Green Party Watch

June 25 – 26, 2011
The Havens Center
1805 West Alabama Street
Houston, TX 77098

Every summer, those of us interested in “greening” the state of Texas come together to socialize with like-minded people, learn about Green activities around the state, and, importantly, make decisions about the rules and issue positions of the party–decisions that will influence the course of this movement in our state.

Please make your plans now to join us!

http://txgreens.org/drupal/

2010 was a roller coaster year for the Green Party. Mid-term elections proved voter dissatisfaction with the Democrats in power, but the media-darling Tea Party Movement drove voters to reactionary candidates, not helping Greens at the polls. International Greens saw successes in the United Kingdom, Australia, and other places, while US Greens were moved by the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza under siege by Israeli forces. The 2010 Annual National Meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan in conjunction with the US Social Forum, putting Greens side by side their brothers and sisters in the struggle for social justice in America. In the fall, Greens had many exciting candidates running for office including Jill Stein, LeAlan Jones, Laura Wells, Rich Whitney, Tom Clements, Colia Clark, Julia Willebrand, Farheen Hakeem, Howie Hawkins, Cecile Lawrence, Ben Manski, Fred Horsch, and so many other inspiring Greens.

The following Top 10 Green Party stories are taken from a combination of hits on Green Party Watch and other criteria to build a summary of the year. May 2011 be prosperous for Greens around the World. Time is running out.

Top 10 Green Party Stories of 2010

May 7, 2010 – Caroline Lucas becomes first Green Member of Parliament in United Kingdom – Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, won a hotly-contested race in Brighton Pavilion to become the Greens’ first-ever member of parliament. The Guardian summed it up best: “It’s a massive breakthrough, not only because she’s a brilliant, charismatic, humane politican who will enrich parliamentary life, but also because it proves it can be done, even under our antiquated political system.”

May 31, 2010 Green Party and Cynthia McKinney Condemn Freedom Flotilla Massacre – In May of this year the Israeli Navy attacked a flotilla of ships run by the Free Gaza movement carrying humanitarian supplies to the besieged residents of the Gaza Strip. 19 human rights activists were killed in the attack and 50 more wounded. The Green Party, led by 2008 Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney, have been vocal and active critics of Israel’s war on the people of Gaza.

“The attacks on the aid boats is a criminal act of piracy and a deliberate provocation,” said Dr. Justine McCabe, co-chair of the Green Party’s International Committee. ““We demand immediate action from the US, including emergency orders from President Obama to cut off all aid to Israel. The policies of the US regarding Israel and Palestine up to now have convinced Israel that it can act with impunity in committing massacres and massive human violations against Palestinian civilians.”

2008 Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney, who was taken prisoner by the Israelis last year on another attack on a Free Gaza ship, said: “I am outraged at Israel’s latest criminal act. I mourn with my fellow Free Gaza travelers, the lives that have been lost by Israel’s needless, senseless act against unarmed humanitarian activists.”

June 8, 2010 – California Voters Pass Prop 14, Top Two Primary Initiative By a 53% – 46% margin, California voters approved adopting a “top two primary” election reform, a system whereby all candidates appear on a single ballot in the primary but only the top two, regardless of political party, advance to the General Election.

California Gubernatorial candidate Laura Wells had this to say: “Prop 14 pretends to be “open primary,” but more accurately should be called “top two,” or party-killer! Only two candidates would be left in November, when Prop 14 would exclude all the independent, alternative political parties like the Green Party, Peace and Freedom, and Libertarian. Prop 14 would favor only Democrats and Republicans that are incumbents or highly funded.”

June 24-27, 2010 – Green Party Annual National Meeting in Detroit in Conjunction with US Social Forum The Green Party’s Annual National Meeting was held in Detroit, Michigan in conjunction with the US Social Forum. The Green Party sponsored several Social Forum workshops and registration was cross-listed between the two events. Many Green Party candidates were in attendance and available to the media. A number of candidate presentations were taped by Green Party Watch and can be found through this link.

