Green Party Watch

Theresa Amato, who served as campaign manager for Ralph Nader’s 2000 Green and 2004 independent runs for president, has an opinion piece in the Harvard Law Record entitled “The Two Party Ballot Suppresses Third Party Change”. She notes that although Nader wrote a piece on discriminatory ballot access laws for the same publication in 1958, the situation has not improved in the 51 years since then. Amato is the author of the recent book “Grand Illusion: the Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny”. read more »

Sent in today (Dan Kairis website)

Dan Kairis, long-time resident of South Elgin, IL and Green Party candidate for the 14th Congressional District, defeated the Democratic Party’s attempt to remove him from the February 2, 2010 primary election ballot. Kairis was represented by Andy Finko, an attorney who helped a number of other Green Party candidates during the ballot challenge process.

The objections were filed in the name of Jean Cattron, an Elgin Democratic Precinct committeeperson, though Ms. Cattron did not appear at any electoral board proceedings. Despite Cattron’s absence from the process, her attorney claimed that she swore, under oath, that a number of Kairis’ signatures were either not genuine or had other deficiencies.

A binder check, in which petition signatures are checked with voter registration cards, was the deciding factor in Kairis’ victory. Of the signatures that Cattron claimed were deficient, twenty objections were overturned, including the objections to the signatures of Kairis’ son, brother and mother. Although Kairis had more than enough signatures, his attorney, Andy Finko, filed a brief and affidavits that would have overturned an additional seven objections in the event that Cattron’s attorney escalated the challenge to an evidentiary hearing. In all, Kairis obtained sixteen affidavits from people who signed his nominating petitions, confirming that they were in fact the actual people that signed the original documents.
read more »

This is one of my favorite state green party newsletters, so I’m posting it in its entirety…

Green Party of New Jersey

The Green Party of NJ Bulletin – December 2009

* Campaign results and assessments
* County local reports
* Greens Say NO to Obama’s Escalation in Afghanistan
* CT GP would welcome Nader into race against Dodd
* GPNJ members represented in latest Green Horizon Magazine
* Events Calendar
* Links
read more »

Ohio Public radio today interviewed Green Party Candidate for Ohio Governor Dennis Spisak on the 2010

Governor’s Race in the Buckeye State.

http://www.wcpn.org/WCPN/news/28915/

From Independent Political Report:

Asa Gordon is Chair of the DC Statehood Green Party Electoral College Task Force and Executive Director of Douglass Institute for Government. Gordon’s civil suit concerning reform of the Electoral College will have oral arguments in the United States Court of Appeals on January 14, 2010. The lawsuit, Gordon v. Biden, pleas for a Declaratory Judgment by the U.S. court for a proportional allocation of presidential electors in states where there is no “Winner-take-all” rule in the laws of that state. (Ie: some states use a “Winner-take-all rule in giving out their electoral votes, when there is no law or reason for them to do so.) Gordon believes that the federal government should make the Declaratory Judgment in order to comply with the mal-apportionment penalty of the Constitution.
read more »

EPA Endangerment Finding and Green Party Candidate Dennis Spisak for Governor : Progress for a Better Ohio

In a major climate development, the EPA yesterday formally determined that greenhouse gas pollution imperils the health and well-being of present and future generations. This finding sets the stage for U.S. and Ohio action.

EDF President Fred Krupp issued the following statement:

“The danger of global warming pollution is clear and present, the solutions are at hand, and the time for action is now. It’s time for Congress to finish its work on U.S. legislation to cap and reduce the 19 million tons of heat-trapping pollution we emit every day. American leadership on climate change will strengthen our security, wean us off of foreign oil, and ensure that America wins the race to clean energy innovation in the global market place.”

Green Party candidate for Governor Dennis Spisak announced “This is a great moment for the state of Ohio to move forward in creating renewable energy jobs, companies, and industry. Spisak added, “No longer will Ohioans have to live with mercury in our air and water from dirty coal plants. We can move forward in building solar, wind turbines, and geothermal plants while showing dirty coal lobbyists the exit doors at the statehouse.”

Http://www.votespisak.org/governor/

Green Party IL gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney will be having a “money bomb” this Wednesday December 9th. Whitney hopes to raise $50,000 from the the day’s donations. There will also be a funraising event that same night at Callihan’s Irish Pub 760 E. Grand Ave. Carbondale, IL at 7pm with music starting at 9.

Whitney garnered 10% of the vote for governor back in 2006 and 2010 looks ripe for a “November surprise.”

You can make an online donation on Whitney’s website here.

Or you can send a check to:

Whitney for Governor
P.O. Box 3803
Carbondale, IL 62902

Greens don’t accept money from corporation so please make your pledge today! Even if its $10!

