Home NOW!” We also insist on an end to the war threats and economic sanctions against Iran.

Marybeth A. Bonner, 66, Pennsylvania Green Party and 2003 candidate for State Representative, from the Intelligencer Journal:

She was the widow of James G. Bonner, her loving husband of twenty-three years. He died in 1999. Marybeth was passionate about animal rights and the sustainability of our planet. She was an avid reader, a lover of music and film, and she passed these interests on to her children. In 2003, she ran for State Representative from the 99th District on the Green Party ticket. (Read in its entirety below the fold)

William Bonk, Hawaii Green Party, from the Star Bulletin:

William J. Bonk, an archaeologist who studied early native Hawaiian culture, died last Tuesday of cancer, daughter Keiko Bonk said. He was 84.

A University of Hawaii-Hilo anthropology professor for nearly three decades, Bonk also had a taste for politics, supporting his daughter, Keiko, who won a Big Island County Council seat as a member of the Hawaii Green Party in 1992. (Read in its entirety below the fold)

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The Times Picayune profiled both the Libertarian candidate Gregory Kahn and Green Party candidate Malik Rahim today, referring to them as “long shots” in the Dec 6 election for the Louisiana 2nd Congressional District.

On Rahim, they write:

A longtime housing and prisoner-rights advocate, Rahim decided to run for Congress five days after Hurricane Katrina, when he realized the region’s most critical recovery issues would be handled at the federal level.

But Rahim took a pass on running for the 2nd District seat in 2006, he said, because he was fighting an ultimately failing battle to halt the eviction of about 100 families from a low-rent apartment complex in Algiers. The effort grew out of Common Ground Relief, the Lower 9th Ward aid organization Rahim founded after the flood.

Like other challengers, Rahim said Jefferson has not been an effective representative. “You can’t see a park, you can’t see a school, you can’t see a program except for those that are well-connected,” he said.

If elected, Rahim said he would ensure that the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires workers on public projects to be paid prevailing wages, is observed on all recovery projects. He also vowed to make sure local, minority-owned companies get a fair shot at contracts associated with the federal city project and the rebuilding of public housing complexes.

To help all residents return to New Orleans, Rahim said he would push federally regulated banks to meet the credit needs of low-income residents.

Despite last week’s announcement of a plan to build two new hospitals in downtown New Orleans, Rahim said he would push President-elect Barack Obama to reopen Charity Hospital, an option he said would be 20 percent cheaper than the current plan.

“I don’t believe it’s a done deal,” he said of shutting down Charity for good.

Nodding to his Green Party ideology, Rahim vowed to push the Army Corps of Engineers to preserve wetlands and waterways as it erects flood-control infrastructure.

“Regardless of what civil rights we achieve,” he said, “if we cannot breathe this air and drink this water, we all are doomed.”

Pete Karas of Racine, Wisconsin went down to New Orleans last week to volunteer for the Malik Rahim campaign. He called today from New Orleans and sent a few pictures. (Below: Pete Karas with Malik Rahim)

Pete said that he has been going out daily with other volunteers doing doors, dropping lit, talking to people. He said that people he has talked to have been very receptive, they know Malik or have heard of him, but many are unaware that there is an election this Saturday. “Oh Malik is running?” Raising awareness of the election has been one of the challenges.

Pete felt that the Incumbent Jefferson wasn’t doing much at all for the election, but the Republican Cao has been aggressive in getting his message out. The Rahim Campaign got up 3 billboards in prominent locations, have been running radio ads, and on Saturday night there was a campaign event at an International Art Festival, held in an old warehouse, a display in remembrance of Katrina. About 50 or 60 people were there.

Everyone down in New Orleans is excited about the campaign, and the Louisiana Greens are really committed. How Rahim will do come Saturday Dec. 6 will depend on the GOTV efforts between now and then.

Learn more about the campaign at http://www.votemalik.com/

Full article here.

Pat LaMarche, Green Party candidate for vice president in 2004 and for governor of Maine in 2006 and author of “Left Out In America: The State of Homelessness in the United States,” writes in the Bangor News: “I’m staying just a few blocks from Jefferson Davis Parkway. His statue has withstood everything the elements could throw at it since it was set in place back in 1902.

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Original post here

http://truthmovement.com/news/2008nowornever/nowornever.html

Now or Never 2008 a Matthew Kazee Film featuring Cynthia McKinney, Krs-One, Daniel Sunjata,John Feal, Bob McIlvaine, Manny Badillo, Christine Ebersole, Major Mike McCormick, Anthony Ciprianni, Brian Kenny, Alex Jones and MUCH MUCH MORE.