Thought I'd give her an official (and non-derogatory) thread now that it's official: [youtube]03cOM9r51Nw[/youtube] ++++++ And lest you think I'm posting this for laughs, I'll almost certainly be casting my vote for her in the Green Party primary in CA. Now I'm not a 9/11 conspiracy nut by any means, and I think Cynthia's kinda messed up her political career through poor decision-making or whatever it was, but I also remember being really impressed by her in the past, which makes me see her as more than just the bat-shit crazy charicature that she's portrayed as more recently. That first impression I have of Cynthia is from 90's era broadcasts of congressional hearings - I guess mostly the Clinton impeachment hearings but maybe there were other examples - and she, and Maxine Waters, and Barbara Lee, and another one from I think Houston whose name I'm forgetting who has since retired I believe, all stood out in a big way, and it was remarkable because the thing they had in common was that all four of them were African-American, female Congresspersons. What made them stand out to me was that of all of the elected members of Congress, they were the most real and the least afraid to speak their minds and tell it like it was. I think the gist of what they said was something all the lines of why are we spending this time discussing the sex lives of prominent public officials when there are real social problems in America that are going un-addressed and unresolved? Drugs, crime, poverty, racism, social injustice, etc. And I couldn't have agreed with them more. Anywho, as a Green I admire Cynthia in certain respects and it's great to hear her speak up about such a broad range of issues and why they are important to her, while she also makes me cringe a bit for some of the things she's said and done in the (more recent) past. But, meh, she's an upgrade from Nader in many respects, so, what the hell, I'm in. You know that she's not doing this because she thinks she's going to make money or earn greater fame or anything. To me that says a lot about her character and her presumable desire to add to public life through public speaking and organizing. It will be interesting to see if she is able to make any impact in bringing the green/progressive and African-American communities together.
It will be interesting once the GP's start their national convention. Right, it's a Nader vs McKinney divide. Aside from this, the other major challenge is getting in all 50 state ballots. At least in Texas it will be an uphill battle.
I attended a number of Green events in my youth, many locally, and it never ceased to amaze me how much I had issues with there positions. Thats what turned my politics slowly from lefty to libertarian. The Greens need more candidates like Jill Stein if they want to do better.
Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney had one thing in common -- irrepressible egos. It's bizarre for someone who watched the racially divisive demagoguery she engaged in to hear anyone saying she's a selfless soul. The only thing McKinney ever answered to was a thirst for power and revenge on her enemies. I've often said she's no different from Lester Maddox, George Wallace, or Eugene Talmadge. Just a racist demagogue. I would challenge you to be less gullible about what you're buying into.
After working on two Green Campaigns (one state, one local) I am still amazed at how ill-prepared, how poorly-organized, and how contemptuous many Green Party leaders are of the average American. That said, I always liked riding the bus with Matt Gonzalez (SF City Councilman who ran for mayor)
I can't vouch for all the GP's across the US, but at least in Texas it's all a grassroots effort. Many at the local level are people who are new at electoral activism. People who are tired of business as usual. Only two choices....hamburger or hamburger with cheese.
I would argue that McKinney would make an excellent fascist however. Maybe even better than Grimes. Which leads to the conundrum of whether one can suggest a better Fascist for the Fascist Party than the current leader without undermining the main tenet of the Fascist Party. HAIL .... uh....
John Galt nails it as usual. I notice that 2004 West Virginia Gubernatorial Candidate Jesse Johnson is running for the Green Party. "You may remember him from the movie Hook in which he played a pirate."
I honestly don't know Cynthia McKinney so I can't say if she is or isn't racist. But there's no one who ever runs for president who doesn't have a huge ego. If that's a problem for you as a voter, then I guess you can never vote for any candidate. All I meant was that running as a Green is hardly going to bring her fame and wealth, but maybe she will be able to rehabilitate her reputation. I was more than a bit skeptical about her initially, but as long as she takes it seriously and avoids talking about black helicopters and 9/11, I'm looking forward to seeing her do some campaigning; although it's hard to say just yet how much active campaigning she plans to do.
Jill should run for an office that she can win. In general I wish greens were a little more practical and tried actualy holding office and governing, instead of running token campaigns. Matt's a neat, very brilliant, guy and that campaign was crazy. I think he might be interested in running for something down the line if the right situation evolves but I don't think he's hung up exclusively on politics. Interestingly enough, his successor on the city council, Ross Mirkarimi, is also a Green and while they are very different from each other, Ross is a born politician (looks, intelligence, ambition, and oodles of political savvy) and an even better candidate to eventually hold a higher office such as mayor, state assembly member, etc.
Well, since P.T. Barnum is dead & Charliton Sharpton isn't running, why not? We need a self centered opportunist. Oh! Wait! We have Hillary.
