Green Party Watch

MarketWatch.com reports:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — On Tuesday, January 3, representatives of the Libertarian Party and the Green Party will join the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT*) — a national coalition of major Muslim organizations — and other civil liberties group leaders at a news conference in Iowa to express their opposition to the unconstitutional nature of the National Defense Authorization Act’s detention provisions.

This news conference is intended to convey a broad-based public response to President Obama’s signing into law of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that authorizes the military to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens suspected of terrorism without charge or trial.

See the details at MarketWatch.com.

James Q. Lynch reports at the Quad City Times on Iowa Green Party candidate for State House District 89 David Arthur Smithers:

WELLMAN, Iowa — David Arthur Smithers was a Democrat for 30 years.

“Now I’m a party to myself,” says Smithers, a Green Party candidate in Iowa House District 89 near Iowa City. “It’s almost as if I’m running by myself.”

In fact, he is. Smithers is the lone Green candidate for state or federal office in Iowa this year.

Smithers, 57, of Wellman doesn’t want to be the Lone Green Ranger forever, so he hopes to build the party as a social movement for “working folks making less than $20 an hour.” read more »

Since November 4th, we’ve learned of 7 more Greens elected in California, Colorado, Connecticut and Iowa. In addition to the 21 Greens elected on Nov. 3rd, that makes 28 Green victories this fall. Thanks to Brent McMillan of GPUS for tipping us off. read more »

Green Party (US) release:

• Green Party beachhead in California: Greens take a majority of seats on Fairfax Town Council; see Preliminary Election Day results for Greens at http://www.gp.org/elections/2009-videos/november-results.html

• ‘Send a Green to Congress in 2010′: Greens will reach out to voters who are disappointed by Obama and Dems but haven’t forgotten eight years of GOP misrule under Bush

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party made a strong showing in city council races across the US on Election Day, November 3, 2009.

Greens now make up a majority on the Fairfax Town Council in Marin County, California, where first-place finisher Pam Hartwell-Herrero joins incumbents Lew Tremaine and Larry Bragman. Fairfax becomes the fourth municipality in the US to have a Green majority, following Arcata and Sebastopol in California and New Paltz in New York.

A list of Election Day highlights follows below. For a comprehensive report on Green results for Election Day 2009, visit the Green Party’s web site (http://www.gp.org/elections/2009-videos/november-results.html). More results will be listed on the page as they come in.

“The strong showing of Green candidates in 2009, especially among municipal candidates where Greens won 35% of all such races entered, shows that voters believe that Greens not only have good ideas but can govern effectively. When voters are given a positive alternative to the status quo, they will vote for it.” said Green Party co-chair Mike Feinstein, a former Mayor and City Councilmember in Santa Monica, California. (35% is based on 47 Green victories out of 133 municipal races in 2009.)

The Green Party is now turning its attention to the 2010 election.

“Our slogan for the midterm election will be ‘Send a Green to Congress in 2010.’ The Green Party will reach out to voters who’ve been frustrated by the broken promises of change from the Obama White House and Democratic Congress but haven’t forgotten eight years of disastrous Republican misrule under George W. Bush. We’re reminding Americans that they have more than two choices on Election Day. A few Greens in Congress will change the whole dynamic of US politics, ending the narrow corporate-approved pro-war range of two-party ideas,” said Ron Hardy, chair of the Green Party’s Senatorial Campaign Committee (http://www.gp.org/committees/gscc/index.shtml).

• ELECTION DAY HIGHLIGHTS
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Many of us live busy lives, juggling work, family, activism, house work, foraging for food, etc. It is important to periodically spend some quality time in the great outdoors, if not camping or hiking at least spending time at a park or at a beach. A few years ago Richard Louv wrote a book called “Last Child in the Woods” which focused on what he called “Nature-Deficit Disorder”, about the disconnect between children and nature. I have two young children, and as I strive to make sure that they build strong connections with nature and the environment around them, I also have to remember to nurture my own connections with nature.

