“Dropping bombs on weddings and funerals is not the way to win the hearts and minds of people in the Middle East.”
—Dr. Jill Stein, regarding the use of drones in war at tonight’s third party debate. Stein also called for banning the use of drones via international treaty.
#GreenParty electoral reform.
We fight for:
- Full public financing of all local, state, and federal election campaigns.
- Abolish corporate personhood through a constitutional amendment, ending Corporate America’s stranglehold on our political process.
- Eliminate all ballot access laws that keep qualified citizens from running for political office.
- Put the debates in the power of the people instead of in the power of the media by instituting the People’s Commission on Presidential Debates. Any candidate who refuses to participate in the debates will lose public financing.
- Abolish the electoral college and replace it with Instant Runoff Voting.
- Enact national “right to vote” laws to make registration easy, free, and allow for same day registration for people who run into trouble at the polls.
- Restore full voting rights to convicted felons, including allowing them to run for public office.
- Make election day a national holiday or move election day to the weekend, allowing more poor people (overwhelmingly people of color) to vote.
- Provide statehood for the District of Columbia.
- Establish a National Elections Commission to ensure uniform standards for elections across the country.
- Establish independent, nonpartisan districting to end gerrymandering.
- Make all communication between a constituent and their representative free.
- Prohibit elected officials from accepting gifts from lobbyists or the general public.
“The debate rules specify that to be included, candidates must receive at least 15 percent in a major poll. Most major polls do not even list [Jill] Stein and [Gary] Johnson as an option. Televised presidential debates date back to 1960, and have been a regular event since the 1976 election. Originally administered by the League of Women Voters, they’ve been jointly organized by the Democratic and Republican parties through the Commission on Presidential Debates—a group the two parties jointly formed—since 1987.”
—Green Party Candidate Jill Stein Arrested Outside Debate (10/16/12).
Jill Stein and her VP candidate, Cheri Honkala, attempted to enter the presidential debate between Obama and Romney this evening, but were denied entry because they didn’t have credentials. They then stayed put in the street demanding to be let in to the debate, and were arrested for “obstructing traffic.” This of course, another sign that our democracy is vibrant and tolerant of pluralistic discourse.
“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will.” — Frederick Douglass
Extremist Candidate for U.S. Senate in Tennessee Calls Himself a Democrat
alternet.org…
Mark Clayton won the Democratic primary for a Tennessee Senate seat in August 2012, after competing in a field of seven other candidates.
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Clayton, an anti-gay fringe conspiracy theorist who served a stint in the Army reserve and has worked a variety of odd jobs, won 26% of the vote despite raising no money. The Tennessee Democratic Party disavowed Clayton the day after the primary, but his name will remain on the ballot opposing GOP Sen. Bob Corker.
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Clayton’s views align more closely with those of the John Birch Society, which once called President Dwight D. Eisenhower a Communist, than the Democratic Party — though some of his ideas might be a little much even for JBS. He believes the government is building concentration camps to imprison Americans and that elites in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are conspiring to form a “North American Union” (NAU) merging the three nations — both conspiracy theories common in the antigovernment “Patriot” movement.
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When he ran for a Senate seat in 2008, Clayton accused Google of censoring his campaign website on behalf of the Chinese government. That website, which has since been taken down, thanked supporters for helping defend Tennessee against the NAU, national ID cards and “radical homosexual lobbying groups who want to get in the Boy Scouts.”
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Clayton also claimed that Austrian-born California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was planning to amend the Constitution so he could run for president and “fulfill Hitler’s superman scenario.” Clayton’s current site is tamer, though he wants to eliminate “secret national ID cards” from Tennessee drivers’ licenses and to stop the government from mandating that “transexual[s] and homosexuals” grab children in “stranger-danger zones” in airports.
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If you live in Tennessee, please vote for Martin Pleasant of the Green Party for U.S. Senate.
General makeup of my political beliefs-
- Political affiliation- The most applicable term would probably be Green Socialist. I’m registered Green, and typically vote Democrat or independent in local elections.
- Abortion- shouldn’t be a talking point. I once heard of John Boehner telling a reporter to “leave him alone” about his habit of smoking cigarettes. “It’s legal” was his defense. Whichever outlet I heard it from (Greenstreet politics probably?) had a gem of a response- Yes it’s legal. Like abortion. I don’t think enough people take abortion lightly for it to be a pandemic sort of thing. You cannot legislate morality, and that’s all “pro-lifers” are trying to do.
- Imigration- probably my least favorite talking point. I’m no fan of borders, I’m not much of a traveler and I’m from New Jersey. I don’t live in a border state where things may be completely different from what i’m used to. That’s a fair argument. However it’s also fair to say the way anti imigration laws are carried out in these southern states borders on biggotry, no pun intended. (is that a pun)
- Gay Marriage- also a non issue. Let people be who they want to be. their love isn’t hurting anyone. You seeking to destroy it is.
- defecit reduction- we need to reinvest in infrastructure, but not only that. repairing old bridges is an awful lot like releasing a greatest hits album. it’s like “remember when we invested in highways as a gift to the next generation? great, right?!” we need a new idea that reaches farther than building on the ones we’ve already put into play. To pay for this sort of thing you need tax reform that decreases the gap between the uber rich and the poor.
Gonna add to this more another time, it’s exhausting after a long day.
“Wouldn't you rather vote for something you want, and not get it, than voting for something you don't want, and get it?”
—Jello BiafraMartin Pleasant For U.S. Senate in Tennessee
martinpleasant.comPlease Vote For Martin Pleasant For U.S. Senate in Tennessee
If you’re from Tennesse, you may already know this, but the Democrats are running a real Goofball for U.S. Senate against Republican Bob Corker.
Don’t take my word for it though, here’s his web site:
Mark Clayton (“Pro Life” & “Traditional Marrige Only” are two highlights of his positions. You can see more at his web site.)
Needless to say, we have another choice. Martin Pleasant is the Green Party candidate and is someone you can feel proud and happy to vote for.
The Tennessee Democratic Party has disavowed Mark Clayton and urged people to write in a name. There’s no need for a foolhardy write-in campaign, when we have an excellent candidate like Martin Pleasant as one of our choices.
Republican Bob Corker was a rubber-stamp for George W. Bush and since Jan. 2009 he has joined the other Republicans in obstructing any progress that President Obama has tried to make, to help pull our nation out of the recession caused by Junior Bush & his billionaire buddies on Wall Street.
As you can imagine, a Green Party candidate in Tennessee doesn’t exactly have the same type of budget that a wealthy Republican like Bob Corker has. Even if you don’t live in Tennessee, I’d appreciate it if you’d pass this on to your followers who may.
Thank You.