Video of the Sunday, Jan. 13th Green Party (U.S.) presidential debate, courtesy of Don DeBar of Pacifica Radio: [youtube]NNGtJ_0vTgk[/youtube]
I think I heard this on the news. N-E-W-S. And the libertarians, and the Reform Party (whatever happened to that, anyway?), and so on - if you're effectively ceding the grassroots to the Big Two, you have no future, and if you can't get your message out among the grassroots, what the hell do you hope to accomplish?
"We cannot be satisfied so long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and the Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. August 28, 1963 Dear Friend, Are you: * Incredulous at the fact that two Presidential elections were stolen and no one was held accountable? * Disappointed that, as a result, our country is at war, involved in torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the peace? * Concerned, especially in light of New Hampshire, that your vote might not be counted in November and that the will of the voters will be thwarted yet again with election fraud or outright theft? * Disquieted that the use of electronic voting machines, coupled with laws that restrict public access to election data "owned" by voting machine companies, might thwart your ability to verify election results if they are in question? As acknowledged in the documentary American Blackout, I worked with investigative journalist Greg Palast and conducted my own Congressional investigation into election theft in Florida and across our country in the Presidential election of 2000. Those proceedings documented the role of Data Base Technologies, now a part of ChoicePoint, and election officials in Florida, in illegally "scrubbing" the voter rolls. In 2001, with Al Gore presiding, I objected to the seating of the Florida electors. Not one Senator objected and so there was no discussion and no debate in the Congress about what happened in Florida and across our country in the 2000 Presidential election during the seating of the Electoral College. The same pattern of fraud and theft was planned and executed in the 2004 Presidential election. But this time, not relying on any political party, the people themselves demanded and funded an investigation into what happened in Ohio. More and more information comes to us about how the will of voters in Ohio was deliberately suppressed to produce a desired outcome. This effort at discovering the truth of Ohio was led by independents, Libertarians, and the Green Party because the Democrats had already conceded the election. In my own 2006 Congressional election, Georgia courts have ruled that the electronic election data cannot be made public because they belong to Diebold. The matter is going to be appealed all the way to the Georgia Supreme Court, but isn't that a shame? In my election night speech I declared electronic voting machines a clear and present danger to our Republic. I want to keep election protection and a radical common sense approach to issues on the table. As the candidates with populist appeal, but without their party's support, are being pushed to the margins, I want to make sure that the election results are truly a reflection of the will of the voters. That will only happen if there is another voice raising critical issues. Are you also: * Waiting to hear the leading Presidential contenders say that it's past time to repeal the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, the Bush tax cuts, the Military Tribunals Act, bring our troops home now, and institute a livable wage? * Infuriated that 48 million of our neighbors have no access to health care while those of us with insurance have our claims too often denied? * Ready to have the Parties' solutions to the shrinking dollar and the ballooning national debt explained, especially in light of rising food prices and unemployment? *Tired of the belligerent talk being directed at Iran and Pakistan and ready for our country to become a leader in pursuit of peace? And finally, are you also *Afraid that the issues you really care about won't get addressed in this election season and therefore the likelihood of them being addressed by the incumbent is almost nil? I have traveled across our country to almost half its states. I have met too many people disillusioned by their fears that their issues won't be addressed in this campaign season. I've met many people who want to participate, but who long ago figured out that the system was rigged against the interests of working families and so, dropped out, but who want to have hope that our country can be delivered from its current morass. Too many are feeling that they have nothing for which to vote, that their votes won't count, even worse, they might not even be counted. To them, I suggest looking another way. As I have done. On March 17th of 2007, I declared my independence from national leadership that deepens the slough in which our country finds itself today. That leadership has enabled our country to throw away traditional American values of justice, and peace, and freedom. I have now become a member of the Green Party and am seeking its Presidential nomination. I'm encouraging the people I've met to join me and do some things we've never done before in order to have some things we've never had before. I hope you will lend your support so we can press for election integrity and put real solutions to the problems faced by real people on the table in real talk that we all can understand. This election in November is critical. The future of our country and the content of the current debate can be influenced by us. Please help me create the political space for real issues to stay on the table. I know you support the truth. I know you want to help the American people know the truth. Please visit www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com to review my record. Please visit www.runcynthiarun.org to donate to this effort. Please take the time to view two youtube offerings: http://youtube.com/watch?v=03cOM9r51Nw and http://youtube.com/watch?v=ozQ_iPuqCxg After viewing these films, I hope you will agree that our work deserves your support. The time is too precarious, the issues too important, our futures too much at risk for us to lose any more critical voices on important issues. Thank you again for your support of truth. I hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Cynthia McKinney P.S. You can mail your donation by U.S. Postal Service to: Power to the People Committee Cynthia McKinney for President P.O. Box 311759 Atlanta, GA 31131-1759 Please complete and include in your mail our contribution form to help us comply with federal election reporting requirements: http://www.runcynthiarun.org/pdf/contributor_form.pdf Please note: Campaign Contributions are not tax-deductible. Corporate contributions are not permitted. Only U.S. residents and citizens aged 17 or older may make contributions to federal elections. [youtube]ozQ_iPuqCxg[/youtube]