(Above: My daughter on top of Echo Rock at Mirror Lake State Park)

In August I’m taking the family to Wyalusing State Park for the second Great River Green Gathering, a fun camping-playing-vegan-green party time with Greens from around the midwest (and you should go too!). Our State Parks are treasures, and I would love to spend every weekend with the family exploring the 99 state parks in Wisconsin. However this week we are going to Northeastern Iowa to a farm wedding at a beautiful old farmhouse on a hill overlooking crops in every direction (“knee high by the fourth of July…”), where we will be setting up tents and camping on the farm for 3 of the 6 days. Farms are often under-appreciated as nature-magnets. Last summer at this same farm my daughter spent 3 days exploring the thick treeline surrounding the farm, picking and eating mulberries and raspberries, chasing frogs and butterflies, and building secret forts. This is the cure for nature-deficit disorder – rampant and uncontrolled play outdoors.

Consequently, I won’t be posting very often here at Green Party Watch over the next week. Yes, I can pick up the wireless provided by the rural wireless cooperative, but I need to play too!

I wanted to add one more item on this unnecessarily long “I’m taking a week off” post: Wisconsin Green Dennis Boyer has a new book out through University of Wisconsin Press called “Listen to the Land: Conservation Conversations”. From the back: “Inspired by years of talking with farmers, foragers, loggers, tribal activists, seed savers, fishers, railroaders, and nature lovers of all stripes, Dennis Boyer has created in Listen to the Land a fascinating communal conversation that invites readers to ponder their own roles in grassroots environmentalism…” Furthermore, Dennis surprised me by informing me (by way of a check) that he is donating all of his proceeds from the sale of the book through 2009 to the Wisconsin Green Party! So…

BUY THE BOOK!!! I’m reading it now, short little essays for quick reads or sit and enjoy it all at once. Best read by campfire…

Last year two Wisconsin Greens went to Iowa to help Iowa Greens get Cynthia McKinney on the ballot. They hit Iowa City, and several other cities, before going to Davenport, IA for the Bix Street Fest, a large event with lots of people – ideal for gathering signatures. Event organizers DavenportOne confronted the petitioners and tried to force them to leave the streets of Davenport. They called the police.

The ACLU of Iowa took up the case and now the Green Party of the United States, The Wisconsin Greens and the Green Party of Iowa are suing Davenport for violating their first amendment rights to petition.
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The Wisconsin Green Party is excited to host the second annual Great River Green Gathering. Held at the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers, this gathering is an opportunity for regional Greens from the Upper Midwest to get together face to face. Think recreation and regionalism, not rigidity; camaraderie, not constitutions; activities, not agendas and you’ll have an idea of what this weekend is meant to do for Greens.

The gathering will be held at Wyalusing State Park near Prairie du Chien, WI and attendees will have the choice of staying in a group bunkhouse (with toilets and showers) near the lodge or reserving a campsite in the park (a WI state park sticker is required for admission to the park). Vegan breakfasts and lunches are provided with registration while dinners will be potluck, family style meals. Bonfires and grassroots entertainment in the evening. While there will be time to discuss issues important to Greens, there will be more time to play games, relax, explore the park and to sing and laugh together. This is a family event though pets are restricted from the lodge area.

To read more or register now, go to:

http://www.wigp.org/?q=GRGG2009

Early registration runs through July 1. (All registration fees will be used to pay for this gathering, this is not a fund raiser for the Wisconsin Green Party.)

ALL GREENS are welcome and encouraged to attend! Last year was a lot of fun – it is a great site, and everyone pitched in with the cooking, the cleaning up, the games, etc. There is both indoor group bunk houses or nearby campsites that you can reserve on your own. Register before July 1 to receive a discounted pricing.

Registration options range from $25-$50 and include vegan breakfasts & lunches Friday & Saturday and breakfast on Sunday. The higher registrations include lodging in the group bunk houses (with fully functional bathrooms) or take the low end and reserve your own camp site. Dinner meals are potluck / shared but someone will feed you if you come from afar.