June 2010 – Republicans pay to get Green Party on Ballot in Texas, Democrats Livid If there is one thing that drives Democrats crazier than a Green “spoiling” an election, it is Greens getting on the ballot at all despite overwhelming odds. In Texas, a Republican consultant in Arizona arranged for a non-profit in Missouri to pay for Free & Equal to come up with 92,000 signatures to get the Green Party of Texas on the ballot up and down the ticket. Democrats were livid, immediately suing and issuing injunctions against ballot access. The case went to the Texas supreme court before culminating with the Green Party candidates being allowed to remain on the ballot.

The ultimate result of this was that Ed Lindsay, Green Party of Texas candidate for State Comptroller won over 5% of the vote, ensuring that the Green Party of Texas will have state wide ballot access through the 2012 elections.

August 21, 2010 – Historic Election Results for Australian Greens The Australian Green Party performed very well in the federal elections in Australia, with Adam Bandt winning a seat outright in Melbourne with over 36% of the first-choice vote, and the Greens winning about 12% of the vote in the lower house, giving them a share of control over the balance of power in the Australian Parliament.

September 21, 2010 – Green Party Senate candidate Natasha Pettigrew hit and killed on bicycle Natasha Pettigrew, Senate candidate for the Green Party in Maryland, was riding in the bike lane on a highway early on a Sunday morning by an inattentive driver of a SUV. The driver apparently didn’t realize she had hit anyone until she arrived home. Pettigrew died from her injuries the next day. This (long after the fact) article really captures the influence this story had on people.

November 3, 2010 – Green Party Gains Ballot Access in Texas and New York Election returns resulted in the Green Party gaining ballot access through at least 2012 in two of the most populous states, New York and Texas, however the Green Party lost ballot access in Illinois and Wisconsin. In New York Greens gain ballot status through 2014 thanks to Howie Hawkins earning over 50,000 votes for governor. In Texas Greens gain ballot status through 2012 thanks to Ed Lindsay earning over 5% for comptroller.

November 5, 2010 – Green Party Candidates for US Senate Net Half Million Votes The eleven Green Party candidates on the ballot this year for US Senate netted a combined half million votes. The 510,000 votes is the highest combined total for Green Party Senate candidates since 2000, when Medea Benjamin won 326,000 votes for US Senate in California and Vance Hansen picked up over 100,000 in Arizona. The 2010 results were clearly led by Tom Clements in South Carolina, whose 118,000 votes gave him 9.37% of the total. Clements had the most votes and the highest percent of the vote of all Green Party US Senate candidates in 2010. LeAlan Jones was the second big finisher with 116,000 votes, 3.19% of the total.

2010 – Green Party Elects 37 Greens to Office in 2010 342 Greens ran for office in 2010, over 300 of them were on the ballot in November. 37 Greens were elected, a win rate of 10.8%. All but 2 of the wins were in non-partisan races.

On the November ballot, Greens had strong showings for State Legislative races, but fell short in races for Governor and US House of Representatives. One Green, Ben Chipman, was elected to the Maine State Assembly but was listed as an Independent due to a technicality.

Sent by Brent McMillan, Executive Director of GPUS:

Herb Gura was re-elected to Konocti Unified School Board, Lake County
He will be about to start his third four year term.
He finished third of six candidates for three seats with 1,638 votes or 18.2%
http://acm.co.lake.ca.us/elections/results/result21.htm#c3043

Jim Smith, President of the Canyon School Board, Canyon Township, Contra Costa, CA was up for re-election this fall. Since no one filed to run against him, no election was held, technically a win. He was rolled over into the next term.
http://www.canyon.k12.ca.us/board-of-trustees.html

Steve Larrick won his re-election to Lower Platte 5 Natural Resources District, Lancaster County
1/2 for 1 seat, 1,720 votes 60.08% final result
http://lancaster.ne.gov/election/results/resul10n.htm

Enrique Valdivia won his re-election to Edwards Aquifer Authority Board District 7, Bexar County, TX
“The Edwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors, at its regular meeting September 14, canceled elections in four director districts and declared the unopposed candidates in each district elected to office. None of the four candidates drew opposition in the upcoming general election and, therefore, the holding of an election was not required. In Bexar County, Ron Ellis (District 5) and Enrique Valdivia (District 7) were each declared winners.”
http://www.sourcews.com/edwards-aquifer-authority-declares-four

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 »

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.

