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On the Stein/Honkala Campaign Trail

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

Philadelphia Police Captain Stephen Glenn, speaks with Cheri Honkala and Jill Stein in the Market Street bank lobby

“This has been such an easy campaign. It’s like giving out candy,” said Jill Stein, 2012 Green Party presidential candidate, who was recently nominated at the Green National Con­ven­tion in July. “There is a rebellion going on out here and we [Stein/Honkala campaign] are the political platform for that rebellion. It is absolutely breathtaking.”

Stein said the troubled condition of the country and the lack of democratic politics is giving her Green agenda a rousing welcome from the public.

With neither the campaign of Repub­li­can Mitt Romney nor Democrat Barak Obama appearing willing to discuss the growing poverty rate, diminishing civil liberties, or looming environmental catastrophe, more and more are planning to vote Green this election. Jill Stein, who ran against Romney as a Green for Massachusetts governor, and running mate, Cheri Honkala directly address the needs of people— homeowners whose houses have been taken from them, young people indentured to student loans, and people of color sitting in jail purely because of their race.

“There is a storm surge we are riding. I never expected this” said Stein, a medical doctor and long time activist, who added that there has been a strong response to the campaign, not only from people under 30 and the unemployed, but also from loyal Democrats and Republicans who are persuaded by Stein’s pragmatic plan for fixing the future.

I would see myself more as “organizer-in-chief” where you the public are the driver of the country and I put it in place. ~ Jill Stein, candidate for President of the United States

She tells the story of giving an interview for National Public Radio in Oregon, which she said is not a “bastion of the Green up­rising.” After talking for some time, the first caller said that as a “lifelong Demo­crat it was so wonderful to hear a platform that used to be like the Demo­cra­tic platform 30 years ago.” Stein goes on to say the interviewer asked with surprise why the caller didn’t mention the spoiler effect, as was planned in the screening. “The caller then said that after hearing what I had to say he was voting Green. That is what it has been like the whole campaign.” She added that the next two callers, a retired navy pilot and a longtime Republican both were voting for her.

“Bringing the grassroots struggle into electoral politics and challenging the hi­jack of our electoral system and Wall Street gives me the liberty to talk about what we need and how we are going to fix these things. We need a green economy if we are going to survive. The public is aware that we need to bring the troops home now. It’s so exciting to me that there is a kind of real focusing now of the public voice, and the public mindset, and to my mind it’s very exciting to be able to provide a political vehicle for that consensus that has begun to really come into focus,” Stein said in an interview for Truthout.com with Yana Kunichoff on Aug. 9.

Ben Manski, Stein’s campaign manager since its beginning last fall, who has previously run for office as a Green himself, said that the campaign team is a winning coalition that appeals to a diverse population in the country. “The spirit of the campaign shows that Jill Stein is 110 percent committed to the struggle. She is walking picket lines and is deeply a part of the Occupy movement,” he said.

The Green Platform

The main component of this campaign that is appealing to so many is the Green New Deal (for an abridged summary of the Green New Deal, see page 4). It proposes a jobs program organized at the community level, and free health care and education. Many of the jobs would focus on transitioning to an environmentally sustainable economy. It would be funded in a number of ways, the first of which is to eliminate the massive tax breaks for multinational corporations and the ex­treme wealthy.

The New Deal program of the Great Depres­sion in the 1930s inspired the Green New Deal. Stein said it worked then, and it could work now. She added that the 2009 federal stimulus package totaling a little more than $700 billion could have easily jumpstarted this program if it had been directed towards communities for growing their own food, creating renewable energy, and funding needed social jobs, such as those in education and healthcare.

Civil Disobedience

Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala at a sit-in in August 2012 at the Fannie Mae offices in Philadelphia to call for a halt to foreclosures. Of the 50 people protesting, four were arrested, including Stein and Honkala.

Both Honkala and Stein have been act­ively engaged with the Occupy movement, calling for economic justice. Honkala is an activist for the homeless and disenfranchised. She has been a strong voice for those who are rarely represented. Their campaign includes provisions for creat­ing equality in pol­itical repre­sentation and giving communities a stronger voice. Hon­kala and Stein were recently arrested in Phila­del­phia for pro­testing unfair foreclosures by the lending organization Fannie Mae.

