Green Party Watch

Illinois Green Party US Senate candidate LeAlan Jones and gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney have generated considerable buzz after two polls from Public Policy Polling showed Jones at 14% and Whitney with 9%, while their Democratic and Republican opponents hover in the low 30s. Here are some of the notable stories that have come out about LeAlan Jones and Rich Whitney this week:

The Huffington Post: LeAlan Jones, Illinois Green Party Senate Candidate, Sees Spike in Poll Numbers Following Mark Kirk Scandal

ABC Chicago: More candidates enter Ill. Senate race

NBC Chicago: From “Ghetto Life 101″ to Senator? An Interview With LeAlan Jones

Washington Post: The Illinois Green Party: Blago’s final revenge

WSIU NPR: Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate Says New Poll Shows Growing Support

Ellen’s IL 10th CD blog: Bill Hillsman is coming to Illinois politics to help Rich Whitney, Green Party Candidate for Governor

Firedoglake: Support for third parties – mostly the Greens – continues to grow around the country

To continue building upward momentum, LeAlan Jones and Rich Whitney need contributions of time and money from Greens in Illinois and around the country. Here is an email Whitney sent to supporters this week with the subject line “Making History: Breaking the Two-Party Monopoly”: read more »

Green Party Gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney picked up a bit of news coverage at Examiner.com. The article includes polling data from Victory Research which shows Whitney currently stands at 3.9%. Whitney won better than 10% of the vote in his last race four years ago, and has been aggressively campaigning since he announced he’d run again this year on July 15, 2009.

To donate to Whitney’s campaign, visit his campaign website.

I would guess that most visitors to this site are either Greens or Green-curious. Either way, I would guess that most of you know at least a little about the Green Party’s Ten Key Values.

The new poll asks you to rank your top three values. Unfair? Sure. But hey, it’s just for fun, no? While I hope it doesn’t influence anyone’s opinion, behind the “Read more–>” link you can find a column I submitted on the topic to a local newspaper, YC Magazine. read more »

As the nation faces what we are told is an eminent economic collapse, we here at Green Party Watch would like to know what you think the next move should be. Of course these are not the only options, so please feel free to add ideas here in the comments and we’ll add them to the list.

The latest CNN Poll, when it includes only Obama and McCain, shows Obama leading McCain 51% to 46%.

When the poll is expanded to include “third party candidates”, the results are: Obama 48%, McCain 45%, Nader 4%, McKinney 1%, Barr 1%.

Story here.

Many folks complain about a “bumper sticker mentality” that tries to distill a complex question into a catch phrase. I see these snippets of opinion on people’s possessions as a sign of passion, and a well designed statement of a few words that says it all is precious.

With that in mind I have created a poll with several catch phrases to consider for bumper stickers which we may offer here at Green Party Watch. You can vote for four of the current eight choices. Please take part in the poll and post your ideas and comments to help us decide if this is even worth considering. Only vote for a bumper sticker if you would pay $20 to get 25 stickers sent to you. If it looks good we may print up enough choices that we could sell them in 20s mixed and matched.

Polls covering yard signs and buttons will follow in the next few days.

Three weeks after receiving the Green Party Nomination, Cynthia McKinney is finally appearing on a national poll. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll, conducted July 27-29, put McKinney at 1%.

“Now suppose that the presidential candidates on the ballot in your state included Barack Obama as the Democratic Party’s candidate, John McCain as the Republican candidate, Bob Barr as the Libertarian Party candidate, Cynthia McKinney as the Green Party candidate, and Ralph Nader as an independent candidate, who would you be more likely to vote for?” If unsure: “As of today, who do you lean more toward?”

Obama: 46%
McCain: 42%
Nader: 6%
Barr: 3%
McKinney: 1%

There you go, there’s the floor. No where to go but up.

Thanks to On the Wilder Side for the tip