There are 58 candidates running for the United States House of Representatives on November 2.

This is the second of three posts on Green Party House candidates, continuing with the Western portion of the United States. There are candidates running in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Arlzona
William Crum (CD 2) – William Crum is a write-in candidate for U.S. House, second district. He ran for the same seat in 2008 and finished with 3,616 votes (1.1%) in a four way race. He is a father of five and grandfather of 17.
Leonard Clark (CD 3) – Len Clark is running for US House in Arizona’s 3rd District. Find out more about his campaign at his facebook page.
Rebecca Dewitt (CD 4) – Rebecca is an accountant, a mother, and the Secretary of the Arizona Green Party. She ran for the same seat in 2008 and finished with 4,464 votes (3.6%). Find out more about Rebecca Dewitt at her website.

California
Carol Wolman (CD 1) – Wolman is a psychiatrist on the Mendocino Coast, primarily working with native peoples. She is married with two children. In 2008 she ran for the same seat, finishing with an impressive 24,793 votes (8.54%), one of the best returns of congressional candidates in 2008.
Ben Emery (CD 4) – Ben Emery is a private ranch manager, he lives in Nevada City, CA with his wife and children. This is his first campaign for office.
Dave Heller (CD 9) – Heller ran a write-in campaign for this seat in 2008, finishing with 37 votes. Learn more about his campaign at his website. Also see his candidate statement video at KTVU.
Jeremy Cloward (CD 10) – Cloward is a political science professor, living in Pleasant Hill, CA with his wife and children. He last ran for this same office last year in a special election, finishing with 2,515 votes (1.83%).
Eric Peterson (CD 17) – Peterson is one of four candidates running for US House in the 17th Congressional District.

Colorado
Gary Swing (CD 1) – Gary Swing is a long time Green Party activist, working on Green Party campaigns since the mid-1990’s. He ran for State Representative in 1996 on the Green Party ticket, finishing with 1,338 votes (8.5%). He is a cultural event promoter in the Denver area, avid mountain climber, vegetarian and 9/11 truth movement supporter.

New Mexico
Alan Woodruff (CD 1) - Woodruff has been a chemical engineer, a management consultant, a financial consultant and a tax lawyer. After retiring from law practice he was a novelist and political junkie. This is his first run for office.

Oregon
Chris Henry (CD 1) – I had the pleasure of spending time with Chris Henry in Detroit this summer, he is a great guy. He is a union truck driver and green party organizer in Oregon. He last ran in 2008 for this same seat, finishing with 5,252 votes (2%).
Michael Meo (CD 3) – Meo is a math teacher and science historian, teaching at both the high school and university level. He is also a co-chair of the Pacific Green Party of Oregon. He ran for this same office in 2008, finishing with 12,741 votes (4%).
Michael Beilstein (CD 4) – Beilstein is a retired chemist from Oregon State University who also served time in the Peace Corps in the 1970s. He has also served three terms on the Corvalis City Council. He ran for this same seat in 2008, finishing with 8,195 votes (4%).
Chris Lugo (CD 5) – Lugo is a journalist and peace activist who previously ran for office on the Green Party ticket in Tennessee. Lugo has run twice for US Senate in the past, in 2008 he ran in Tennessee finishing with 9,102 votes (0.4%) and in 2006 he ran for Senate finishing with 2,578 votes (0.1%). (By the way, he has one of the most visually appealing websites from Green Party candidates.)

Texas
Jim Howe (CD 11) – Howe is an active member of the Permian Basin Central Labor Union and Communication Workers of America. This his first campaign for office.
Ed Scharf (CD 23) – Ed Scharf ran for this seat in 2002, finishing with 805 votes (0.5%). He is the co-owner of a wildlife lodge and broker with Scharf Realty.

Washington
Roy Olson (CD 9) – Olson, an actuary in Olympia, is a candidate for U.S. Representative in Washington’s Ninth Congressional District. Because of Washington’s “Top Two” election law, Olson was eliminated from the general election ballot during the primary on Sept. 1, where he finished 4th with 4,159 votes (3.34%).