“The laws and budgets and procedures are designed to protect the lenders and to extract as much money as possible from their victims,” Honkala explained. “This isn’t the way it would be if we really had a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The first priorities of government should be keeping families in their homes, and providing restitution for the deception and fraud that has robbed millions of Americans of financial security.”

Stein and Honkala were part of a sit-in at the Fannie Mae offices to call for a halt to foreclosures by the government-sponsored mortgage company of the homes of two residents who have lived in their homes for decades, and now face homelessness. Of the 50 people protesting, four were arrested, including Stein and Honkala. The candidates said the protest brought attention to the staggering fact that 8 million Americans face eviction and more than half of people in the country live in poverty. Of the monies set aside by Con­gress to aid homeowners in keeping their homes, only ten10 percent of those funds have been distributed.

“There is much more interest in Wash­ing­ton in protecting the profits of banks than in getting this aid out to the families whose lives are falling apart. President Obama held a big press conference to an­nounce a program that would supposedly help 1.5 million homeowners, and, so far, it has actually helped only 1 percent of that number. Real help goes to the CEOs who play golf with the President, and the people get lip service. This will change only if the people stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to put up with it anymore,’” Stein said.

To address the mortgage crisis, under the Green New Deal, Stein would issue an executive order establishing a moratorium on foreclosures of occupied dwellings. Municipalities governed by Greens would get homeowners out of underwater mort­gages by seizing mortgages through eminent domain and letting non-profit community development organizations—not Wall Street banks—reissue the mortgages.

Creating an American Democracy

In addition to dramatically reducing military spending, providing for a cleaner, safer environment, and addressing the per­vasive culture of violence in this country, especially toward people of color, the Stein/ Honkala campaign is about bringing democ­racy to government.

The United States has become like the em­peror without any clothes. Stein’s campaign is signaling loud and clear that the country is naked—of anything resembling a democratic society. But Stein says it is not impossible to get it back. As an example, she points out that when the public got wind of the imminent passing of the anti-Internet piracy act (SOPA), it was stopped in its tracks. “This is how politics can work,” Stein said. As president, she said, she would be in the perfect position to act as a whistleblower on any miscreance by Congress. “I would see myself more as ‘organizer-in-chief’ where you the public are the driver of the country and I put it in place.”

Successes on the campaign trail

People across the country are putting their money behind their convictions, as the campaign was able to raise enough funds to qualify for federal matching funds. To secure matching funds, the campaign needed to raise at least $5,000 from individual donations of no higher than $250 in at least 20 states. As of July, the Stein/Honkala campaign was able to qualify in 22 states. This is the first time a nominated Green Party candidate (Nader was endorsed) has qualified for the federal funds. This feat was possible despite the present economic crisis, due to the concerted effort early in the campaign by local Greens within each state, and the campaign team.

Stein and Honkala are planning to raise $1 million for this campaign. Green Party candidates do not accept corporate donations, and Stein is no different. All funds are raised from individual Americans and this way Stein is not beholden to anyone but the public. “As we take money out of politics, we take back our democracy,” she said.

Manski, the campaign’s manager, said early in the campaign, which started in the fall of 2011, that they tried to be methodical and focus on accomplishable goals. Fundraising and getting ballot status were top priorities and the team made sure that each step was made at the appropriate time.

As a result, not only was Stein able to get matching federal funds, but also to work with state Greens to secure ballot status in more than 30 states so far. The plan is to have a Green Party ballot line in a total of 40 states. The campaign is currently seeking ballot status in Alabama, Con­nec­ti­cut, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.

A campaign of the 99 percent?

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaks to reporters in front of the National Museum of the American Indian at Occupy Wall Street. Photo by Alex Jung.

Stein has been active in the Occupy Move­ment and is finding a broad base of support as people see the Green Party as representing the 99 percent. “At Occupy events, they used to have nothing to do with Greens. Now they have realized they have to fight the fight for the voting booth. … We have majority support in the issues— the numbers clearly show this,” Stein said.

Also Stein is finding strong support especially from young Americans. She said the younger generation is “unstoppable” and will be giving the Stein/Honkala campaign their votes. A favorite story of Stein’s is from her first event in the campaign. It was at a mock election at Western Illinois University. Apparently this event is notorious for accurately predicting the outcome of actual presidential elections. Before her speech, Stein had three percent of the votes but after speaking for six minutes, 26 percent of these Midwestern students were voting Green. After that event Stein said she knew the country is at a pivotal moment. “This is like the perfect storm for taking back Democracy.”

