Green Party Watch

Amazing interview with Illinois Green Party candidate for US Senate LeAlan Jones on Fox News Chicago.

WICD ABC 15 has this televised coverage of the Illinois Green Party meeting this weekend. They interview Phil Huckelberry, and they focus a lot on LeAlan Jones, whom they suggest is considering running for the US Senate seat in 2010. I’m not sure, but this appears to be the same LeAlan Jones from Ghetto Life 101 and Our America. If so, here is a 2003 Democracy Now interview with Jones.

Godless in Chicago (Rob Sherman) has a write up on the Illinois GP meeting, with photos, highlighting Whitney, Phil Huckelberry and Matt Reichel.

The Daily Illini reports on the Illinois Green Party meeting, with focus on the local Campus Greens and Rich Whitney’s platform.

We look forward to “first hand reports” from the Illinois meeting here soon! (Candidates, Walter! Who’s in? Cough it up…)

The Summer issue of Green Pages is now on-line at:
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/

read … comment … spread

Features

Tamez Stronghold
Indigenous response to the U. S. Border Wall
by Wendy Kenin, California Green Party
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1234

The dangers of the Connecticut campaign finance law
State Greens sue to pull down law prohibitive to minor parties
by Mike DeRosa, co-chair of the Green Party of Connecticut

http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1230

Greens mourn a founding member
Guy Chichester of New Hampshire dies
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1226

This year’s gathering to be cost-effective and fun
2009 Annual National Meeting to be held in Durham, NC
by Jan Martell, North Carolina Green Party
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1222

The first 100 days under a Green Party administration
by John Rensenbrink, Maine Green Independent Party
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1215

The First 100 Days
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1212

Hunger strike for strong climate legislation continues
by SKCM-Curry, Green Party of California
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?p=1209

read more »

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party has sent an open letter to Bill Maher after a June 19 broadcast of ‘Real Time’ in which Mr. Maher said “[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to represent the millions of Americans who aren’t being served by the Democrats. Because, bottom line, Democrats are the new Republicans.”

The Green Party’s reply to Mr. Maher: “Hey, Bill, we’re over here! What you described is the GREEN PARTY! We already exist!”

The progressive party sought by Bill Maher describes the Green Party: “Shouldn’t there be one party that unambiguously supports cutting the military budget, a party that is straight up in favor of gun control, gay marriage, higher taxes on the rich, universal health care — legalizing pot — and steep, direct taxing of polluters?”

The open letter urges Mr. Maher to acknowledge the Green Party and have a Green candidate or leader on the show. The text of the letter is appended below.
read more »

The New York Times has an article today called “A Green Coalition Gathers Strength in Europe” by Steven Erlanger. A post-European Parliament Election piece, it goes from Daniel Cohn-Bendit to the European Green Coalition strategy, but what really got my attention was the link to this French language campaign video:

This is awesome. The Green Party is already using a lot of videos to spread the word but we need more and we need them run on mainstream television, not just the Internet. Put all the Green issues in one video and show the nation what Greens look like, much like this video from Some of All Parts.

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.
read more »

On Monday, the Washington Post published an article on Cynthia McKinney in the “Style” section entitled: “Stealth Candidacy“. While media coverage of the Green Party is rare from news publications such as the Washington Post, when it happens it is usually a wee bit negative. This article starts: “Spies. They’re probably in the room, she says ominously.” You can imagine the direction this is going to take from that start (or read it yourself).

Adding further insult to injury, the Washington Post chose to omit Cynthia McKinney from their Presidential Candidates web page, choosing instead to stick with Barack Obama and his three leading white male opponents (Chuck Baldwin was left off as well, as proof that it wasn’t a conspiracy against women).

