GreenLine for June 4, 2020
Our country is enduring yet another reckoning with the perpetual nightmare communities of color have suffered under the structural violence of white supremacy. We are at a painful, fragile juncture: George Floyd was murdered by police in a city governed by a mayor from the Democratic Party, in a state with a governor from the Democratic Party. President Trump, from the Republican Party, has callously demonized and brutalized those calling for justice and is now flirting with martial law. |
Meanwhile, presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden's answer is to "shoot" the "unarmed" in the leg as opposed to the face or heart. (For years, I have likened the false choice between the parties of War and Wall Street to being forced to choose between a car crash at 55 miles per hour and a car crash at 75 miles per hour: their are differences between the two and yet forcing a person to pick between them is unconscionable. Thank you, Joe Biden, for providing us all with an even more visceral metaphor, preserved forever in the annals of history.) The critical questions: are the people of this country ready to tackle the systems of oppression presided over by the two Police State Parties? Can the Green Party and our candidates provide leadership at this moment to help dismantle those systems beyond what superficial reforms might be offered by the more "liberal" wing of the police state? The answer is "possibly — if we organize, fight and win." One of our National Co-Chairs, Trahern Crews (pictured above on the left) is an organizer in the the Black Lives Matter Minnesota movement. He has been a tireless presence on the frontlines in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, broadcasting live whenever possible both to bear witness to the people's uprising and as a first measure of defense against further police violence. We salute Trahern and all Greens representing the Four Pillars in the streets this week, as the police state has repeatedly terrorized peaceful demonstrators. You have our solidarity and support. Make sure to tag the Green Party on Twitter and Facebook with your stories so we can share them with the country. —Michael O'Neil, GreenLine Editor and Green Party Communications Manager Green Party US National Black Caucus Demands Accountability, Structural Changes to Save Black and Brown Lives From Police BrutalityOn Tuesday, May 25th Officer Derek Chauvin forced his knee on the neck of George Floyd for eight grueling, life-taking minutes until he died — as Officer Tou Thao looked on. Community members were present and recorded the horrific, traumatizing incident that has sparked protest and anger in the Black community across America. The resident who recorded the event can be repeatedly heard telling the officers to stop — even as Mr. Floyd, himself, can be heard exclaiming that he could not breathe — because they knew they were killing him. 2020 Annual National Meeting and Presidential Nominating ConventionDue to the COVID-19 Pandemic we must hold a virtual convention online.July 9, 2020 – July 12, 2020 Green Party US is grateful to the Detroit Green Party and Wayne State University, who were originally going to host this year's convention. They have been gracious partners as we have navigated this unprecedented situation. We look forward to convening in Detroit in a future year. We are hard at work developing a convention format and tool suite to hold a democratic, deliberative and inspiring event to launch the Green Party's general election campaign. In The News: Coronavirus adds to ballot access hurdles for third party candidates"With this situation being what it is with the COVID-19 has made everything a lot more difficult, because the routes we would normally take in order to get our candidates on the ballot are closed to us because we can't petition," Green Party national co-chair Anita Rios told ABC News Thursday. "We were certainly on path to have 50 state ballot access. We had 35 states coming in at the beginning of the year. We were out petitioning. We were going to make all 50 states, for sure," said Dan Fishman, executive director of the Libertarian National Committee. "And then, you know, COVID hits, and it's almost impossible to gather signatures." While Fishman was still confident the party would gain ballot access in every state, third-party presidential nominees are up against cumbersome laws that vary state-by-state, and don't present the same hurdles for Democratic and Republican nominees, who typically enjoy more resources and money from national and state parties. "There are 50 different sets of laws," Rios said. "And some of those laws are impossibly hard, and they serve no purpose."