Texas Green Party gubernatorial candidate Deb Shafto took part in a debate with Democrat Bill White and Libertarian Kathy Glass on tuesday night. Republican incumbent Rick Perry refused to participate. ABC station KTRK has video from the debate, which is separated into 12 segments:

The Austin-American Statesman reports:

Texas voters will get debate among the candidates for governor after all, though it won’t be Bill White vs. Rick Perry.

Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Party nominee Deb Shafto accepted an invitation Tuesday from the state’s largest newspapers and Austin television station KLRU to participate in an Oct. 19 debate. read more »

Jim Mustian at the Odessa American reports on Texas Green Party candidate for US House (TX-11) Jim Howe:

With aptly named communities like Notrees, Levelland and Plainview, West Texas has long been noted for its lack of verdancy. Across the oil patch, the reliably conservative political landscape has proved even less fertile for third-party candidates running for office.

But that reality hasn’t stopped one Odessa man from sowing the seeds of a grassroots campaign to change the status quo in his own backyard. As a candidate of the Texas Green Party, Jim Howe, 57, has quietly thrown his hat in the ring to challenge Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, for his District 11 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Howe, a political unknown from Southern California, said he is excited to offer local voters an alternative when they go to the polls this November. Howe said he supports the Green Party platform and the Green New Deal, a series of proposals designed to curb global warming and economic crises.

Read the full article at the Odessa American.

In an article titled “The empire strikes backhanded (but maybe the dark side brings balance to the Force)” the San Antonio Current delves deep into the controversy surrounding the Texas Green Party’s 2010 ballot access drive:

On April 12 this spring, a young, idealistic double agent resigned his mission.

“I worked very hard for the [Texas Green Party] because I believe in the GPTX and its core values and mission,” he wrote. “I worked so very hard because Texas is in a political crisis. We are in desperate need of courageous, ethical leaders that the GPTX offers.”

Called to account for his dubious service in an Austin courtroom in late June, Garret Mize told the judge he suspected that his assignment might lead to legal trouble. And so it did. read more »

The Houston Chronicle reports on the ongoing conflict between the Green Party and Democratic Party in Texas:

Texas Democrats asked the state Supreme Court on Wednesday to dismiss their efforts to keep statewide Green Party candidates off the November ballot, saying the court’s recent decision to allow those candidates on the ballot makes their case moot.

But the state Democratic Party said it wasn’t backing away from a lawsuit that accuses the Green Party of taking improper donations to fund its petition drive….

An attorney for the Green Party warned that the high court could still decide to keep the case. The party maintains that the donations were legal.

“We are happy that the Democratic Party has surrendered,” Green Party attorney David Rogers said. “They’ve gotten all the publicity value that they can get and they know they have no chances of winning under the law.”

Read the full article at the Houston Chronicle.

The Free and Equal Elections Foundation has issued a statement on the Texas Democratic Party’s attempt to remove Green Party candidates from the ballot. Free and Equal gathered many of the signatures that helped the Texas Green Party qualify its slate of candidates for the ballot.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Green Party of Texas has been facing Democratic Party lawyers and court challenges to their ballot access for the November election and The Texas Supreme Court released a ruling, July 2, 2010, that denied Democratic Party efforts to block statewide Green Party candidates from participating in this election.

Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free and Equal Elections Foundation, congratulates the Green Party of Texas on their win in the Texas Supreme Court to place their statewide candidates on the ballot.

Covering the battle between the Green Party of Texas and the Democratic Party over ballot access, The Wall Street Journal released three articles: “Texas Democrats See Red Over Green Party’s Ballot Coup,” published June 15; “Texas Green Party Appeals Ballot Decision,” published June 28; and the latest article, “Texas Green Party Gets Favorable Ruling,” published July 2.