The DC Greens have responded with the following release and well written response to the “Stealth Candidacy” article:

WASHINGTON, DC — The following response to an October 27 Washington Post article on Green presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney was prepared with the intent of submitting as a guest column.
read more »

Although the Green Party candidate Richard Carroll is the only candidate on the ballot, and the newspaper notes that clearly, nonetheless the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s endorsement of Richard Carroll for the Arkansas State Legislature is a big deal. The paper admits the decision was easy since he was the only one on the ballot, but goes on to state “…we’re not so sure we wouldn’t be endorsing Richard Carroll today even if the Democrats and Republicans had fielded candidates.”

Why? Read on…

If there’s an honest, down-to-earth straight-shooter on this year’s ballot, Richard Carroll seems to be it. He told us he was considering a write-in candidacy but decided to go with the Greens: “I don’t have to agree with all their platform, but as long as I don’t disagree publicly . . . .” Join the club, Mr. Carroll. Who always agrees with their party of choice? But show us a politician who’ll actually say that, and the conversation is getting close to being honest.

There are other reasons for the voters in HD 39 to go for Richard Carroll. If it were up to him, he says, the state would remove the grocery tax completely. He talks (and talks a lot) about bringing more jobs to the Little Rock area, especially in light manufacturing. He says he wants more vo-tech opportunities for young folks. And-this is a big concern in House District 39, and should be-he says he thinks the state should be doing more to fight crime. (“I would like to help in any way I can at the legislative level to help fund extra officers and programs . . . .”) Sounds like a plan.

Sounds like a solid candidate.

Sounds like a Green Party candidate who deserves to win a House seat.

Our choice in House District 39 is Richard Carroll.

Yes, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette actually likes Richard Carroll.

You can read the

In an article at OpEdNews, Amee Chew makes a compelling case for the Cynthia McKinney / Rosa Clemente vote:

The Green Party Presidential ticket of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente brings something special and unprecedented to U.S. politics. Not only are they the first all women-of-color ticket for President and Vice President. These women take racial justice seriously, and have made strides to put gender at the center of a progressive agenda. For these two, it’s more than skin deep.

They’re the Presidential ticket that talks about amnesty for undocumented workers, that opposes guest worker programs as riddled with abuses, because they believe a just immigration reform means addressing the trade and economic policies fueling poverty and migration. They’re the ticket that demands reparations in the form of federal investment in low-income families and communities of color, to end racial disparities in health, housing, education, and incarceration. They call for the right of return for Katrina survivors; an end to prisons for profit, to the War on Drugs. And they speak of reproductive justice – not just the right to abortion, but actual healthcare access; of freedom from coerced or uninformed medication and sterilization.

Very well said, and the article continues to emphasize the “movement building” aspect to the Power to the People campaign and the Green Party.

Unfortunately, she also brings up the dreaded “safe states strategy” that tormented the Green Party for years, but I’ll pretend that those 6 sentences were interjected to appeal to Obama supporters driven by fear.

The rest of the article itemizes the blackout of the McKinney / Clemente message by not only the main stream media but by the traditional “progressive” organizations such as NOW, AntiWar.com, and Comedy Central’s Indecision2008 (although I wouldn’t consider that “progressive” per se…)

The article is worth a read.

The news goes from bad to worse as the stock market actions of the past month begin to hit the corporate realities. The world has changed as assets once held dissolve by individuals with 401(k)s and stock portfolios. Corporate expansion plans are thrown overboard as their stock plunges and banks hold tight to their remaining assets. Around the world the dominoes fall and continue the cascade of collapse. So, there is little help there.

Commentators tell us to “hold” our stock and New Age “Prosperity” theologians are given equal time with smiley commentators. Face it, the news is filled with a multitude of Pollyanna wisdom from stock portfolio managers giving us financial advice, while they themselves undoubtedly dumped their own stocks long ago. Not only that but then, we have those like Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC who is married to Alan Greenspan, former head of the Fed, providing us insight on the latest stories on the financial collapse. In an article in the Columbia Journalism Review, Megan Garber pointedly discerned the conflict inherent in such a situation: “’What went wrong?’ should be a standard question Mitchell and other journalists are asking right now. When one potential answer to that question is ‘Alan Greenspan,’ there’s a conflict. A big one. We are told repeatedly that it’s all just a matter of confidence. We gotta believe, that all.”

