GreenLine For June 9, 2022
Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed scenes of terrible violence and reprehensible responses from our elected leaders and government. It can be difficult to keep our outrage from turning to despair. At the same time, the month of June commemorates strength, progress and courage as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. We can reconcile the gravity of current events with the annual celebration of Pride by drawing on the lessons of movements for LGBTQ+ liberation for hope and inspiration. Let's keep working together to make our communities safer for all, in the spirit of love and solidarity! —Michael O'Neil, GreenLine Editor and Green Party Communications Manager |
Green Party Calls For Real Systemic Solutions To Violence In Wake Of Uvalde Mass ShootingWASHINGTON – The Green Party of the United States strongly condemns the murderous rampage at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas that took the lives of at least nineteen elementary school children and two teachers and injured seventeen. The Green Party sends their deepest sympathies to all families affected by this senseless act of violence. While media coverage has focused on the symptoms of this problem, we must look at the broader issues around the epidemic of violence in this country. The United States ranks second on the list of countries with the highest number of gun deaths. In 2021, 45,011 Americans died of gunshot wounds and there were 692 mass shootings. Read more...Green Party US Statement: Protect and Expand Access to Abortion ServicesThe Green Party of the United States urges people to join actions nationwide to protect and expand access to abortion services. We must stop the criminalization of abortions to permanently protect all people's right to safe, legal, accessible, and confidential healthcare. Reproductive rights are non-negotiable! While Supreme Court Justice Alito's leaked draft opinion is not the final Supreme Court decision, it claims the right to abortion is unconstitutional and attacks the reproductive rights of women, transgender people, and non-binary people. Lack of abortion access will also impact both parents who may be mandated to pay for child support of unwanted pregnancies. Additionally, the repercussions of ending these reproductive rights may lead to criminalizing the freedom to love and marry on the basis of race or sexual preference. Read more...Green Party US Statement on Mass Shooting in Buffalo, NYWASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party of the United States stands in coalition with all who seek to end the culture of violence and politics of corruption that enable violent extremists. “The tragedy in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, May 14, is yet another reminder that racist violence is a fact of life in the U.S. This is not new – it has been happening for centuries. White supremacist terrorism is part of a culture and governmental system that violently oppresses Black people and other people of color at every turn, whether through police killings or mass shootings." said Philena Farley, National Black Caucus Media Co-Chair and Green Party US Media Co-Chair. This act of white supremacist terrorism is just the latest in a long string of racist and fascist violence in the United States. A direct product of the toxic rhetoric and fascistic delusion of a “Great Replacement” conspiracy promoted by the so-called “alt-right,” the Buffalo attack represents a perversely intersectional hatred toward a staggeringly large and diverse array of people. Radical solidarity is the surest way — the only way — to overcome such an abhorrent movement. Read more...Exciting News on Dr. Jill Stein's Court Case, Jill's Appearance on Ryan Knight PodcastDr. Jill Stein had great news to report from her court case appealing the FEC's demand that she personally repay over $175,000 in public matching funds that Stein campaign used to get on the ballot in 2016. In short, the FEC has been trying to withhold evidence in the record that makes her case. This is the very financial information (statements, receipts, expenditures etc.) proving she doesn't actually owe this money. Thanks to the heroic efforts of Attorney Oliver Hall at the Center for Competitive Democracy, who is leading the appeal, the court has now ruled the FEC cannot exclude this critical evidence. Read more...Dr. Stein also recently appeared on the podcast Unruly with Ryan and Rob, co-hosted by Ryan Knight. Jill discussed "why Democrats blame her for their party’s failure to deliver and a way forward for the people who are in desperate need of a political system that works for them, not against them." Listen online...2022 Green Party Annual National Meeting Registration is OPENThe 2022 Green Party Annual National Meeting (ANM) will be held virtually, as the world's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was not yet ready to guarantee a safe, in-person meeting during the planning process. We will miss the opportunity to share space with Greens from across the country but we can take this virtual gathering as an opportunity for national work on some of the most pressing challenges for this party. We hope you will join us from July 22-24. Important information for ANM Participants:All ANM Participants MUST REGISTER ONLINE to receive instructions on how to convene with us online. Please register by Friday, July 15th. Register online...