“Texas has unfair ballot access laws for independent and alternative parties, like the Green Party of Texas,” Tobin said. “In addition to unfair ballot access laws, the Democratic Party is not acting democratic with this effort to reduce voter choices. The Democratic Party is showing a pattern of anti-democratic behavior in Texas and across this country that all voters should be paying attention to. I know first-hand how Ralph Nader’s candidacies faced attacks from organized Democratic Party efforts paid for by their typical corporate funders. It is a shame that the Texas Democrats are playing the same legal games.” read more »

“Greens can put candidates on the ballot for now, Supreme Court says” – the Statesman

The Texas Supreme Court today issued a stay in the dispute over whether the Green Party of Texas can field statewide candidates this year, meaning the party can move forward and certify its candidates for the November elections.

But that certification may be temporary. The courts have asked for additional briefs in the next few weeks in the Democratic Party’s lawsuit against the Greens.

AP Texas News:

In a ruling issued Friday, the court still wants to consider arguments by state Democrats that the Green Party took improper corporate contributions to fund their petition drive, but the Green Party lawyer says the ruling lets the party file its four statewide candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, comptroller and railroad commission with the secretary of state.

Friday was the deadline for the filing.

The ruling suggests the court won’t make a final decision until late July at the earliest. The Green Party insists its actions were legal.

“If the Republican Party insiders are doing stuff like that, we wouldn’t know about it,” [Green Party attorney David] Rogers said. “If the Republicans are doing the right thing for the wrong reason, is it wrong or is it right?”

The Dallas Morning News article here pretty much sums up where we are at with the Green Party of Texas ballot access story. A Texas Judge, who is a “lifelong” Democrat has blocked the Green Party of Texas from running a handful of state wide candidates. The GP of Texas has appealed, taken to the GOP controlled Supreme Court, and a Friday deadline looms as the last opportunity to put those candidates on the ballot.

This Texas ballot access story may be the most important story of the year in terms of its implications.

First, it is very similar to the Romanelli situation in Pennsylvania when Republicans were largely behind the funding for a 60,000 plus petition drive to get the Pennsylvania Green on the ballot. Although the funding was legal, all from individuals that did not exceed state limits, the Green Party signatures were not only thrown out by the Democrats but over $80,000 in court costs was slapped down to Romanelli to further punish the Greens for daring to surpass ballot access barriers. How can the ethics of the Green Party be questioned given the unethical and clearly self-preserving actions of the Democrats? Why are Democrats allowed to take money from Republicans and do whatever they can to increase their chances of winning while the Green Party is called unethical for doing the same thing?

Second, while the Democrats don’t hide the fact that for them this is all about eliminating competition in the Governor’s race between White and Perry, for the Green Party this is all about 2012. For the Texas Greens it may be about ballot access, but for the Green Party of the United States this has implications in recruiting a viable candidate for President in 2012. Being able to offer a ballot line in Texas, the second most populous state in the union, is a real big deal sweetener.

Third is the question of whether the cost of petitioning is an “administrative cost” for political parties or not. The Green Party of Texas claims it is, because if they can’t get signatures then they can’t run candidates. The onerous ballot access barriers are an administrative hurdle to cross.

Fourth is the issue of ballot access barriers. The one question major media outlets seem to be brushing over is why the Green Party requires 42,000 signatures from registered voters who did not vote in the primary, but the Democrats and Republicans don’t have to do that? In many states there is an equal access to the ballot. In Wisconsin, for example, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Green, you need 2,000 signatures to run for state wide office, 1,000 to run for US House of Representatives, 400 for State Senate, 200 for State legislature. There is a uniform application of ballot access requirements. Why do states like Texas and Pennsylvania have tiered access rules that inherently benefit the two parties in power?

Finally, how will the three parties be impacted by this in terms of public perception? Will the Republicans look slimy for paying over a half a million dollars to put some leftist competition on the ballot? Will the Democrats look like creeps for legally challenging the will of over 90,000 Texas voters? Will the Green Party look like puppets, or instead like innocent victims who just wanted the right to run candidates for state wide office?

Some stories on the topic:
Texas Green Party files appeal for candidates (Dallas Morning News, 6/28/10)
Texas Green Party Appeals Ballot Decision (Wall Street Journal,6/28/10)
Judge blocks Green Party candidates from Texas ballot (Dallas Morning News, 6/25/10)
Texas Democrats sue to find who bankrolled Green Party petitions (Dallas Morning News, 6/11/10)