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About Cheri Honkala

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

Cheri Honkala at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August, 2012 Photo: Roberto Ortiz Feliciano

 

Activist goes political running for vice president on the Green Party line

In 2011, Cheri Honkala ran for Phila­del­phia sheriff on the Green Party ticket. Her platform wasn’t about enforcing foreclosures, but rather as sheriff she planned to refuse to evict people from their homes. As Honkala has dedicated the past 25 years to protecting the poor and homeless, it became clear to her that running for sheriff seemed the thing to do to stop foreclosures, particularly as big banks were given bailouts while little was done to help the 6 million Americans who faced the loss of their homes. Hon­kala received more than 10,000 votes in Philadelphia that election, demonstrating how her mission rang true for many in the city.

Now she is the Green Party running mate to Jill Stein in the 2012 presidential campaign.

“It’s very exciting. I think I’m prepared to take on this challenge. I was absolutely shocked when I was chosen, but I think it’s a real statement about the Stein campaign. And it meant so much to people across the entire country. Once the an­nouncement was made, I literally received hundreds of letters, not just from people in this country but from folks around the entire world,” Honkala said in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now.

At the age of 17, she was a single mother living out of her car and spent years in and out of homelessness . . . by 1997 she was named Philadelphia Weekly’s “Woman of the Year”.

Honkala has spoken for the rights of Amer­icans living in poverty and has helped in numerous ways to secure them a better life, including creating a network for them to live in abandoned houses. She said that sometimes she has broken the rules be­cause—as in the case of slavery, when it was legal—”at times the laws are wrong.”

She was recently arrested with Jill Stein at a protest in front of the office of Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored mortgage company, in an effort to get executives to meet with two homeowners who were about to lose their homes. Honkala also confronted politicians at the Repub­lican National Convention in Florida in an encampment called Romneyville. She voiced the concerns of the 99 percent on issues of home ownership, education and health care.

At the age of 17, Honkala was a single mother living out of her car and spent years in and out of homelessness. After she moved into an abandoned HUD home to keep her family from freezing, she be­came a pioneer in the housing takeover movement. She has since co-founded the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign. Honkala has organized tens of thousands of people, holding marches, demonstrations and setting up tent cities.

By 1997, she was named Philadelphia Weekly’s “Woman of the Year,” and, in 2001, Ms. Magazine awarded her that same title.

Honkala’s activism, dedication and astute solutions to rectify devastating poverty in the country have brought her even more recognition. She has since been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Bread and Roses Human Rights Award, Public Citizen of the Year by the Penn­syl­vania Association of Social Workers, and the prestigious Letelier-Moffitt award from the Washington Institute for Policy Studies. In April 2005, Mother Jones magazine named her Hellraiser of the Month. Front Line Defenders has named Honkala one of the 12 most endangered activists in America.

In 1996, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Zucchino chronicled Honkala and the Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign for six months in his book The Myth of the Welfare Queen. He de­tailed how she organized 70 homeless families, setting up two encampments. At that time, she was arrested and charged for attempting to set up a tent city in front of the Liberty Bell. Honkala faced more than 10 years in prison, but was absolved of any crime. In 2000, at the Republican National Convention, Honkala led a march of more than 100,000 people, and at the United Nations addressed representatives of 148 governments on poverty.

Honkala grew up in Minneapolis, Minn. She has two sons. Her son Mark Web­ber is an actor and director. Honkala has played herself in Explicit Ills, Webber’s drama about poverty in Philadelphia.

Democracy Now! interview

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Is the Green Party evolving through its presidential campaign?

September 25, 2012 in 2012 Fall

An editorial by David McCorquodale, Green Party of Delaware

Jill Stein & Cheri Honkala

I have been stunned by the strength and successes of the Stein-Honkala ticket! Re­gardless of the electoral outcome, make no mistake about it: this campaign is an improvement over our past presidential campaigns.

Here’s a brief review. In 1996 and 2000 Ralph Nader was the party’s standard-bearer. At neither time was Nader chosen through a primary pro­cess. Rather, he was an endorsed candidate. His candidacy showed both the benefits and the limitations of a campaign centered on an almost mythical personality figure. While he could personally draw in millions in contributions, the commitment was more to him than the party.

