Cynthia McKinney wins Green Party Nomination, Defeats Nader

by politisite | July 12, 2008 at 01:29 pm | 1297 views | 10 comments | 2 recommendations

Cynthia McKinney Beating Nader at Green Party Convention, Rapper running Mate

The Greens chose Cynthia McKinney on the first ballot today in Chicago to be the party presidential nominee. Cynthia then nominated Rosa Clemente to be her running mate who was quickly approved by near unanimous acclaim.

Born and raised in the South Bronx she is a graduate of the University of Albany and Cornell University. Clemente is a highly regarded commentator, political activist, community organizer, Hip-Hop activist, and independent reporter.

Chuck D of Public Enemy says that Clemente "is one of this generations' most important political voices and community organizers."

In her acceptance speech McKinney defined winning as setting a goal to garner 5% of the national vote which would give the Green Party major party status on the national level. McKinney made it clear that her run for president is all about building an alternative to the two war parties. The corporate parties have to flip-flop on the issues she said "because they have to appear" to agree with our progressive values while they then do the bidding of the corporations who pay their freight.

Maine delegates gave McKinney the 5th most votes of any state during the first round of balloting. Only New York, Illinois, California, and Wisconsin gave her more presidential delegate votes.

Ralph Nader came in a distant second in the presidential balloting which indicated that while people still respect him, his day of gaining the ballot lines via the Green Party across the nation are over. At this point McKinney will be on the ballot in at least 25 states across the nation next November . Greens in other states are still attempting to cross the enormously difficult ballot status barriers that keep the Republicans and Democrats from being challenged.

Just after the nomination process concluded 2004 Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb made a rousing introduction speech of McKinney. It was Cobb, and the Green Party, that challenged the well-documented vote fraud in Ohio in 2004 that put Bush in the White House again. While John Kerry, and the Democratic Party, violated their promise to "fight for every vote" it fell to the Greens to file the legal challenge to protect disenfranchised voters in Ohio.

Before McKinney's acceptance speech, a video was played on the huge screen above the stage in the Chicago Symphony Center with John Lennon singing his song "Power to the People." McKinney has adopted that slogan as her campaign theme and it brought tears to me eyes to see her dancing on the stage during the Lennon song.

I felt that it was a moment of liberation for McKinney and the Green Party. McKinney was free of the restraints that come from being a "good" Democratic Party elected official where you are expected to toe the party line and not challenge the party orthodoxy. Now McKinney is free to be herself - to speak truth to power as she so effectively does. In fact on the podium, as McKinney spoke, was a sign that read TRUTH.

With the nomination of McKinney and Clemente the Green Party is now free to become the real radical alternative party that it should be - radical in the sense of "getting to the roots" of the issues at hand and building the political base to make the needed changes. The Green Party took a huge step today in the creation of a multi-ethnic party with leadership from black and Latino communities. This is a must as we look at the coming demographic changes in America. There will be no progressive movement in America without active leadership from people of color working alongside of progressive white activists.

To say the least it was refreshing.

I've been a McKinney watcher for years as she was one of the key voices in the Congress who time and again spoke on behalf of "the people". McKinney has been run out of office twice by the power structure and vilified by the corporate media for having the audacity to speak against war and corporate domination. I am sure her nomination will be greeted with scorn by the corporate masters.

For me today was a revolutionary moment. Since working on the Jesse Jackson presidential campaign in 1984, and seeing the hope of a "Rainbow coalition" whither away, I've thirsted for the coming together of the movements. Today's event clearly indicated the enormous possibilities that exist for revolutionary peace, social justice, and ecological organizing in the U.S. if people are willing to step into this historic moment.

The change we all long for will not come from the Democratic Party. A new positive and earth shaking train has just left the station. The question remains will people who see themselves as progressive have the wisdom to get on-board and not be left behind sorting through the crumbs left behind by the corporate parties

McKinney Wins Green Party Nomination

Former Georgia Rep. Cynthia McKinney was nominated Saturday as the Green Party’s presidential candidate.

