Green National Committee Proposal 305 the "We Will Run Resolution" passed with 113 yes votes, 10 no votes and 3 abstentions.
The resolution states
in part that the Green Party will be conducting a contested
presidential nomination process and that we will be nominating a
presidential ticket at our 2008 convention. It also resolves to
strengthen our eventual ticket by generating and applying resources to
ensure, among other things, that we will maximize the number of ballot
lines on which our nominees will appear.
Green Party to Appear on List of MLK Memorial Supporters
T. E Smith with Merchandise Committee Co-Chair LaVerne Butler
at the Green Party Office.
photo: E. R. Citkowski |
Thanks to DC Statehood Green T. E.
Smith, the Green Party will now be listed among the organizations
supporting the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial to be built on the
National Mall in Washington, DC. "I felt that it was important that the
Green Party provide tangible support for this project. People of Color,
particularly Black People, are ignored and taken for granted by the two
corporate parties - except on election day. The Green Party platform
supports racial justice, the Democrats have not come out in favor of
reparations for slavery, but the Green Party has supported reparations
since 1998. The only way people will know about this is if we work
together to support projects like the MLK Memorial".
According to memorial organizers, the
Green Party of the United States is the only political party to date to
have made a financial contribution to the project. For more information
about the MLK Memorial go to: http://www.mlkmemorial.org/ |
US/Canadian Green Party
SPP Counter Summit
On Aug. 19th, a perfect late summer
day in Ottawa, Canada, we joined our Canadian colleagues in a rally at
the Parliament followed by a march to the U.S. and Mexican embassies to
protest the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) meeting of Bush,
Calderon and Harper. A meeting the mainstream media in the U.S. has
totally blacked out.
Later we attended the Council of
Canadians Forum on the hidden consequences of the SPP Leaders summit in
Montebello. More than 500 activist[S] heard Elizabeth May, Green Party
of Canada leader, condemn the SPP and promote a vision of a more just
and sustainable North America. In her talk she cited the ongoing
changes in national environmental, health and labor regulations. These
changes increase the number of chemicals permitted, lower standards and
quality of life in many areas, such as food security, air safety,
environmental norms, health care and labor rights. For example, Canada
is
raising pesticide limits on hundreds of fruits and vegetables to
merge its policies with the United States. And these changes are being
made at the behest of transnational corporations. The SPP is about
letting big businesses set their own rules and having the public bear
all the environmental and health risks of a deregulated market.
On August 20th the Canadian Green
Party organized a counter summit at which the USGP was represented by
Justine McCabe and Julia Willebrand, Co-chairs of the USGP
International Committee. Justine brought greetings from USGP and
informed the meeting of the USGP position in opposition to SPP.
Julia was asked to present a US
perspective on SPP. Since our Canadian colleagues are well aware of the
dangers of a race to the bottom, they know that the SPP is about
increasing corporate profits by limiting what governments can do to
protect its citizens from corporate abuse. So as a cautionary tale,
Julia presented a picture of the ongoing privatization of community
resources and services occurring in the US. As one example she cited
the ever-increasing prison population and the concomitant growth of
private prisons in the US as a dangerous precedent Canadians would wish
to avoid and which SPP could make possible.
Janet Eaton, GP Canada International
Trade critic who first raised USGP members awareness about the menace
of SPP provided a vivid historical presentation of the initiation and
development of SPP.
Her power point presentation can be seen at:
Since the SPP is not a formal treaty
or agreement between countries but instead an ongoing dialogue, it is
not accountable to legislative oversight. Despite the fact that
high-level government meetings, which
include CEOs of the largest
corporations, have been held for three years, the mainstream media has
rarely covered any aspect being planned and executed. Since the U.S.
public is kept ignorant of these plans for its future it is effectively
removed from the decision-making process. The Green Party of the US
must change that by bringing the fact of this dangerous descent into
fascism to public awareness.
For more information on SPP and ways to take action:
"Behind Closed Doors: What they're not telling us about the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
This cooperative effort by the US and
Canadian Greens was publicly initiated by joint press releases
highlighting that this collaboration not only furthers the national
interests of both parties but as members
of the Global Green movement, extends common Green values of social and economic justice,
environmental sustainability, participatory democracy and nonviolence.
Canadian and US Green Parties blast secretive NAFTA-Plus trade-security deal
This report prepared and presented by:
Justine McCabe
Julia Willebrand
Co-chairs United States Green Party International Committee
intcomm@gp-us.org
| Wear Your Poltics on Your Sleeve!
The Merchandise Committee is
pleased offer an array of t-shirts, hats, totebags, buttons,
embroidered patches and more. Check out our brand new union made
baseball caps and our new Sunflower shirts with the four pillars on the
back, en espanol. Get ready for fall campaigns with our brand new
campaign kits and tabling kits. Available at http://www.gp.org/.
photo: DC Statehood Greens rocking GP Merchandise.
Photographer: T.E. Smith, DC Statehood Green Party |
|
Ballot Access
Arkansas
has only two months to collect signatures as time goes beyond the two
month periodsignatures drop off the petition - it is vital that
Arkansas get help to finish the job within the two month period.
Saturday, July 28th was the start date for gathering signatures - they
have until September 27th to gather signatures.
The following States are currently collecting signatures to place the Green Party on the ballot:
Arizona - 20449 needed, 5500 collected so far;
Arkansas - 10000 needed, 7000 collected so far;
Georgia - 44089 needed, 5000 collected so far;
Montana - 5000 needed, 600 collected so far;
North Carolina - 69734 needed, 14000 collected so far.