First, the bad vibes from Wall Street was just because Congress was dragging their feet on the bailout (I mean “rescue plan” in the gotta believe world). Then President Bush comes on television and tells us “anxiety feeds anxiety” as if this presents some sort of Socratic wisdom. Then, GM assures us it has “no bankruptcy plans”. In the world of reassurances this amounts to throwing a rescue line to a drowning man that is attached to an anchor on the other end. No help for those who have seen their retirement funds go under for the third time.

Looking to the future presents a new scenario needed. The lack of leadership, real leadership, underscores the political vacuum within the ruling elite of America. It poses the very real question of “Who’s minding the store?” In a Presidential election year, we continue to hear the “other guy” is to blame on the premise that nothing could be done by the opposition. That accounts for the drug war, that explains the war in Iraq, that explains the Patriot Act, that explains the failures of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that explains the widening income gap between rich and poor.

And the list goes on as the news worsens. Potential home buyers increase cancellations of purchases by 10%, consumer and auto loan delinquencies continue to grow as even commercial banks are holding back on repos, the worlds markets continue to plunge. Just where is the assurance in the real world that we are being spoon fed by the media? One email to CNN’s POWER LUNCH pointedly commented: “Words, words, words. That’s all we’ve seen so far is words.” While this brought a brief scoffing by the panelists, there is little in that email’s revelation that can truly be refuted by evidence.

C-Span is saying that the Cynthia McKinney interview with Road to the White House that was supposed to run last Sunday (but was bumped by a Sarah Palin re-run) WILL air at the regular time this Sunday September 14 (6:30 EST, and again at 9:30 EST). For real this time.

C-Span fielded a LOT of calls from upset Greens over the snub last weekend, particularly since a number of Cynthia McKinney house parties were scheduled around the show.

Word is the interview will be coupled with footage from the Ron Paul press conference this week.

Green Party VP candidate Rosa Clemente says it best: “WELCOME TO THE FASCIST STATE!”

Kim Wilder has a fantastic post On the Wilderside called “Cynthia McKinney’s everywhere!” – that notes 17 stories that mention Cynthia McKinney, all in one day!

With her permission, I am cross-posting it here:

17 Stories (I think all from yesterday, really) that mention and/or praise Cynthia McKinney. And, these are just a sampling.

In no particular order…

1. First, the most amusing blog hit on the list. It is a recommended list of what a good protester needs in her back-pack: here.

(The first thing on this list is an “‘Elect Cynthia McKinney’ sign printed on the back of a recycled ‘Elect John Kerry’ sign.)

2. Polling numbers (at 2% and 3%), brought to you by Green Party Watch: here.

3. For our greenie-Greens and our environmentalist colleagues: Cynthia praised for being the best on off-shore drilling (opposing it the strongest): An About dot Com piece of all things: here.

4. Post from a liberal with a difference-of-opinion on who to vote for, but a funny post none the less. (And, you know, doesn’t matter if they say something good or bad, as long as they get you in the paper and spell your name right!): here.

5. A Cynthia McKinney mention on the blog which had been set up as a Robert F Kennedy for President blog:here.

6. Had to mention all the many posts of Cynthia’s Hijacking America message. The winner for best title for one of these posts goes to the Uniffors Blog: “Former Democrat unmasks her former party”. By-line created over at the blog Uniffors – Life in Gloria’s Enchanted Kingdom.