Lisa Savage in her vegetable garden, from her YouTube series of short videos speaking directly to voters. Lisa For Maine Updates For June 3rd, 2020May was a big month in Maine for the US Senate campaign of Lisa Savage, running against incumbent Susan Collins under ranked choice voting. We’ve grown our team with two great additions, conducted an art auction fundraiser that attracted supporters from all over the US, and received exciting press coverage including the publication of Lisa’s op-ed in the Portland Press Herald. Our team’s selection of a campaign manager has been especially exciting. Chris Cayer was a driving force on the successful campaign to win ranked choice voting by referendum and most recently ran the Field department for Maine AllCare, a state-level single payer universal health care initiative. Chris is a great fit for the flagship RCV campaign nationally with a platform that includes expanded Medicare for All and a demilitarized Green New Deal to address the climate crisis.
Updates From Jake Tonkel For San Jose City CouncilJake's work on The Santa Clara County URG (Unhoused Response Group) team making COVID-19 emergency kits was featured in the cover of this local news coverage. Jake launched a livestream series, including reports on the San Jose city council and interviews with community leaders and candidates. Started a Senior Check-in Phone Banking, to ensure San Jose area seniors have what they need. New endorsements:
...with some even bigger ones on the way! Check out a recent campaign e-blast In The News: Pennsylvania's minor political parties file lawsuit demanding ballot accessHARRISBURG, Pa. — Leaders of the Libertarian Party, Green Party and Constitution Party issued a call to action for ballot access Thursday after filing a lawsuit in federal court requesting a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction eliminating the requirement to collect a specified number of signatures on nomination papers to qualify for the general election in November. The motion, filed May 14 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names Governor Tom Wolf et al as defendants. "Given the current situation we have few responsible or effective options," said Green Party State Treasurer candidate Timothy Runkle in the statement. "We could either (sit) this one out or take it to the courts. "Around one third of our offices will go uncontested in the November election if people cannot meet the restrictive access requirements that are now nearly impossible to reach under the Governor's order." GPNY Statement on the murder of George Floyd and solidarity protestsALBANY, NY – The Green Party of New York is outraged by the murder of George Floyd by former officer Derek Chauvin while fellow officers menacingly kept distressed and concerned by-standers at bay. The evidence is unequivocal that Chauvin and the other former officers killed Floyd and all of them need to be arrested, charged, and convicted for their crimes. The arrest of Derek Chavuin, while a welcome development, must be followed with the same for the other former officers. Police murders of black and brown men and women continue with immunity while local, state and Federal politicians either offer ineffective solutions or worse yet are complicit in perpetuating the racist policies that allow these heinous acts to keep happening. The police force in Minneapolis, and across America, is shot through with racism and classism. While holding the offending officers accountable is absolutely necessary, and community control of police is an improvement, in the end the police must be dismantled as part of dismantling racist and classist systems of oppression. Green Party of CT Statement on the public executions of unarmed black men, women and children nationwideHARTFORD, CT – The video-recorded killing of George Floyd by one Minneapolis police officer while other officers participated or stood by and said nothing, and while frightened members of the public tried desperately to intervene on his behalf represents a terrifying new low in the United States. While white millionaires who have engaged in multi-million dollar fraud may spend a little time in country club prisons where their bunkmates are politicians and other well-heeled “white collar” criminals, an African American man was publicly executed without trial, based on the mere allegation that he passed a fake twenty dollar bill. Many people will think of 2020 as the year of the coronavirus pandemic, but there is another horrific calendar for Black/African Americans and other people of color, on which the execution of George Floyd is just the most recent date marked in blood: Pacific Green Party nominating convention June 6EUGENE, OR – The Pacific Green Party (PGP) nominating convention is this weekend. PGP members are invited to participate in choosing our candidates for this year's election cycle. Due to COVID19, the Nominating Convention will take place online via Zoom meeting on June 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This year we are also going to have absentee voting online starting June 3 at 8:00 a.m., ending on June 6 at 4:30 p.m. To take part you must preregister by filling the Nominating Convention Preregistration. Voters registered Pacific Green for the primary election (i.e, the voter list as of April 28, 2020) are eligible to vote for candidates at the convention. Supporting members who have met the threshold for donations or equivalent volunteer time during the year ending 30 days before the convention may vote on internal party matters. Green Party of the United States
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