Green Party Watch

A menacing new Washington machine: Can voters stop it?

by Jill Stein and John Andrews

As the smoke clears from the debt ceiling battle in Washington, a menacing new machine has appeared on the skyline of Capital Hill: the new Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, a virtual guillotine to which New Deal dreams will be ordered to report. In fact, the first victims have been largely identified during the past two months of negotiating between President Obama and Speaker Boehner. They include senior citizens struggling to survive on Social Security payments, people who can’t pay their medical bills without Medicare, and students trying to stay in school while their education debts soar.

We also know the fortunate ones who will be given a free pass: the super-rich who got big tax breaks under George Bush, the offshore tax dodgers, the weapons companies feasting on the bloated Pentagon budget, the Wall Street financiers, and the overcharging pharmaceutical companies. They will sit in the skyboxes sipping martinis while the blade falls again and again on the dreams of ordinary people.

Adding insult to injury, the bipartisan deal cleverly shields members of Congress from being held accountable for the bloodshed they will cause. By design, a vote for the debt committee’s inevitable attack on Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will emerge as the only action that can avoid a disastrous “enforcement” mechanism. In the aftermath, incumbents will be able to say “Yes, the cuts are terrible. But don’t blame me. There was no alternative to voting YES.” This effort to prevent voters from holding incumbent politicians accountable is a dangerous end-run around representative democracy.

Neither of the two big parties is standing up for the interests of everyday people, and this is not likely to change. But change may be coming anyway in the form of extraordinary voter unrest spreading across America. Interest is growing in third party political alternatives that are not corrupted by the big money hijacking the two major parties. In many states the number of independent and third party voters now exceeds the total registered in the major parties. Revitalized by a surge of disaffected Democratic Party refugees, nascent progressive third parties offer a path to taking our government back, starting with the simple act of refusing to vote for the big money politicians who have betrayed us.

In changing the political dialogue in the 2012 elections, liberated voters can challenge the debt reduction guillotine and advance essential solutions to the debt crisis – including cutting the bloated Pentagon budget and progressively taxing multimillionaires, Wall Street speculation, and tax-dodging corporations. And we can force attention to the neglected jobs crisis that should have been Washington’s first priority to start with.

In the 2008 election, we were exhorted to ‘believe in’ change. Now, with a third party movement emerging in 2012, we are ready to make change happen.

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John Andrews and Jill Stein are co-chairs of the Green-Rainbow Party, the Massachusetts affiliate of the Green Party of the United States.

Green Party Watch had to take some time off, but we are back and playing catch up on some great stories out there.

Arizona

In Tucson Arizona, Democrat Jonathan Rothschild has no Democrats or Republicans running against him for Mayor because “…those potential candidates either got bounced from the ballot or withdrew from the race for mayor in the face of challenges to signatures on their nominating petitions.” according to Inside Tucson Business. There is the minor technicality of two Greens facing off in an August 30 Primary, with the winner facing Mr. Rothschild in November:

At this point Rothschild’s only challenge is going to come from a Green Party candidate, which also has the only primary race, between Dave Croteau and Mary DeKamp. But fewer than 1 percent of voters are registered in the Green Party so it would quite the feat if either were to make a serious challenge in the November election.

Here is another article about the Green Party primary from the Tucson Citizen:

Her entry into the race could lead to a Green Party primary on August 30, as fellow Green Party candidate Dave Croteau entered the race a few weeks ago. He ran for Mayor before in 2007 against Mayor Bob Walkup and got 28.08% of the vote compared to Mayor Walkup’s 71.20 %. There are 636 registered Greens in the City of Tucson. (Another Green candidate Jon McLean entered this race for a few months but withdrew in May due to problems with his voter registration, and endorsed Republican Shaun McClusky.)

New York

In Rochester, New York, Alex White has announced he will seek a seat on the City Council after his failed bid for Mayor in March where he picked up 9% of the vote.

Massachusetts

In 2010 Mark Miller picked up 45% of the vote in a two way race for a State Legislative seat representing the 3rd Berkshire District. The Democrat that beat him has been appointed to a higher position, and Miller is back in the race for a special election to fill the vacancy. Miller will be running on the Green Rainbow Party ticket.

Miller, a former editor and co-owner of The Berkshire Eagle and a longtime former Democrat, joined the Green-Rainbow Party after becoming frustrated with the resistance to reform evidenced by Democratic Party leadership on Beacon Hill. Most observers were surprised by his strong showing in the 2010 race, considering the fact that it was his first run for public office and he entered the race rather late against a well-entrenched incumbent. This time around, Miller believes that an earlier start and an experienced campaign team will give him an excellent chance of winning.