McKinney, who was ousted from office in 2006 after a headline-grabbing scuffle with a Capitol Hill police officer, received 313 votes of a possible 532 at the Green Party’s national convention in Chicago.

Consumer advocate and perennial candidate Ralph Nader, who is already running as an independent candidate, came in second with 78.5 votes.

McKinney announced she would seek the presidency as a Green Party candidate late last year. She criticized the Iraq war and said both Democrats and Republicans are beholden to corrupt corporate interests.

McKinney, who was a Democrat, served six terms in Washington representing a suburban Atlanta district but was defeated in 2006 by DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson. She had been the first black woman elected to Congress from Georgia.

One of her final acts in Congress was to introduce a bill to impeach President Bush, saying he misled Congress into approving the war in Iraq and violated the law by secretly spying on citizens. She once claimed that Bush had advance warning of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

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amyjudd

at 13:33 on July 12th, 2008

Thank you for posting these results.

SOLARLIFE

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:58 on July 12th, 2008

politisite, I like this story. I did no know that a green party exists, so Ralph Nader probably to old.

politisite

at 15:08 on July 12th, 2008

Thanks for the comment. McKinney left the democratic party and joined the Green party. What is funny is she has nthing in common with Greens. She is a 911 conspiracy theorist who take money from known terrorist goups. Georgia jumped for joy when she left the state for California. Dont think this is the end of Nadar, he will run despite the Green party nomimation as an independent.

Sander Hicks (not verified)

at 19:37 on July 12th, 2008

My report from Chicago was posted on the front page of

"911 Truth.org"

http://911truth.org/article.php?story=2008071323319759

*Breaking: Greens Nominate McKinney for President*

An Original Report from Chicago
by Sander Hicks
July 12, 9:10 PM, Chicago, IL

The Green Party of the United States today nominated truth activist and seasoned politician Cynthia McKinney for U.S. President. In her 12 years in Congress, McKinney distinguished herself for questioning Donald Rumsfeld under oath about missing trillions at the Pentagon. She introduced articles of impeachment and asked questions about the 9/11 attacks, in 2002, when such skepticism was not tolerated from public figures.

McKinney's story includes many accomplishments as a legislator. She has been the conscience for a misguided nation. But the other half of her story is not what she has done, but what has been done to her. She took the blows of fierce reaction when the political establishment and corporate centrist media attacked her for violating the taboo that demanded silence about 9/11. In 2002, GOP strategists used a special "crossover" strategy to get their voters to vote in the Democratic primary for a fake Democrat substitute for McKinney. She came back in 2004. After introducing articles of impeachment and holding congressional hearings into 9/11, Capitol Police pretended not to recognize her, which sparked a confrontation with a frustrated McKinney. The media claimed she punched a cop. McKinney lost re-election in 2006.

So it was a comeback of another kind today. Greens all over the convention today were fond of quoting Jesse Jackson who said "the Democratic Party is where progressive politics go to die." In her speech today, McKinney spoke of annually swearing to herself that all the maiming, and bombing of children, and killing of peoples that our government does, is not done in her name. Recently, she decided to make that statement more real.

350 Green delegates from as far away as Hawaii, Montana, and Rhode Island voted today for a choice of four candidates plus a few stray votes for Nader, the ghost in the machine. McKinney was the clear winner. It was a landslide. It was politics at a whole new level. After seven years of struggling to dig up the truth on 9/11, how refreshing is it to hear the biggest third party have a champion asking "what did they know and when did they know it?" in her acceptance speech. This is not a cottage industry of idle speculation. 9/11 is now a national political issue. So is Katrina. So is Pentagon accountability. So is impeachment.