The focus of the current campaign is clearly about building the party and has largely taken over the ballot access duties from the national party.

When Nader decided to forego primary campaigning in 2004, instead hoping for another endorsement, even though he wasn’t a registered Green, the Party nominated an actual Green, David Cobb. When Nader formed his own independent campaign, the contributions left with him. The Cobb-Lamarche campaign was run on a shoestring-budget, but I understood that a number of state Green Parties would lose ballot access if we did not put up an actual Green as a candidate. Contrary to the accusations that the campaign would only go into “safe states,” the real limitation was that the candidates could only campaign when a state party could raise the money for transportation and come up with a place for a candidate to sleep.

Cynthia McKinney

When former six-term Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia began to participate in Green state party primary debates for the nomination in 2008, there was justifiable excitement. Someone who had actually been elected to the highest legislative body in the country was running for the Green Party. During the now expanding primary and debate season, it was clear that the other candidates knew McKinney would be the nominee. How­ever, after the McKinney-Clemente ticket was formed in Chicago, things started to unravel. The campaign obviously expected much greater support from the party. The party members expected a much stronger campaign organization. Neither side could deliver.

Between 2008 and the beginning of 2012, numerous state party organizations got even weaker. That weakness was reflected in the lower numbers of active participants in the National Committee and other GPUS committees, which had gone dormant for lack of members. Who would want to run a presidential campaign in such a situation? How could it possibly work?

I don’t know the inner details, but into the breach stepped the pairing of Dr. Jill Stein as candidate and Ben Manski as campaign manager. Dr. Stein had taken her activism on health issues to a higher level when she ran for Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 (against Mitt Romney). By all accounts she presented herself as the best candidate in that race. Since then Stein has run in several other Massachusetts races and was twice an elected representative of the town meeting of Lexington. Seasoned through a half dozen campaigns, the former singer in a folk band knows how to address a crowd and to focus discussion on the issues.

Ben Manski, though young compared to the typical nationally involved Green, has a long history of participation in the party. An attorney and the editor of Liberty Tree Journal, Manski has been both a candidate (for state assembly in 2010), a member of the Steering Committee of GPUS, and in­volved in fundraising as Chair of the Co­ordinated Campaign Committee of GPUS. I believe Manski saw the strengths and weaknesses of the national party and formulated a vision of what a presidential campaign had to accomplish in order to move the Green Party forward.

Green Party at OWS

From its’ beginning the Stein campaign began to seek out Occupy groups to address. With the addition of Cheri Honkala, long-time advocate for the homeless and of those who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure, as the vice-presidential candidate the identification of the campaign with the dispossessed has be­come even stronger. This is changing the stereotypical view that Greens are only concerned about the environment. In formulating the plan for a Green New Deal, the campaign has created a ready set of discussion points which can help to change the focus of any debate toward our vision that all issues are interconnected and of the proper role of government in implementing such a vision.

Early in 2012, with Greens viewing Stein as a viable candidate and with a constantly updated campaign website, contributions started to flow. Already the campaign has achieved a historic first for a nominated Green presidential candidate of raising enough money ($5,000) in enough states (20) during primary season to receive federal matching funds. The campaign may not reach the level of money that Nader could raise, but it will certainly outpace the last two Green presidential campaigns’ fundraising.

Once it became clear that Stein would win the nomination, something remarkable happened! The campaign began to assume a role that we might expect the National Party to fill, but which it currently can’t do for lack of money and volunteers. It began to lead efforts to secure ballot access in various states, starting with Illinois, which was a huge task, but was ac­comp­lished. After the presidential convention, focus shifted to other states and ballot lines were se­cured in Pennsylvania, Mary­land, New Jersey, Oregon, Kan­sas, Iowa, Wash­ington and Wis­consin. The ticket will be on the ballot in at least 34 states (as of mid-August) and continues to work.

So what is going on here? I believe we are seeing the evolution of the way the Green Party must operate in order to move forward. The presidential campaign, being the only electoral campaign of the national party, must have a bigger role in that process. The focus of the current campaign is clearly about building the party and has largely taken over the ballot access duties from the national party. People are not easily motivated to give money to support abstract principles and ideals. There is an apparent need to provide faces and personalities as the literal embodiments of those ideas. It takes special people to step into such a role without being caught up in ego. The Stein-Honkala campaign has raised the bar and shown us where we must start to continue growing as a party.