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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This morning I woke up to this beautiful site after a night of snow fall in Eastern Iowa. I spent the Thanksgiving weekend with family on the lakes between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. One relative said she voted straight ticket Green Party, first time ever voting Green for her. She didn’t know anything about the candidates, but felt voting Green was the thing to do this year.
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Iowa Green Wendy Barth is covered in this Des Moines Register article.

New Mexico Green Rick Lass is covered in an article at The Santa Fe New Mexican in his race for Public Regulation Commission.

Nebraska Green Steve Larrick was covered by the Associated Press in his race for US Senate.

The Rev. Edward Pickney is running for Congress from prison. Running in Benton Harbor, Michigan, home of the Whirlpool Corporation, Pickney is in prison for 3 to 10 years because he quoted the Bible, violating his probation.

This weekend Greens from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and maybe Minnesota will gather at Wyalusing State Park, on the bluffs above the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Wisconsin River. The Gathering is mostly to relax, rejuvenate, and have fun, but also we will be talking about issues that impact the upper Midwest and how these four state green parties can build off of each other. Whether it is peak oil or local foods, mass transit or climate change, water quality or fighting new coal plants, regionalism is critical to preparing for the future and we intend to start those discussions now.

20 years ago Greens gathered at Interstate Park in St. Croix Falls, which led to the creation of the Wisconsin Green Party, but prior to that were multi-state Green Gatherings along the Great Lakes, and some of the people involved with both of these are still around. So easily we forget our history!
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National Green Party Secretary for three years, Iowa Green Holly Hart will be the guest this Sunday on Green Party Watch Radio. Tune in this Sunday from 3 to 3:30 PM East Coast time and you’ll hear us live. Of course, as always, the show is hosted at GPW Radio after the webcast too so you can listen at your leisure.

To listen to the program, click here.

John Deeth reports at the Iowa Independent that Wendy Barth, Iowa Green candidate for Governor in 2006, may jump into the Iowa 2nd Congressional District race currently held by Democrat Dave Loebsack.

“My record as a peace activist speaks for itself,” Barth told Iowa Independent. “Bring the troops home, redirect the military budget to social programs that can provide real security, and encourage Israel to establish more respectful relations with their neighbors so they won’t feel like they need so many weapons from us.”

2 others have already entered the race against first term Democrat Loebsack, including Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Independent Brian White.

A first hand account of gathering signatures to get McKinney-Clemente on the ballot in Iowa, as told by one of GPUS’ newest Steering Committee chairs Jill Bussiere of Wisconsin:

We arrived in Iowa City last night and hooked up with Holly Hart and Bill (the man in the suit) at the ped mall. Collecting was pretty good, and all three of us got over 20 signatures each in about an hour and a quarter.

We have had some difficulties today in Iowa – we tried collecting signatures in Davenport this morning in a farmers’ market, but were told we were not allowed. We went downtown where there had been a run, and where they were having a two day street fair. Collecting there was quite good, but after an hour or so we were told that political activity was not allowed. The streets are being rented by an entity called Davenport One, and they made a rule some years ago that political activity is not allowed. This seemed an injustice to us – an abridgment of our First Amendment rights – but perhaps the city signed away such basic rights when they rented the streets out – we are inquiring but so far have no answers.
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John Deeth, whom I have great respect for, has a great article on his blog on third party politics in Iowa, focusing on the Iowa Green Party and Iowa Libertarian Party. A portion for you:

As an African-American woman, McKinney offers a double whammy of the identity politics that were so prominent in the Democratic nomination fight. She is a plausible protest vote for women still angry about Hillary Clinton’s defeat, but who can’t bring themselves to vote for either McCain or Obama. Her main support, though, is likely to come from anti-war absolutists who want impeachment and immediate zero funding of the war and who feel Obama is too timid on these issues.

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