Feminist Peace Network

Okay, I get that it remains to be seen whether this country can get over the sexism or racism hurdle when it comes to electing a president, so getting over both at the same time is a wee bit of a stretch, and I know that I will be raked over the coals for even murmuring that there should be a third candidate who would take votes away from the Democratic candidate, but this country needs to hear what McKinney is saying. Here’s hoping she is included in the debates.

“(Cynthia) McKinney, a former congressional representative from Georgia, abandoned the Democratic Party last year in disgust at its failure to end the U.S. troop presence in Iraq, and is now poised for a presidential run on the Green Party ticket.”

“The likelihood of McKinney winning the nomination at the party’s national convention in Chicago this summer is “very high”, Richard Winger, editor of Ballot Access News, told IPS, although he added that the Green Party will have a “one in a million” chance of winning the presidency this November.

“This country, even though it claims to be such a model, is one of the least democratic countries because election laws, campaign finance laws, and laws around debates openly discriminate against all parties except two parties [Republican and Democrat],” Winger said.

“In other countries, there is one set of [ballot access] laws,” instead of 51 sets governing the 50 states and the capital, he said. “This is the only country that exempts the two biggest parties from having to qualify.”"

“”Some people have been out of the political system for a very long time,” McKinney noted. “They made a choice to not be involved in the political process. After a series of disappointments, people made a rational choice. Unfortunately, the U.S. participation rates are well below that of other countries.”

In recent years, Green parties have been racking up electoral successes around the world, particularly in Europe.

“The Green Party participated in the coalition that led in Germany and in Ireland and in the Kenyan Parliament,” McKinney said. “The Green Party is international.”

“We have a winner-take-all system in the U.S. that pushes conformity,” she added. “Regressive ballot access laws in Georgia [and other states] prevent candidates from getting on the ballot.”

“The Green Party is a political entity that deserves to be built,” she said.”

Filed under: Uncategorized, Sheroes, U.S. Politics