David McCorquodale is Treasurer of the Green Party of Delaware, and co-chair of Green Pages.

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Greens show solidarity with Occupy

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

The party offers a way to take back the government
by Wendy Kenin @greendoula, Green Party of California

photos: Wendy Kenin

The Occupy Oakland tent camp November 11, 2011 at Oscar Grant Plaza in front of Oakland City Hall

Greens are participants and supporters of the Occupy movement, from local to national to international spheres. From party members to elected officials to presidential candidates, Greens are bringing years of hard work to the movement that mirrors the Ten Key Values. Decades of Green activism have set the stage for a new government that represents the interests of its people.

On September 27, 2011, the Green Party of New York City endorsed Occupy Wall Street. In a statement, it condemned “our autocratic Mayor Bloomberg, under whose command the police engaged in systematic brutality of peaceful demonstrators against a predatory and parasitic financial order centered in Wall Street. We applaud the expression of direct democracy that this occupation embodies.”

In 2013 we hope to see them occupying their state capitols not as protesters, but to claim seats of power in government.
Asher Platts of the Maine Green Party

September 30, 2011 the Green Party of Maine endorsed Occupy Wall Street, en­couraging protesters to run for public office. “These peaceful protesters are very much aligned with the Green Party’s platform and values,” said Asher Platts of the Maine Green Party. “I want to see the people occupying Wall Street bring about the major re­forms they are demanding. It’s my hope that they will carry this energy and excitement to their home towns, build their local Green Party, and run as candidates in 2012. And in 2013 we hope to see them occupying their state capitols not as protesters, but to claim seats of power in government.”

The Green Party of Washington State en­dorsed the Occupy movement on October 10, 2011, supporting “the demands for an end to corporate domination over our political and economic sectors.”

The San Fernando Valley Greens in Cali­fornia endorsed Occupy Wall Street, “be­cause of our ‘common cause’ with the Occupy movement… as well as the Right of Assembly and Freedom of Speech of all protesters around the world who have joined them, and their efforts to bring about peaceful change for the benefit of all of us.” Their statement of endorsement elaborates on the common cause, by discussing how each of the 10 Key Values of the Green Party of the United States ad­dresses issues being raised by Occupy.

Protesters outside police lines in Oakland January 28, 2012 after more than 400 peaceful demonstrators were kettled, tear gassed, and arrested.

The Green Party of California endorsed Occupy Wall Street October 7, 2011, ex­pressing solidarity with Occupy “actions in California and throughout the country and the expression of direct democracy that it represents.” The Green Party of Ala­meda County, California has been participating in Occupy Oakland since its inception.

November 10, 2011, Richmond, California Green Mayor Gayle McLaughlin welcomed the movement to her city. “The Occupy Wall Street movement has burst onto the scene, calling for an end to corporate domination all over the globe. We, in Rich­mond, are part of this movement and have everything to gain from it.”

November 9, 2011 the Colorado Green Party endorsed Occupy Wall Street citing the core values of the party and the bravery and righteous purpose of the movement. In the statement, the Colorado Greens sent a clear message to occupiers while embarking on election year. “We welcome you to join with the Greens in kind. Every Occupier who registers Green is making a statement against the two party corporate system that has driven our country to the brink.”

In Connecticut December 16, 2011, the West Hartford News published an editorial appreciating that the Green Party of Con­necticut had unanimously endorsed Oc­cu­py Wall Street and local Occupy groups, siting that it hoped, “that others will also help this young movement to continue to evolve and that others in the political system will support their ideals and their actions.”


The Green Party of Steuben County, New York endorsed Occupy, applauding that, “The internal democratic process of the various occupations is coupled with the formation of food distribution systems, medical services, and libraries at each pro­test site, further showing that this is something quite new in the political and economic landscape.” The Steuben County statement asserts, “that the Green Party and the Occupy movement are naturally aligned not by political gain but by a vision for a better future.”

The Green Party of Minnesota issued a statement of support to Occupy. The Green Party of San Francisco endorsed Occupy San Francisco. Internationally, in Liver­pool, England a workshop took place at a Green Party Conference in February, to discuss learning from and supporting the Occupy movement.

