OntheWilderSide

As some Occupy Movement participants turn to electoral activism, the Green Party sends them an invitation

Green Party condemns orders for police to clear Occupy encampments in Oakland, California and New York’s Zuccotti Park

As some participants in the Occupy Movement across the US begin to turn towards involvement in elections, Green Party leaders are inviting them to run for office as Greens and to support Green candidates.  “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,  Green Party presidential hopeful (http://www.mesplay.org).

Jill Stein via Wikipedia

“No one can pretend that either of the establishment parties — the Democrats and Republicans — represents the Occupy Movement in any way,” said Jill Stein, candidate for the Green Party’s 2012 presidential nomination (http://www.jillstein.org).  “President Obama campaigned in 2008 as the candidate of change, but after taking office he simply continued the pro-war and pro-Wall Street policies of the Bush Administration, with troop surges and bank bailouts and attacks on social programs under the guise of deficit reduction.   We need to create eight times more jobs than are promised by his inadequate ‘jobs bill’ and we need to stop his attempts to create job-destroying trade pacts with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea.   I’m glad he backed down from his climate-destroying threat to approve the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, but we know that without a long-term political pressure, schemes to exhaust the tar sands into the atmosphere will be back on the table.  This is the time for a principled opposition party to emerge and give an effective voice to all those who are suffering under the current Republican/Democratic doctrines.  Greens and OWS together are a formidable force to take our democracy back.”

Occupy Wall Street in New York City and other Occupy protests have declared that they do not endorse any political party and that the demonstrations are not a venue for electioneering.  The Green Party has respected and cooperated with this request (http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=453). Read more »

Filed under: 3rd party, Ballot issues, Corporations, Election 2012, grassroots democracy, Green Party | Tagged: David Doonan, Keystone Pipeline, Zuccotti Park | 5 Comments »