7. A quasi-endorsement and profound thoughts over at the blog “Diary of a Bad Housewife”. The author seems to be one of the disappointed Hillary supporters, deciding what to do next. With the inspiration of Dolores Huerta–her speech about Hillary and her history of struggle–the author will stick to politics and consider support for Cynthia McKinney…

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Post title: Lessons From Chavez and Huerta

I am familiar with Obama’s voting record and as I’ve said before, it is very similar to Hillary’s. While it is possible that he may turn out to be the best choice, I did use my anger constructively and I began to look outside the two major parties. I am currently researching Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party’s presidential candidate who also looks like a good candidate. I’m not ready to say how I’ll vote yet, but I am ready to move on, re-group, and move forward.

8. From the blog Upset The Setup. Blog post “Off the Table”, a suggestion on various, effective ways to vote…with the first choice being for Cynthia McKinney: here.

9. The Blog, Out-Loud Brainwaves gets the award for best quote of the week. In the post “‘Voila! Problem Solved’: McCain Advisor Defines EVERYONE As Insured”, the author writes:

On the political spectrum, I fall somewhere between Cynthia McKinney and Che Guevara.

10. The blog search also showed Cynthia McKinney coming up in more than one Forum post. Want a place to talk about Cynthia’s right to be in the debates? Look at this message board: here.

11. The Chronicle of Higher Education has a great piece that mentions Cynthia: here The piece reflects on the college students’ participation in Denver – what the students learned from observing inside and/or outside the Democratic National Convention. Includes a Cynthia McKinney for President mention.

12. I was confused about if Cynthia was at the Nader-sponsored Open the Debates Rally in Denver. From what I gather, Cynthia sent along a taped message. Pretty cool that the alternative candidates can support each other. Cynthia was listed in a few pieces of coverage of the Open the Debates Rally. One good one is here. Protest Rally for Nader Draws 4,000/ Open the Debates. By Mary Silver. Epoch Times Staff Aug 28, 2008.

13. Reflections on demonstrators in the streets of Denver, how they were treated by police, and various issues. A brief mention of Cynthia McKinney, which I like, because it puts her at the scene of the people who matter to us – people demanding peace and marching in the streets. Full story here. It is from the blog “Undernews” by Sam Smith. I am confused about if Sam Smith or someone else wrote the story. But, it is a well-done story.

14. From Radical Blogs The piece is: “Marching Through Denver: Fighting for an End to War, Torture, and Government RepressionDetials of March to Pepsi Center on Sunday, Aug 24th” The title says it all. Another Cynthia McKinney mention. And, in really good company:

…Ron Kovic, Vietnam Veteran and author “Born on the fourth of July,” Cindy Sheehan, Peace Mom and Congressional Candidate in San Francisco, Cynthia Mckinney, Green Party Presidential Candidate, Fred Hampton, Jr., son of the former Black Panther, Larry Holmes, Troops Out Now Coalition, and were roused by the music of Dead Prez.

15. From a blog “Election 2008″, a great line about Cynthia’s past performance.

from
The Rise of Third Parties

Libertarians, the Green Party, and famous Independents are the largest parties outside of the major two. This is is gaining increased media attention for theses candidates. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, has appeared on The Colbert Report. Also via comedian Jillette Penn of Penn and Teller on Glenn Beck Headline News(Dec 16). Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party Candidate, Is mostly found in congressional record, where she sponsored the MLK Records Act, and The Tupac Shakur Records Act.

16. People are still talking about that “historical moment” Rosa Clemente pointed out at the Green Party convention. A very fun, feminist blog points out the historic nature of a woman-of-color ticket: Think Girl. The blog heading is: “Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” – bell hooks

17. About the rally: here.

Related: Thoughts on how and why to support Cynthia’s excellent showing…

Cynthia McKinney taped a 30 minute interview with C-SPAN today that will air Sunday September 7, 6:30 eastern time, repeat at 9:30 eastern time.

Jedi Master Hugh has suggested wisely that this would be a perfect opportunity to schedule local house parties, meet & greets, fund raisers at your house to get people together to learn more about the campaign (and donate to it) and then watch Road to the White House with Cynthia McKinney on September 7. Great idea! I’m going to work on scheduling one in my town. How about you?