“The Green Party encourages those Occu­piers who want to have an effect on the 2012 elections to help us build a permanent alternative party that represents the interests of We The People—the 99 percent—instead of banks, oil companies, arms manufacturers, insurance firms, and other powerful lobbies. The Green Party accepts no money from corporate PACs. Our platform reflects the values and demands of Occupy Wall Street,” said Kent Mesplay, candidate for the Green Party’s 2012 presidential nomination.

Every Occupier who registers Green is making a statement against the two party corporate system that has driven our country to the brink. ~ Colorado State Green Party

The Washington Post quoted candidate for Green presidential nomination Roseanne Barr, noting candidate Jill Stein’s involvement with Occupy as a reason to support her. “Both the Democratic and Republi­can parties are bought and paid for by corporate America and cater to the needs of the highest bidder as opposed to the people they claim to represent,” Barr said in a statement on Green Party Watch. She adds that she’s been “a tireless advocate of Occupy Wall Street” since its beginning.

November 28, 2011, The Hill questioned whether Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is the Occupy Candidate. Later, she presented a speech in Washington, DC for Occupy The Courts January 20, 2012, where she emphasized the Green Party’s opposition to corporate personhood since 1996 and the need for true democracy led by its citizenry, as part of the social, constitutional, legal, and electoral movement.

The Green Party of the United States has issued press releases condemning police brutality against peaceful occupy demonstrations, encouraging electoral activists participating in occupy to run for office, and helping to distinguish occupy as separate from the two-party system.

The national Green Party of the United States website sported a banner across its homepage this winter that read, “Occupy America: Laura Wells at Occupy The Courts: Voices of Green Party members,” which clicked through to a video of Green activ­ists occupying the Federal Court­house in Oakland, CA January 20, 2012 at Occupy the Courts. Phoebe Sor­gen, former member of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Com­mission, says last year they had protested the first anniversary of Citi­zens United v the Federal Election Commis­sion and that, “the occupy movement has come up since then, which makes me really hopeful.”

Green Party candidate for California Governor Laura Wells protests corporate personhood and speaks at Occupy the Courts January 20, 2012 at Occupy Wall Street West outside the Oakland Federal Courthouse.

“The biggest thing to me is the social movement in combination with the electoral movement to take back the government,” Green Party of California candidate for Congress Laura Wells said. “There’s so much Green in what’s happening… the values [are] interconnected.”

To view Greens in action as part of the Occupy Movement type in “Greens in Occupy Movement” at the YouTube website. Some specific clips include:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tw28AplMFcI – Laura Wells and Phoebe Sorgen at Occupy The Courts Jan 20, 2012

www.youtube.com/watch?v=orcQYUyfUyY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkVmIw9k_8U

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V0vsGS3-KE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgxSnPwDt30&feature=related

www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9L_xeHEIoI&feature=related

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How Occupy Wall Street Brought Me Here

April 18, 2012 in 2012 Spring

Commentary by @Kevin_Seal

photo: Wendy Kenin

When I began watching the Global Revolution Livestream channel this past September, I experienced a rush of feelings that I hadn’t felt in years: optimism for the possibility of real social change, acceptance of controversial opinions, joy in learning I wasn’t alone in my frustration, and strength in numbers.

Those people in Zuccotti Park—mostly younger than me, and more technologically savvy—were giving exposure to concerns seldom seen on TV or in most newspapers. They refused to accept the notion that corporations are people. They refused to sit idly by while Wall Street corruption widened the gaping chasm between the super-rich and the rest of humanity. And they refused to condone their country’s aggressive and destructive engagement in unnecessary wars. Much like the Greens.

In those Livestream chat sessions, the Oc­cupy Wall Street moderators repeated a mantra to guide the conversation: NO CAN­DIDATES. Many in those chats were Ron Paul supporters, and many were Obama defenders, but the moderators discouraged any campaigning. Want to talk about end­ing the Fed? Fine. Want to suggest that we tax Wall Street trades? Okay. But never mention a candidate’s name.

This refusal to discuss candidates helped those online debates adhere to ideas for systemic change, and suggestions for action. It was the polar opposite of the frame that mainstream media creates for partisan politics; in the 24-hour news cycle, partisan bickering becomes a blow-by-blow sporting match, with Red Man scoring X number of political points for pushing emotional buttons while Blue Man appeals to his traditional party base by reaching out to certain reliable special-interest groups.

