[Here’s an update on what’s going on with the Green-Rainbow campaigns.]

November 2, 2010

Press Release – Jill Stein for Governor

IN FINAL PUSH, STEIN NEARS SUCCESS ON KEY GOALS

Campaigning in Western Massachusetts today, Green-Rainbow gubernatorial candidate Jill Stein expressed confidence that her campaign was on the verge of achieving its critical goals – including setting up “a clean money political force that can challenge business-as-usual”.  Stein is having a busy day, lending support to two Green-Rainbow candidates for state representative, Mark Miller and Scott Laugenour, who are mounting stiff challenges to entrenched Democratic Party incumbents in the 3rd and 4th Berkshire districts.  “The groundswell of support for an alternative to the usual Beacon Hill incumbents is really exciting” said Stein.  “This is a year in which people are looking for alternatives – and they are resonating to candidates that aren’t part of the big money machines.  Miller and Laugenour are tapping into voters who have been unhappy with Beacon Hill for quite a while, but had nowhere to go.  It’s a sign that the Green-Rainbow Party can step up to provide a progressive alternative to the Tea Party movement.”

Stein also had praise for Green-Rainbow candidate for State Auditor, Nat Fortune.  “Despite an almost total lack of media attention – and exclusion from both print articles and television interviews – Nat is making a mark in the auditor race.”

Stein noted that a major goal of the Green-Rainbow Party is to have at least one statewide candidate poll above the 3 per cent threshold.  That is required to avoid certain restrictive laws that apply to smaller parties.  For example, while the Democratic Party is legally pouring millions of dollars into support for Deval Patrick, the entire Green-Rainbow Party is currently limited to donating no more than $500 to Jill Stein.  Stein noted that Fortune would probably easily exceed the 3 percent threshold since he was currently polling at around 7 per cent.  “We don’t live in the same democracy as the Democrats.” Stein explained.  “But we’re about to eliminate one of the discriminatory barriers to limits our full participation in the electoral process.”

Stein has also raised the most money ever raised by a Green-Rainbow Candidate, and expects to finish the campaign with a total of over $150,000 being raised.  “It’s small compared to the dollars being raked in by the machine candidates” Stein admits, “But we’re trying to show that a clean money campaign is possible.  We’re making good use of a lean budget – which mostly means that we aren’t running those annoying 30-second television ads that make elections so expensive.”

As a matter of principal, Stein, along with other Green-Rainbow candidates, refuses to accept donations from registered lobbyists or from the officers of corporations that employ lobbyists.  “The Green-Rainbow Party is trying to raise the standards.” Stein noted.  “When you vote for one of our candidates, you can be assured that they haven’t sold out to the usual big money interests.”

Campaign manager Daryl Sprague said that Stein’s tour of Western Massachusetts was taking advantage of an outpouring of support in that part of the state.  “There’s been an effective news blackout on Jill by the Boston Media Consortium” he explained.  “The Boston Globe, WGBH, and NECN have been running stories about the ‘three major candidates’ and not even acknowledging that Jill is in the race.  It’s refreshing to get outside of Boston and meet journalistic organizations that want to get the complete story and don’t pride themselves on controlling the dialogue to reflect their own prejudices.  More objective press coverage is allowing us to poll 4 or 5 times higher out west.  Voters there are hearing about all their choices, and this lets them discover that the Green-Rainbow candidates are the ones that best reflect their values.”

Stein plans to vote in Lexington at 6:30pm and end her day with an address to supporters at 9pm at her Dorchester campaign office.  Her Lieutenant Governor running mate, Rick Purcell, will join State Auditor candidate Nat Fortune at a victory party in Holyoke.  Miller and Laugenour will host a victory party in Lee.

###

Governor Deval Patrick recently signed a state budget that imposed painful cuts on education, social services, and the environment.  But he says it was the best that he could do, so don’t blame  him.  Jill Stein makes a compelling case that the cuts were – in fact – avoidable, and that the choice of where the pain would fall was deliberate.  This is a debate that needs to happen.

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON TUESDAY?

Thanks to greenmassgroup for providing a counter to the spin that the defeat of Martha Coakley represents a sudden turn to the right by Massachusetts voters.  The reality is this:  The progressive voters who turned out in 2008 to endorse Barack Obama’s message of hope stayed home, or cast votes for Brown to protest the health care monstrosity that Congress is on the verge of passing.  Coakley’s defeat was a long overdue revolt of progressives against Democrats, not a sign of conversion to Republicanism.

This  view is backed up by a poll taken by Research 2000 which showed that 18 percent of people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008, supported Scott Brown in the Senate race.  Of that group an overwhelming majority – 82 percent – favored a public option health plan, while just 14 percent oppose it.  Of those who stayed home, 86 percent support a public option, while just seven percent oppose it.   They didn’t turn conservative.  They just turned against the Democrats.