To the very least, invite all your friends to donate and spread the word. The Whitney campaign has a facebook event for the money bomb.

Also read Rich’s facebook fundraising pitch after the jump!

read more »

Okay, okay. So we dropped the ball and are extremely late about reporting the possible Ralph Nader senatorial run.

The CT Greens are trying to get him to run, but Nader’s been all mum to whether he’ll take the plunge. There’s a facebook group called RALPH NADER US SENATE CONNECTICUT and has 1,355 members.

So what do you Greens think? If Nader chose to run, what affiliation would he run as? Do you want him to run? Do you think this is a good move or a tactical mistake for the CT Greens to draft Nader?

 Loading ...

Happy Birthday NZ Greens! You’re doing great work!

read more »

GREEN BEAT

NEWSLETTER OF THE GREEN PARTY OF OHIO December 5, 2009
***************************************************

Dennis Spisak to Make Governor’s Run
Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Green Party member Dennis Spisak, who was recently re-elected this past November to his seat on the Struthers, Ohio Board of Education announced that he will seek the Green Party nomination for Governor of Ohio.

“My campaign will focus on Single-Payer Universal Health Care for all, Blue-Green Jobs for all, and Better Funding of Education for all.” Spisak added, ” We will also campaign for fixing the housing mortgage crisis facing this state as well as looking into ways of reducing the nursing home costs for the elderly.”

Spisak believes the past 12 years of Republican and Democratic Leadership in the Governor’s Mansion has failed Ohio and the current Democratic and Republican candidates have failed Ohio as well.

“Governor Strickland’s platform of “Turnaround Ohio” has failed. Our public schools are facing an 800 million dollar shortfall in the state budget. Republican candidate John Kasich brings us nothing new but failed economic plans from the days of President Bush. Kasich also sat in his Lehman Bros. Office and watched the banks and Wall Street fail.”

Since Green Party Candidates do not accept donations from Lobbyists or Political Action Committees, now is the time to show your support for public funding of political campaigns and help Dennis Spisak win the 2010 election for Ohio Governor!

A key component of Dennis’s strategy to win is the grassroots funding available to statewide candidates in Ohio. By taking advantage of the Ohio Income Tax Credit for Campaign Contributions, we can prove the viability of publicly funded campaigns and help bring an end to corporate and special interest control of our elections.
read more »

From the Western Standard Shotgun blog:

Reports of the detention of an American journalist trying to cross into Canada for a speaking engagement have prompted outrage within the Green Party of Canada. Amy Goodman was kept at a British Columbia border crossing for over an hour, apparently because officials wanted to be sure she wasn’t coming to Canada to make negative comments about the Olympics. read more »

Over 100 leading peace activists have announced an ‘Emergency Anti-Escalation Rally’ at the White House on December 12, from 11a.m. to 4 p.m., to reject President Obama’s planned military escalation in Afghanistan. The rally is organized by End US Wars, a newly formed coalition of national and grass-roots antiwar organizations, with endorsements from leading peace leaders.

Rally organizers are calling for the left wing to end its support for Obama if he declares a surge in troops, and for condemnation of Obama’s war policy by his own party faithful. In addition, efforts will begin to cut short his term in office, along with Congress; and protests will intensify against U.S. war involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq and any other countries.

Speakers include Green Party members Cynthia McKinney, Lynne Williams, Marian Douglas and others including Sen. Mike Gravel, Kathy Kelly, Chris Hedges, David Swanson, Phyllis Bennis, Rev. Graylan Hagler, Coy McKinney, Debra Sweet, Brian Becker, Mathis Chiroux, Hon. Betty Hall, Elaine Brower, Michael Knox, Ralph Lopez, Ron Fisher, and statements from Col. Ann Wright, Stephen Zunes and Granny D. read more »

Be it resolved climate change is mankind’s defining crisis and deserves a commensurate policy response.

That was the proposition debated last night in Toronto. The participants were:

• George Monbiot: author of the best selling books Heat: how to stop the planet burning;
• Bjørn Lomborg: adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School. He is the organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus Center
• Lord Nigel Lawson: was Chancellor of the Exchequer between June 1983 and October 1989
• Elizabeth May: Leader of the Green Party of Canada and is an environmentalist, writer, activist and lawyer active in the environmental movement since 1970.

A running blog comment stream came from:

* Dave Roberts (Grist.com staff writer),
* David Boyd (co-author, with David Suzuki, David Suzuki’s Green Guide),
* Jim Harris (former leader, Green Party of Canada),
* Nic Rivers (co-author, with Jeffrey Simpson and Marc Jaccard, Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge),
* Peter Tertzakian (Chief Energy Economist of ARC Financial Corporation, Author, A Thousand Barrels a Second),
* Krystyn Tully (Vice President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper)

Read the following comments about Elizabeth May’s performance. Who in all of the Green Party US has the stature to be invited to debate and the capability to actually deliver?