Matthew Hoh for US Senate Makes the Ballot in North Carolina! Plus an Interview With Ron PlaconeGrassroots petitioners, volunteers, and staff of the North Carolina Green Party and the Matthew Hoh for Senate campaign have made history by collecting almost 22,000 signatures in 96 counties to qualify the Green Party for the ballot – the first successful ballot petition drive since the founding of the North Carolina Green Party. "I’m excited for this opportunity and grateful for the hard work and effort of our campaign and party members who made this possible, and the tens of thousands of people who have already supported us in a multitude of ways, including each of the nearly 22,000 people who signed our petition to get us on the ballot," said Hoh. "Now it’s time to be a voice for millions of North Carolinians and disrupt the political status quo that has been deadly, oppressive and limiting to so many American families." Read more...Matthew discussed the ballot petition, fighting US militarism and more in his interview on Get Your News On With Ron, hosted by comedian Ron Placone. Listen online and share...News From the Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts
Read more...Green Party of NY Co-Chair Peter LaVenia Argues for Single Transferrable Vote in the Daily NewsThe Democrats' attempted gerrymandering of congressional districts in the state of New York presented an opportunity for GPNY Co-Chair Peter LaVenia to promote the benefits of Single Transferrable Vote, proportional representation in multi-member districts. Greens familiar with STV know that it fosters greater voter choice and multi-party democracy, but it's ability to eliminate the effectiveness of gerrymandering is less well-known. Read Peter's op-ed in the New York Daily News: "Rather than elect one member from each district (single-member districts), districts would contain several members. Voters would cast a single ballot but rank their preferences for as many members as there were open seats. The problem with single-member districts (SMDs) is that they create perverse incentives for gerrymandering, as only one candidate can win in each district. Parties in power tend to draw lines to reduce party competition and protect incumbents by placing as many of their voters as possible in each district, and diluting opposition party voters across several other districts. This is why gerrymandered districts often have such odd shapes. SMDs reward this kind of anti-democratic behavior. If New York had multimember districts, those bizarre-looking maps drawn for electoral advantage would be eliminated in favor of larger districts that could be relatively compact, geographically contiguous, and maintain communities of interest." Read more...Pacific Green Party Candidates Focus on Campaign Reform, Ending WarsAt the Pacific Green Party’s June 4 nominating convention, conversations with U.S. Senate candidate Dan Pulju, US Congress candidate Mike Beilstein, and candidate for Governor of Oregon, Natalie Paravicini remind us that Pacific also means “Peaceful.” Listen online...Mountain Party of West Virginia: How the Democrats Are Culpable in the Erosion of Abortion RightsWith the Supreme Court due to overturn Roe v. Wade within the coming months, the left has been berated by liberals with the familiar talking point that in order to protect abortion rights we must "vote blue." Predictably, liberals took to social media soon after the leaked draft opinion was reported, blaming Susan Sarandon and other third party voters for the upcoming Supreme Court decision, while completely ignoring the Democratic Party's culpability in this travesty. While the Republican Party is the most vocal anti-choice party, the Democrats are not blameless for this miscarriage of justice. While the popular sentiment may be to "vote blue" to protect abortion rights, this runs afoul of history. In 1974, then-Senator Joe Biden stated in regards to Roe v. Wade, "I don't like the Supreme Court decision on abortion. I think it went too far." He went on to say, "I don't think that a woman has the sole right to say what should happen to her body." A few years later in 1982, Biden was one of only two Democratic lawmakers who supported a constitutional amendment that allowed states to overturn Roe v. Wade and pass their own laws on abortion. Just nine years later, Joe Biden would then be largely to blame for the confirmation of anti-abortion Justice Clarence Thomas. Read more...Indiana Green Party's Sarah Dillon Talks Ranked Choice Voting on Behalf of BetterBallotIN.orgIn addition to serving on the Green Party National Committee since 2007 and being a foundress of the Vigo County Green Party, Indiana Green Party Board Member Sarah Dillon is also the Live Outreach coordinator for Better Ballot Indiana, which is fighting to implement Ranked Choice Voting in that state. On behalf of Better Ballot Indiana, Sarah appeared on the Indianapolis-based Tracy Takes On to discuss with host Tracy M. Carson how RCV empowers voters and makes for more equitable, less toxic elections. Watch online...Latest edition available.
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