A blog about Green Party politics, issues in America, voting reform, and a space for citizens to engage in debate. Views expressed in this blog are my own.
While the winner-take-all voting system helps perpetuate two large political parties that are far too similar, there is one area where the two party system works in the Green Party's favor.
That is our nations capital, Washington DC. The city government is dominated by Democrats, with Green Party members serving on several neighborhood advisory councils.
Greens in DC support full democratic representation in Congress.
"Self-Determination and Statehood - Our party's central goal and the condition upon which all other achievements must be made. Total and permanent control over our own government is an essential right."
Greens stand for democracy in our nations capital. It is not acceptable that the population of DC live disenfranchised by our national government.
Greens stand for citizen empowerment and citizen control over government. Shouldn't DC citizens have a voting voice in Congress?
"Nor can it endure four or more years of a Republican governorship, under which things would be even worse than they are now. Given the choice among the good, the bad, and the mediocre, Ohioans should rally behind the good, and that is personified in Dennis Spisak."
Greens are running for office all across the country from the top to the bottom of the ballot. We do not accept any special interest money - no PAC $, no corporate $, no union $. The only funding we receive is from citizens like you.
I would like to thank the Northern Virginia Greens for a very informative meeting on 02-20-10 at Oakton Libary!
Around 10 local Greens met to discuss organizing and strategy regarding activism, the Green movement, and electoral politics. A review of Green Party members holding elected office shows that currently there are 4 elected Green Party members here in Virginia.
We also discussed the current events surrounding the radical expansion of corporate political power from the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court. This ruling expands the concept of corporate personhood to include unlimited political spending.
You might be scratching your head right now and wondering "Are you saying corporations are people?"
The Supreme Court said it in the late 1800's. Then in the late 1970's, spending money was ruled by the Supreme Court to be protected political speech. Now the Supreme Court combined two branches of already twisted logic to say that corporations may now spend unlimited funds to directly influence elections.
Paul Hughes of the Northern Virginia Greens presented Sierra Club's power point presentation on the history of corporate power in America. Very informative! Sierra Club's corporate personhood page is here, and the powerpoint may be downloaded here.
The Green Party supports the rights of citizens, first and always. Corporations are not people, they should not have the rights of individuals, and they should absolutely not have political rights. Too much power is concentrated in the hands of far to few corporations.
The next meeting of the Northern Virginia Greens is scheduled tentatively for March 27th. I will announce it on my blog as soon as I hear, or you can always check the Northern Virginia Green Party website.
Not in Northern VA and want to link up with your local Green Party? GREAT! Go to the national Green Party site and you can find a link to the Greens in your area. Click here.
1. GRASSROOTS DEMOCRACY
Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.
2. SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
All persons should have the rights and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment. We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, barriers such as racism and class oppression, sexism and homophobia, ageism and disability, which act to deny fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
3. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM
Human societies must operate with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature. We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet. We support a sustainable society which utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation. To this end we must practice agriculture which replenishes the soil; move to an energy efficient economy; and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
4. NON-VIOLENCE
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society’s current patterns of violence. We will work to demilitarize, and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments. We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in helpless situations. We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
Just wanted to post the link to a great Green Party oriented podcast produced by Steve Kramer. Funny, insightful, and up to the minute, the Secret Frequency is a great source for opinion and commentary.
Is Illinois about to go heavily towards the Green Party? This article in the Chicago Sun Times seems to lead in that direction.
In 2006, Green Party candidate for Governor, Rich Whitney, rec'd 10.4% of the popular vote - an indication of significant support by the Illinois electorate, and the organizing ability of the Illinois Green Party.
Per the article, voters are "not happy with the choices offered by the mainstream political establishment."
Interesting choice of words. If the voters do not like the ideas and candidates offered by the "mainstream political establishment," how "mainstream" can Democrats and Republicans claim to be?
When voters are asked about whether they support more choices at the ballot box and more parties - they invariably say that they do. Clearly, the Democrats and Republicans are not meeting the needs of American voters.