Cornel West: ‘We’ve got to think seriously of third-party candidates, third formations, third parties’

From Chris Hedges’ column this week at Truthdig:

“We have got to attempt to tell the truth, and that truth is painful,” [Professor Cornel West] says. “It is a truth that is against the thick lies of the mainstream. In telling that truth we become so maladjusted to the prevailing injustice that the Democratic Party, more and more, is not just milquetoast and spineless, as it was before, but thoroughly complicitous with some of the worst things in the American empire. I don’t think in good conscience I could tell anybody to vote for Obama. If it turns out in the end that we have a crypto-fascist movement and the only thing standing between us and fascism is Barack Obama, then we have to put our foot on the brake. But we’ve got to think seriously of third-party candidates, third formations, third parties.”

According to Boston.com:

A federal judge today sentenced Chuck Turner to three years behind bars for accepting a $1,000 bribe, a stinging rebuke to the former Boston city councilor.

US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock rejected an appeal for leniency by defense attorneys, who had asked that the 70-year-old civil rights crusader receive probation and be spared prison because of his more than four decades of service as a community activist and elected official.

Woodlock’s stiff sentence came at the urging of prosecutors, who accused Turner of lying on the witness stand and making a mockery of public office and the criminal justice system. They had sought a prison term of 33 to 41 months.

After a jury convicted him in October of attempted extortion and three counts of providing false statements to FBI agents, Turner maintained his innocence and blamed his conviction on a government conspiracy to discredit elected officials of African-American descent.

Does your Green Party local chapter have an upcoming meeting or event? Send the information to gpw@greenpartywatch.org and we’ll post it here and on our events calendar page!

Thursday Jan. 27, 2011, 7 PM The People Speak – A Community Screening

The Green-Rainbow Party is sponsoring a free screening of the documentary “The People Speak,” which is based on Howard Zinn’s writings and the book “Voices of the People’s History of the United States.” This event is occuring on the first anniversary of Prof. Zinn’s death. Lenox Community Center, 65 Walket St., Lenox, Massachusetts 01240

For more information, please contact Berkshire Greens at:
berkshiregreens@gmail.com

Sunday Jan. 30, 2011, 1:30 PM – Green Party of Maricopa County (Arizona) Organizational Meeting

Sunday, January 30th, 2011—1:30pm to 3:30pm (arrive early!)
Phoenix Public Library (Mesquite Branch—meeting room)
4525 Paradise Village Parkway North, Phoenix AZ 85032
(the library is located on the north side of Paradise Valley Mall; across the parking lot from Dillard’s)

Tentative Agenda

• Election of GPMC Officers/Steering Committee for 2011-12
• Update of Arizona Green Party (AZGP) ballot status petition drive for 2012; recruitment of volunteers
• GPMC Goals for 2011
• Fundraising—recruitment of monthly sustainers

GREEN-RAINBOW CONVENTION CELEBRATES SUCCESSES, LOOKS TO FUTURE

WORCESTER- The Green-Rainbow Party’s annual state convention was held on Sunday at Clark University in Worcester. The 80 attendees celebrated the fact that their small party had won major party status as a result of the elections and had emerged rejuvenated and poised to grow.

The convention opened with addresses from five recent GRP candidates. Jill Stein, the Party’s gubernatorial candidate, noted “There is a growing awareness that we are in serious trouble, and that the incumbents that created the mess are not going to get us out. People were been so appreciative that we were in this race and that we were speaking up for the solutions that were being ignored. ”

Lieutenant Governor candidate Rick Purcell, an Army veteran and health care worker, recounted his initial nervousness at being in a debate at a law school, facing three lawyers. But as the debate proceeded, he found that he had no trouble deflating the lawyerly bickering. “I killed them with normalcy” he recalled.

The convention applauded State Auditor candidate Nat Fortune whose vote total regained major party status for the Green-Rainbow Party. This lifts restrictive fundraising rules and puts the Party’s name on state registration forms.

Fortune told the convention “If electing Democrats to office could change things, we’d already be living in Nirvana.”
read more »

Despite having a number of promising campaigns for state legislature in various states, Greens fell short of victory in every race – a few by painfully close margins. However, one former Green running for state legislature as an independent in Maine did win.

In Maine, Fred Horch of Brunswick finished with 34% in District 66, just 4 points (or 200 votes) behind the victorious Democrat. Anna Trevorrow finished 2nd with 31% in District 120, and Seth Berner finished 2nd with 28% in District 115.

