« previous | TPM CAFÉ READER POSTS HOME | next »
Sufferin' Succotash: The Green Party, Savvy or Suicidal?
So the Green Party nominates Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente to head its Pres/VP ticket. For some Progressives this must be awfully attractive - a heavily involved black/Hispanic/feminist/womanist duo solidly connected with activism and issues of race and gender and opposing the Iraq War and the military. On the other hand, thoroughly off the map of centrist acceptability (there will be very little Jewish support thanks to McKinney's past, and her hitting an officer on Capitol Hill being her main claim to fame doesn't bode well either), and at first glance it's hard to see what the two specifically bring as *Green* credentials.
So I'm curious what people think of as their effect in November, along with Bob Barr as Libertarian. Will disaffected Democrats be drawn to them? (Not that a former Republican now-ACLU acolyte is an obvious choice, but then Hagel is touring with Obama). Will they go down in the 0.001% category as relatively meaningless and a fringe attraction and side-show? You talk, Desi listens.
Comments (7)
Well, as a Green I have no interest in McKinney. The National Party has kind of screwed the local state parties over the last decade or so. One thing that sets the Green Party apart from others is the constant, wearying, squabbling. We excel at it.
Ever since they put up Nader, it's like they got star struck or something, although Nader did absolutely zero to help grow the party. The opposite, in fact. Have they learned anything? Um, no.
I have no doubt McKinney will be as effective.
It's a pity they can't pick someone on their merits rather than just going for the most controversial figure they can find. It's no way to grow a party or gain credibility.
:(
July 14, 2008 8:09 AM | Reply | Permalink
I suggest "Irrelevant" - and they will continue to be irrelevant unless and until they build an actual party, not just run semi-high-profile oddities for president while ignoring the fact (restating: FACT) that without legislative backing, a president (governor, mayor, etc.) can look forward to accomplishing little or nothing.
I asked the Green candidate for mayor here a rather pointed question last election cycle along those lines - how she could expect to govern with no City Council base (after attacking both parties, whose members make up the City Council).
She had no real answer. Neither does any Green I've ever asked such questions of.
Even if both parties were as completely failed as the Greens paint them, the Greens would not be a viable solution.
July 14, 2008 10:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Clemente's on the ticket?!!!
Well. That'll certainly strengthen them in right-field. Cool.
July 14, 2008 12:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Best majors play I ever saw, something like 1972 All-Star game, Roberto Clemente barehands the ball off the wall and without looking at all turns and throws a picture perfect throw to home plate, catching the runner in a slide. Ow.
July 14, 2008 5:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Clemente was a God. Or at least, an angel. The way that man moved. I still blame Noriega.
'Course, I used to make those bare-handed, perfect throws to home plate sometimes myself. Then again, I was a catcher. Still.... a good 35 feet from the backstop to the plate. Bullets, baby. (And yes, the multiple concussions sustained during those early years explains a lot.)
P.S. I'm still pissed people aren't seizing the Gonzo opening though. I take that as a personal insult. What the fuck are they reading these days? Old Fortran handbooks? I'm gonna download some Denver tunes just so I can delete 'em. In honor.
July 14, 2008 6:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I've been wondering if their was a nuclear holocaust I missed. No comments on Hunter? None defending Johnny Depp? Hardly anything on the Greens as well? David Seaton made the rec list? Things be weird.
July 15, 2008 12:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
They'd get more votes if they ran Bahro.
Seriously, Green world in US/UK/Can is over. Utterly irrelevant. Coulda been a contender. The old dogs ate their chow. Cameron with his bicycle... Dion with his dog named Kyoto... Obama & McCain talking oil & carbon daily.
They'll get 2 votes. Unless Cynthia takes a swing at her VP.
Heartbreaking.
July 14, 2008 12:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Post a Comment