American voters have more choices at the ballot box now in Illinois with Rich Whitney running for Governor. Speaking about important issues, and accepting the challenge of leadership is what the Green Party is about - not ducking responsibility with the same failed policies that got us into the mess we are in.
The Arlington County Green Party are recruiting candidates at their next meeting, March 3rd 8pm at Silver Diner on Wilson Blvd.
The Arlington Greens have been making their presence felt in local elections. Last year, local Green Party member John Reeder rec'd over 30% of the vote in race for County Board against Democrat Jay Fisette.
Green Party candidates bring fresh ideas, new energy, and clean-funded candidacies to elections. Voters deserve more choices and better candidates - when you are in the voting booth next time, think of the Green Party.
The Green Party: Representing one special interest group - citizens!
Everyone talks about who to vote for: the best man, woman, for the job - the smartest or the toughest or the most peaceful or the least peaceful or the tallest or the best looking. People use many different methods to determine who they vote for.
But have you ever thought of how we vote?
For presidential campaigns, each state has a number of votes in the electoral college, so whether you vote for the Green Party candidate, the Republican candidate, or the Libertarian candidate, you're not actually voting for the candidates, you are choosing electors.
So, whichever candidate gets the most popular votes in a given state, gets all of that states electors (with the exception of a couple of states). There is no prize for second place, and if you vote for a third party candidate, you are often mocked for "wasting" your vote.
Option 1: All independent candidates and political parties who are not the Democratic and Republican Party should be banned! Well, not constitutional, and rather mean-spirited.
Option 2: How about a parliamentary system with proportional representation? Not a bad idea, but it would take one (or more) amendments to the U.S. Constitution, plus possibly amendments to various state constitutions, and other constitutional legal headaches. President Obama taught constitutional law, we could ask him....
Option 3: Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) - now here's an idea whose time has come! Instant Runoff Voting allows you, the voter, to rank your candidates in order of preference when there are more than two candidates running for a single office (1992 Presidential campaign: Clinton, GHW Bush, Perot - 2000 Presidential campaign: Gore, GW Bush, Nader) WITHOUT "WASTING" YOUR VOTE.
How does it work?
The short version is: You rank your candidates in order of your preference, 1. Jane 2. Bob 3. Pete
Then, the votes are counted. If a candidate receives a majority (50%+1) then they win and the election is over. However, if none of the candidates get a majority, the Instant Runoff happens. The candidate with the least amount of votes is dropped, and if you voted for that person, then YOUR vote transfers to YOUR SECOND CHOICE. So, it's impossible to waste your vote - your vote only supports candidates you support, and never ends up accidentally helping candidates you oppose.
Looking back, my "short version" is way too long. IRV is so simple and easy to use the liberal Hollywood elite use it to decide the winner of Best Picture in the Academy Awards!
Here is an animated clip from the good folks at FairVote that breaks it all down.:
The Green Party supports your right to a better way of voting! We support Instant Runoff Voting as a way to broaden political participation, and enrich the political culture of our country.
Greens are fighting for a more vibrant democracy. You, the citizen and voter, deserve nothing less.
Like pictures? Here's the flow chart of an election using IRV/Instant Runoff Voting. Pretty......
The Green Party is re-writing it's 2010 platform. (2004 platform can be viewed here)
"Yeah, so?" you're probably thinking.
The difference is - you, the voter, the citizen, get to write it. As the party that represents one special interest group: Americans, the Green Party values your ideas, your energy, and your contributions. What do you want government to do? What do you want government NOT to do? How should they do it?
Rich Whitney is the Green Party candidate for Governor, and Don Crawford is the candidate for Lt. Governor.
Rich's campaign slogan is "The Times Demand Change." Rich is a veteran Green Party campaigner, and brings a fresh voice and new ideas to the political environment in Illinois.
The two larger parties, Democrats and Republicans share many similarities, one of which is that they are both flooded with special interest money from corporations, unions, and PAC's. Simply put, they work for them, not for the people of Illinois.
Rich Whitney does not accept donations from any of these sources. Only donations by individuals are accepted by Green Party candidates, and by the party in general.
The Green Party: listening and working for citizens.