In Massachusetts, Mark Miller of Pittsfield finished with 45% in a 2-way race in the 3rd Berkshire District.

In Wisconsin, Ben Manski finished with 31% behind Democrat Brett Hulsey, who had 49%. While Manski did better among voters who designated a candidate in the race, straight-ticket Democratic votes gave Hulsey the edge.

In Illinois, Jeremy Karpen finished with 35% to 65% for Democratic incumbent Toni Berrios.

In Pennsylvania, Hugh Giordano finished with 18% in a 3-way race.

In Maine, independent Ben Chipman won House District 119 with 54% of the vote. Chipman previously worked as an aide to John Eder, who became the second US Green to be elected to a state legislature in 2002. Chipman has also run on the Green Party line in previous campaigns. While not technically elected on the Green Party line, Chipman will no doubt be a voice for Green values in the Maine State House.

Last night the Green Party won ballot access in New York and Texas, retained it in Massachusetts and Ohio, lost it in Illinois and Wisconsin, and fell short of gaining it in Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and Nevada. Here are the results by state:

Arkansas: Greens got on the 2010 ballot by petition, but failed to retain a ballot line when Jim Lendall got less than 3% of the vote for governor.

Illinois: Greens lost the ballot line and major party status gained in 2006 by Rich Whitney’s 10% for governor when Whitney got less than 5% of the vote for governor this year.

Maryland: Greens got on the 2010 ballot by petition, but failed to retain a ballot line when Maria Allwine got less than 1% of the vote for governor.

Massachusetts: Greens retain ballot access and party status after Nat Fortune earned 5% for State Auditor.

Minnesota: Annie Young’s 2.7% for State Auditor falls short of winning major party status, but retains minor party status for the Minnesota Greens.

Nevada: Greens fail to gain ballot access after David Curtis got less than 1% of the vote for governor.

New York: Greens gain ballot status through 2014 thanks to Howie Hawkins earning over 50,000 votes for governor.

Ohio: Greens retain ballot status thanks to Dennis Spisak earning over 1% for governor.

Texas: Greens gain ballot status through 2012 thanks to Ed Lindsay earning over 5% for comptroller.

Wisconsin: Greens lose ballot status after not running any statewide candidates who could qualify.

From Green Change:

Tonight, we will be focusing on the campaigns of 14 transformational Green candidates who are building the Green movement across the country. Some of these candidates are poised for history-making wins. Others are blazing the trail for future success by running party-building campaigns for statewide office.

14 Greens to Watch on Election Day

Jeremy Karpen for IL Assembly – Jeremy Karpen’s vigorous grassroots challenge to a Chicago Machine insider has earned him endorsements from the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Teacher’s Union, Independent Voters of Illinois, and even Chicago Progressive Democrats of America. Karpen, a strong supporter of single-payer health care, affordable housing, mass transit, and progressive taxation, has run a clean-money campaign as part of his commitment to reforming Illinois’ notoriously dirty pay-to-play politics.

Ben Manski for WI Assembly – Ben Manski’s insurgent run has earned the support of Madison’s teachers union, the Madison Capital Times, and leading progressives including Jim Hightower, Medea Benjamin, and Thom Hartmann. The outgoing Democratic assembly member revoked his endorsement of Manski’s main opponent, a Democrat who left the Sierra Club to lobby for the coal industry. Manski is racing to the finish line with the support of a broad transpartisan coalition of elected officials, unions, students, newspapers, and activists committed to renewing Wisconsin’s trailblazing progressive tradition.

Gayle McLaughlin for Mayor of Richmond, CA – With a population over 100,000, Richmond became the largest US city with a Green mayor when Gayle McLaughlin was elected in 2006. Since then, McLaughlin has made Richmond a center of the emerging solar industry, fought successfully to increase taxes on the local Chevron oil refinery while lowering them for small businesses, and brought down violent crime with expanded community policing. Her supporters, including Green For All founder Van Jones, hope that her record of positive accomplishments in office will carry Mayor Gayle to victory.

Hugh Giordano for PA Assembly – Hugh Giordano is a union organizer from Philadelphia’s Roxborough neighborhood whose people-powered campaign has electrified the race for an open seat in a traditionally Democratic district. After a CEO won the Democratic primary with only 30% of the vote, Giordano’s strong support for public education, single-payer health care, and worker’s rights has gained him the backing of local unions and maverick Democrats and made him a contender for the win.