But really the issue for me is McKinney herself. We are lucky in the Green Party that she has come to us. Our first star. Our first media-rich, well-known, well-loved and much-hated, loaded, messianic, prophetic, truth-telling figure. Obama seems wispy when you imagine them side by side for any reason. McKinney has a gravitas. A serious mass to her passion for TRUTH. Truth is in some ways her strongest campaign slogan. It was one of the signs hoisted aloft today as she won. Black background, big white letters, with the campaign logo below. Truth. A people living in darkness has seen a great light. Truth. The movement for truth has been given a candidate. This is the moment I came for.

breaks5 (not verified)

at 20:21 on July 12th, 2008

politiside, Thanks for the article. You hit the nail on the head with your comparison to the rainbow push coalition. Jackson's American quilt speech at the 88 Atlanta convention and the 11 states and over 1,000 delegates he won at that Democratic convention was a formative political experience for me in 8th grade. Other than Dennis Kucinich's runs in 2004 and 2008, this is the most elated I've been about a political candidate/party in 20 years. :)

Lauretta (not verified)

at 11:55 on July 16th, 2008

How does green party view racist police and sheriff targicing. Many of our black women on the force are just as bad as the KKK when it comes to aiding in racism against the blacks in a community. The same applies to black male on the forces, i think it is to much glorication of cop shows and movies that are far beyond true and how they view black americans as just another family member they deeply love. In California the mess is so out of hand between Oakland and bay area regions of Contra Costa. Homeland security is no longer homeland security but racist home spying and using voice machines and sound machine to make it unknown by others to create a continue system of harzament on black male and female that have been targic for racist experiments. Using the Indian name to create black oppression is just that color taging and nothing more than silent genocide. To destroy one both physical and mental.

I have always been a democratic and have worked hard in trying to get Barack Obama elected, but sometimes i feel the party have undercover republicans on it team, breaking the party down from the inside out. Because it seems situations with afro americans is still the same in many ways and getting worse only in a very quite manner.

Green Party elected x congresswoman x democratic Cythnia Mc Kinney can and will bring a new look and view to the green party. Still i am aware green party is a 3nd left wing party and it will be many years before american will have any one as president other than a democratic or republican it is still great to know american can still be a land of hope and goals achieved. I still feel that if it comes down to the finish line that the green party could help in getting Obama elected instead of McCain who could get us into another war with anothe Arab country. Green Party is misunderstood by many black americans as a heavy latino of colored non-blacks movement.What i though, was that green party was an environmental party, to save endanger species , like the beautiful story of saving our endangerous baby whales from the sushi plate, and protecting our forest and rivers, and promoting clean air programs, and having nothing really to do with political based issues. I have a renewal respect for green party now that i know it is another political party concerned with world issues involving americans and it's allies. And devoted to the american people as a whole from those whating to destroy americans.

staygraphic

at 08:02 on July 26th, 2008

Cynthia McKinney attended the 4th Impeach on the Beach event in Berkeley, California where she unofficially announced her intent to run for President of the United States on the Green Party Ticket.

This event took place in October, 2007.

staygraphic has contributed a photo to this story.

AnitaStewart (not verified)

at 19:56 on July 28th, 2008

Cynthia McKinney could not DEFEAT Nader, as he is not running with the Green Party but as an Independent. Both are viable candidates for their own parties and hold WE THE PEOPLE more importantly than the corporate owned candidates.

jeffy_pie

at 17:50 on July 29th, 2008

There was a great feeling of hope and unity when Cynthia accepted our nomination. Rosa Clemente was an excellent choice for VP as indicated by a near-unanimous show of hands when the delegates were asked for their approval.

jeffy_pie has contributed a photo to this story.

Pey (not verified)

at 18:47 on October 30th, 2008

It's somewhat ridiculous to claim she beat Nader for the Green nomination. Nader did not run as a Green in 2004, nor would he care to in 2008.

Had he been nominated, he would still be running as an Independent. Using the title, '
Cynthia McKinney wins Green Party Nomination, Defeats Nader

is not necessary because they're both fighting for the same cause. Nader and McKinney are both patriotic citizens who fight for Constitutional rights. Pinning them against each other is unrealistic.