The Occupy conversations wasted no time on the gameplay between the entrenched, seemingly intractable Democrat and Re­publican poster children. They spoke more deeply to the kinds of radical change we wanted to see if parties and politicians were not in the picture at all.

The inspired, inspiring people in the en­campments talked about their exasperation at the sclerotic nature of the Ameri­can two-party system. In a refreshing twist, the dialogue did not smell of liberal guilt, conciliatory hand-wringing and compromise. Debates were incisive and fearless. The consensus emerging in Zuccotti Park (and in Troy Davis Park, Oscar Grant Plaza, and thousands of other public spaces) seemed to be that the red-blue, Demo­pub­lican turf war was merely a distraction. The left-right orientation was itself a false paradigm. CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all peddled a sophisticated update on the old Roman bread and circuses. The donkey-and-elephant tennis match was a ruse to make us plebes feel involved, and to prevent us from voicing deeper objections.

The relevant power structures were not on C-SPAN or in the public record. They were in corporate back rooms and boardrooms, in the unaccountable global chicanery of the IMF and the WTO, and in the greased palms of war profiteers. Occu­pi­ers don’t repeat “NO CANDIDATES” be­cause they are tired of sloganeering and campaigns; they feel that candidates and elected officials are all impotent pawns in fraudulent, invalid institutions.

Occupiers, on the whole, also suspect that attempts at Reform are a waste of energy.

For those of us who refuse to believe that Reform and Revolution are mutually ex­clusive, the “NO CANDIDATES” mantra poses some obstacles. One challenge is in advocating the idea that “NO CANDIDATES” does not equal “NO VOTING.” If the left-right paradigm should be re­placed with a bottom-up worldview, then those local-issue decisions present chances for at least a few crumbs of representation. If elections are stolen, there is no way of proving election fraud without having dissenting votes cast.

Many in the Occupy movement embrace a philosophy of “Nothing short of Revo­lution.” The reasoning behind this philosophy makes sense. Forty years ago, the Democratic Party co-opted many Amer­ican revolutionaries. Four years ago, the Obama campaign co-opted the anti-war protest movement. Of course, most hopes that Big O would bring Reform vanished the moment he named Tim Geithner to his cabinet. Many of his younger, more radical supporters were heartbroken, and ready to abandon any and all faith in the U.S. system of governance.

But “Nothing short of Revolution” is a recipe for defeat in the U.S. Despite the public outrage over financial corruption, the majority of Americans are not ready to revolt. Revolutions require mass participation, and the echo chamber of the Occupy movement does not like hearing that “support,” as expressed in polls, does not equate to involvement. Agreement is not participation.

So how do we Greens inspire some hope into the Occupy movement that “NO CANDIDATES” should really be “NO DEM­OPUBLICAN CANDIDATES?”

The answer is to join them. Occupy. Help shape the conversation. Listen to them. The Green ideals and the goals of most Occupiers are remarkably aligned. We all want economic justice, an end to corporate personhood, and a reduction in the amount of control big business exerts over our government. You are the 99%.

As a Green, you are more radical than you might think. Reach out and invest your time. Occupy is leaderless and horizontal; the sooner you add your voice to the mix, the sooner you will hear your views honored and represented.

Your town, or the town down the road, has an Occupation—even if it does not have an encampment. The energy of this phenomenon is too great to ignore. If you are a natural leader, prepare to humble yourself. If you tend to be quieter and more passive, prepare to step up and act more like a leader. This is a new idea for those unaccustomed to the idea of horizontal organizing: it works brilliantly when people can find more equal footing.

As an Occupier, I believe that part of the movement’s success is its ability to take on the properties of water. It can fill and overflow any container that tries to hold it; it can saturate any porous surface; it flows in the direction that gravity pulls it; the molecules attract one another; the surface tension helps it resist breaking. Water also moves to equilibrium by distributing heat: in Occupy, hot heads are ad­vised to chill out, while those with cooler heels find encouragement in stomping their feet to get the blood flowing.

Just imagine the difference you could make by adding your pitcher of Green to the water supply of your local Occupy. This is a transformative moment in global culture. Here in the U.S., the Green Party can be deeply engaged in this transformation, but only if its members take part, and occupy the moment.

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