Dan Hamburg for Mendocino County (CA) Supervisor – In a county the size of Delaware on the coast of California, former member of Congress and Voice Of The Environment executive director Dan Hamburg is running for supervisor to build a vibrant, sustainable local economy and protect the beautiful natural landscape for generations to come. Hamburg finished first in the 4-way June primary, and has been endorsed by the third-place finisher as well as local unions and environmentalists in his head-to-head race against the conservative, developer-backed candidate who finished a close 2nd in the primary. read more »

Campaigning in Western Massachusetts today, Green-Rainbow gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein expressed confidence that her campaign was on the verge of achieving its critical goals – including setting up “a clean money political force that can challenge business-as-usual”. Stein is having a busy day, lending support to two Green-Rainbow candidates for state representative, Mark Miller and Scott Laugenour, who are mounting stiff challenges to entrenched Democratic Party incumbents in the 3rd and 4th Berkshire districts. “The groundswell of support for an alternative to the usual Beacon Hill incumbents is really exciting” said Stein. “This is a year in which people are looking for alternatives – and they are resonating to candidates that aren’t part of the big money machines. Miller and Laugenour are tapping into voters who have been unhappy with Beacon Hill for quite a while, but had nowhere to go. It’s a sign that the Green-Rainbow Party can step up to provide a progressive alternative to the Tea Party movement.”
read more »

In a year that has seen the biggest upsurge of activism against marijuana prohibition in American history, Green Party candidates across the country are leading the fight for marijuana legalization while Democrats and Republicans defend the failed, destructive “war on drugs” prohibition regime.

The eyes of Americans who oppose prohibition are on California’s Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010. The California Green Party and its leading candidates, including gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells and US Senate candidate Duane Roberts, support Proposition 19, while the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor and US Senate all publicly oppose it.

Meanwhile, Green gubernatorial candidates like Howie Hawkins in New York, Rich Whitney in Illinois, and Jill Stein in Massachusetts have injected marijuana legalization into the public debate and rallied anti-prohibition voters, who number 46% in the latest Gallup poll, around an issue considered taboo by the political establishment.

All of these candidates, plus other Green gubernatorial candidates including Deb Shafto in Texas, Dennis Spisak in Ohio, Maria Allwine in Maryland, Morgan Reeves in South Carolina, and Jim Lendall in Arkansas as well as over 100 Green candidates for federal, state and local office, have signed onto a 10-point program called the “Green New Deal”, which includes legalizing marijuana and ending prohibition as one of 10 major reforms needed to put the country back on the right track. See Green Change for a list of candidates endorsing the Green New Deal by state.

By voting Green, you not only send a strong message that you want a sensible drug policy; in many cases, your vote helps the Green Party maintain its ballot line in your state, enabling Greens to run more and stronger campaigns in the future. If you want to legalize marijuana, vote Green.

From the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party:

Scott Laugenour (Berk. 4th) and Mark Miller (Berk. 3rd)  have made unprecedented progress against entrenched incumbents in the state Legislature. Each is taking on an  opponent lacking any other opposition.

Community leaders, newspapers, radio hosts, and television personalities have not only publicly endorsed these two candidates, but have even taken yard signs and have decided to go Green!

Now Scott has received an endorsement from The Berkshire Record (10/28), noting in part that  “With Laugenour, southern Berkshire
County residents have a rare chance to make a real change in the
house… We need to send a message, not just to our representatives,
but to the entire Legislature.” read more »

Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein took part in a debate with Democratic incumbent Deval Patrick, Republican Charlie Baker, and Democrat-turned-independent Tim Cahill on Monday, October 25th. Here is footage of the debate from Boston TV station WGBH:

From Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein:

If we can raise $15,000 by Friday, October 29th, we will be able to air our ads from Boston to Pittsfield. Not only are we rising in the polls, but the latest poll has a staggering 28% of likely voters saying they still might change their mind. We’re hitting our stride just as the other candidates are failing to inspire their bases. Now it’s time to hit the streets and the airways with our message.

Donate $75 right now and you’ll be putting our message on the air for a full minute. If you donate $500 you’ll put us on the air in Boston on the radio news stations with the widest reach. Dirty money has had its say on the airways.  But now it’s clean money time!

read more »

From Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein:

The perfect storm couldn’t get more perfect. Growing impatience with the insider candidates and poisonous politics as usual makes a breakthrough for our campaign more possible – and more necessary – than ever.  Please make a contribution now to support the radio campaign to blast past the media blackout in every corner of the state. Let’s let people know that the alternative to politics as usual is ready and waiting! read more »