Over the past several years, we’ve come to a place in our national political debate where a handful of issues have dominated the conversation over and over. Of these, there is one that most intrigues me: which party can lay true claim to upholding that most important of pillars of our culture: true American values. Republicans time and time again cry out about how they embody these values, how their brethren are that most patriotic of citizen, as American as apple pie, baseball, and the 4th of July. Democrats, for their part, barely ever enter the fray to claim that they hold American values dear, and instead spend most of their time attacking Republicans. I’d like to put forth that neither of these parties best represents the American values we hold so dear. Instead, I truly believe it is the Green Party that most closely matches the ideals and aspirations of the American people.
Continue reading Green Values Are American ValuesThis piece was written as part of GreenChange Blog Action Day. Learn more here.
I’m not going to pull any punches here. I detest the two party system. I believe that it undermines representative government. It makes our government more responsive to corporations than to citizens. It decreases the chances of progress and it results in many good ideas being shut out of the national political debate.
The limits imposed on this nation by the two party system are slowly leading to its demise. Partisan gridlock in Washington, outright corruption, the absurd difficulty of kicking out incumbents, corporate control of Washington, and the infamous backwardness of many local governments (among many things) are all symptoms of this same disease. And I do not use that language lightly.
Continue reading Thinking beyond the two party systemThe criminal, anti-democratic racket described in this NYT article is just the latest blatant display of greedy Wall Street manipulation of the global economy.
Dean Baker has a great summary of Goldman Sachs’ “savvy” track record in this Guardian/UK article. And don’t forget Matt Taibbi’s mind-boggling portrait in Rolling Stone of Goldman Sachs profiting from one self-created economic bubble after the other. And it was the finance industry who gave Scott Brown a big last-minute send-off to Washington, signaling their equal opportunity approach to looting.
I’m starting to think that a focus on unearthing the dirt behind Goldman Sachs and its political influence might shine some daylight on the criminal convergence of politics and economics at the start of the 21st century.
Continue reading Obama praises a criminal racket as savvy, puts them in his Administration A few thoughts on the essay by Jason at Open Media Boston on Jill Stein’s and Grace Ross’s quite different campaigns for governor:
It’s not a question of either going for the gold – quixotically or not – in a statewide race or letting dozens of flowers bloom in local and state legislative races. An exemplary candidate like Jill Stein (I’m biased) running as standard-bearer of the Green-Rainbow Party can inspire people to run for lesser offices throughout the Commonwealth as GRP candidates. For one thing, she can appear at their campaign functions, helping both her own candidacy and theirs. If citizens show up out of mere curiosity or out of concern for the their future, if they catch the bug and act accordingly they expand a constricted field.
“Discontented Voters Could Go Green”: column in the Chicago Sun-Times.
Continue reading ” …a Green tea party of their own” in ChicagoView it here. Second part continues streaming after the break.
Continue reading Jill Stein interview with Jon Keller, WBZ-TVI’ve been publishing different versions of “Mr Franklin’s Folks” for nearly a decade. It’s about groups of people going to some of the over 4,600 farmers’ markets that happen every week across the USA from Memorial Day to Halloween or Thanksgiving to demonstrate the fact that Solar IS Civil Defense, among other things. “Mr Franklin’s Folks” is the first posting at my solar archive, Solarray, and I took a table to advertise the concept at the first YearlyKos convention in Las Vegas.
“Mr Franklin’s Folks” is a demonstration of practical energy actions that remain practical whatever your politics. I don’t know but it might be time for the Franklin Folk to invite the Tea Party people to a weatherization barnraising.
Continue reading Mr Franklin’s Folks Go to the Tea PartyHere are the links to current elections info:
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Elections Division
The deadline to become an unenrolled voter, to run in the fall election election under the Green Rainbow designation is February 23, 2010. Best to check your registration today, if you’re thinking of running for office. See the Schedule link.
Election Schedule 2010
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/schedule_10.pdf
Candidate Guide 2010
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/Candidates_Guide_10.pdf
I note that there has been zero mention of GRP participation in three wide open special elections that have already started their election calendar. Senate seats do not require residency within the district.
House:
3rd Suffolk Representative District (DeMasi)
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elespeif/3suffolkcal.htm
Senate:
Middlesex, Suffolk and Essex Senate District (Galluccio)
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elespeif/msecal.htm
Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex Senate District (Brown)
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elespeif/norfolkbristolmiddlesexcal.htm
There are good discussions popping up in some different places about Green-Rainbow electoral strategies, and I’d like to take this opportunity to create an ongoing dialogue that could help catalyze some action.
Leo Maley points out on Blue Mass Group that there will be something like 25 open seats this year in the Legislature. In the same space, he also argues that the Green-Rainbow Party has no business running for high office without having demonstrated political viability or acuity at any level other than a small crop of municipal officials.
Jason Pramas ponders pretty much the same question at Open Media Boston, with a little less devotion to the Grand Old Democrats, and a little more interest in seeing a local electoral focus take hold.
And Peter Vickery makes an eloquent case to run for office and to run Green right here at GMG.
Of course, the Green-Rainbow Party’s electoral strategy for 2010-2012 was to go after State Rep. seats with an eye towards winning one or two in 2012. And Jill Stein’s gubernatorial bid emerged as a powerfully synergistic opportunity to help spur stronger legislative challenges. A strong municipal field in 2011 would also be synergistic with this top-to-bottom-and-up approach.
Continue reading Green-Rainbow strategy for challenging the State Legislature