David Roberts:
Crucial point from May: climate science based on multiple overlapping strands of evidence from multiple scientific disciplines. Not some fragile edifice based on one “hockey stick.”

David Roberts:
May is kicking Lomborg’s ass. Asks, pertinently, why is it only spending on climate change that he objects to? What about corporate bailouts? Fossil fuel subsidies? Military spending? He’s curiously quiet on those.

[Comment From Doug Brown: ]
I agree with Elizabeth on this point — I’ve lived and worked in Africa for many years and that is the same observation I would make on this point — climate change is negatively impacting the very things related to poverty and underdevelopment that we are concerned about

DavidRBoyd:
MAy is getting close to the heart of Lomborg’s duplicity. Why is the choice limited to spending money on foreign aid OR climate change? Added together, the amount of money needed to address the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and climate change is a substantial yet affordable sum. We can and should do both!

David Roberts:
Good point from May: why aren’t we talking about benefits? Efficiency is an oil well we could never exhaust, and provides energy cheaper than any other alternative. Why not tap it?

Krystyn Tully:
When May says we waste energy, she isn’t kidding. Generating electricity on the Great Lakes consumes more energy than any other sector. Our current approach to energy creation is incredibly inefficient (p. 248) : http://www.epa.gov/solec/sogl2007/SOGL2007.pdf

Cross posted from California Greening. – Wes Rolley

WASHINGTON, DC — Green Party leaders called on President Obama to reverse his Afghanistan policy by pledging an immediate cease-fire in the Afghanistan war and a complete withdrawal of US troops and military contractors, when he addresses the nation on Tuesday, December 1.

During the speech, President Obama will announce his intention to send 30,000 more troops, raising the number of US personnel in Afghanistan to over 100,000.

“Millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama in 2008 under the impression that he was an ‘antiwar’ candidate, even though Mr. Obama supported the war in Afghanistan and favored a limited withdrawal from Iraq. Troop escalation will not ‘finish the job’ in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan. Unless he surprises us in his speech on Tuesday, we’ll be further mired in a war that shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” said Rosa Clemente, the Green Party’s nominee for Vice President in 2008 (http://www.rosaclemente.com).

The Green Party of the United States will participate in antiwar protests scheduled for Saturday, December 12 in Washington, DC, and other locations throughout the US.

In Washington, Greens and other Americans who support an end to the Afghanistan war will gather for an Emergency Anti-Escalation Rally in Lafayette Park near the White House. Among the featured speakers for this rally will be Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s 2008 presidential nominee, and Lynne Williams, 2010 Green candidate for Governor of Maine (http://www.lynnewilliams2010.org). The rally, organized by End US Wars will take place from 11 am to 4 pm (http://www.enduswars.org / contact: Laurie Dobson, 207-604-8988, contact@enduswars.org).

“This is what Obama’s fabled bi-partisanship gets us — more of the same. What we need is partisanship, with a strong Green Party presence in this country, since we are the only party that was against the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan from day one,” said Ms. Williams.

On November 25, Ms. McKinney sent an open letter to President Obama urging a reversal of his warhawk policy on Afghanistan (http://dignity.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cynthia-mckinneys-letter-to).

Nationwide rallies and protests are also planned for December 2, immediately after the President’s speech (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/calendar.php).

Green Party leaders have disputed President Obama’s claims that the invasion of Afghanistan was “the right war.” The invasion has resulted in a catastrophe for Afghan civilians, with thousands killed and maimed and the destruction of property and infrastructure. The Taliban has won greater popular support because of its defiance of foreign troops, while President Karzai’s corrupt administration have betrayed any hope for democracy and regional warlords have turned Afghanistan into the world’s leading producer of opium. Human rights for most Afghans, especially women, have not advanced because of the US invasion.

Greens also asserted that the war has not reduced any real or perceived terrorist threat against the US, and its expansion into Pakistan with drone attacks inside Pakistani borders has created greater regional instability and animosity towards the US. Greens called the Democrats as much a party of war as the GOP, with both parties spending enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money to feed a military machine that bullies other nations and ultimately sustains corporate war profiteers.

“The only way to show support for US troops is to demand their safe return. As the Soviet Union’s attempt to subjugate Afghanistan proved, the US’s attempt to occupy the country means mounting US casualties,” said Farheen Hakeem, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States.

“The Green Party — not the Democrats or Republicans — represents the will of the people, with polls showing a majority of Americans opposed to the war. We challenge all Americans who desire peace to speak out with their voices and votes, demand that President Obama order our troops home now, and call on Congress to cut military spending,” added Ms. Hakeem.