Ok, I'm sure her blouse is cotton and she uses natural hair spray and those earings are wood, not plastic right?

So what about the plywood (lacquer) podium and mike cables (insulation)?

I say if you don't think women or black people should have the right to vote, just come out and say it.  

Yeah, you can pick everything apart...right down to her earrings but wearing plastic earrings is a far cry from owning an unknown number of homes like John McCain or doing your photo ops on oil rigs.

You're exactly the reason that people like me get out of the military...because as Cynthia McKinney says, our energy policy is war and drilling.

Why does the Green Party feel the need to self-destruct? There is overwhelming evidence that various things about our country can at the same time be more enviromentally friendly AND better for everyone all around, if we had the leadership to see it done.

Instead, all I hear from the Green Party are increasingly strident arguments against "the Man." I mean, I understand that there are quite a few disenfranchised people in the U.S., but they are still a minority and you won't win an election by alienating the majority.

I don't want to hear about what's good for [enter subgroup here], I want to hear about what's good for America and what's good for my family. Strike that chord with me and I'll vote for you.

Unfortunately, in this presidential election, I feel that a vote for anybody other than Obama is a vote for McCain. We just can't take the chance.

Why not ask, "Why is it so hard to build a new political party in our democracy, when the Green values are majority values?" instead of "Why does the Green Party feel the need to self-destruct?"

Of course there are plenty of people who are trying to destroy the Green Party, because the Greens are the only organizational alternative in this whole area of American politics! Why would the Green experience be different from any other attempt at building a new political force, all of which have been attacked by the various forces of the status quo.

People who are really in favor of the values of the Greens pitch in support the Greens 95% of the time, rather than sniping from the sidelines.

I like it how she refers to 'Europe' as if it was a homogeneous country. We might all be white, but we have hugely different cultures and even more different energy and food policies. Her blatant generalizations about 'Europe' are somewhat astounding (as if I said that America was poor because I visited a couple of villages in Mexico).

Second, if the Green party attempted to put up the appearance that they cared, then they would get more votes. How is she planning to campaign while working on her PhD? Also, once they build a strong base, get some congressional seats, and play the power game, then I will consider them a serious party. Now they are just rebel-rousers trying to 'make a point', gambling with 8 more years of McBush III.

funny, that she skirts the idea of environmental hero. not that her answer is wrong in any way. the people she mentions by name are incredible role models for everyone, everywhere.
but note that she doesn't mention anyone that has made a modern environmental impact. I'm a Green myself, and hope McKinney brings votes to the party. But couldn't she have snapped her fingers and had some aide give her a name?

Obviously tboggia-- like most Americans-- does not know that in order to get and maintain ballot status (have your candidate's names appear on a ballot) in the United States, a new political party must qualify and re-qualify according to rules set by officials who are Democrats & Republicans, and that this has to happen on a state-by-state basis. And many states have wildly differing qualifying rules from others.

Sometimes those rules include requirements that a party receive a certain number of votes at the top of the ticket to get ballot status for the party in the next election(s). The alternative is to petition or pay, and the petitioning requirements are usually for many times the number of signatures required of Democratic and Republican parties.

You ever try getting votes, much less winning congressional seats, etc., without having the names of your candidates on the ballot?

It is a pretty complicated pain in the butt which is no accident. So quit complaining about those who are trying to improve things and pitch in to be constructive, what do you say?

Otherwise we are just gambling with 80 more years of the same system we have now.

Please, about half of all Democrats, be sure to vote Green Party in November!

Every environmentalist should be working with the Green Party, a party that won't sell out to corporate donors, to get environmental activists elected as mayors and other local offices.  The Green Party has given us an opportunity to create the change we need in our government and our polices. A real movement for sustainability won't happen without our participation.  

Waiting for it to happen has not worked, let's get good people elected.  

Look, I sympathize greatly with the message of the Green party and McKinney... but what chance does she really have of winning?

Instead of attempting a "Hail Mary" every Presidentail election the Green party should be getting Representatives and Senetors elected.

I know getting Senators and Representatives elected isn't as "sexy" as getting a President elected, however if we can get 10 Representatives and 3 Senators elected... we can have a real voice and we'll have a solid foundation upon which we can build.

Until that time, were just playing the lottery hoping to get lucky... instead of knuckling down and doing the hard work necessary to create real change.

Obama may not be all that great, but he's better than McCain, and until the Green party get's serious he's our best hope for positive change.

for giving Cynthia McKinney much needed and deserved attention.

WE as a Party are running All Kinds of local, state and nat'l candidates.
When it comes to a Nat'l presidential ticket we can only run as Greens who don't get the corporate media coverage.
We also run in a climate of black and white, either or and lesser of two evils, what we've done and continue to do is run as Strong as we can to adress the issues we Know need addressing and not Only Don't we get coverage we get hesitant support from many Greens, caught up in the fear factor of lesser evilism, but outright hostility from so called progressive Democrats who Know we need change yet undercut our efforts to inspire people to become involved and active and why? Cuz "We're the Boogeyman! the Spoiler!" Not the corrupted voting machines and spoiled Closed Debates etc..etc..., Not the Dem's without a backbone to impeach the MOST Impeachable President ever, but US! The Green Party, give me a break!
We've got two Strong Women who are Tuned into What's wrong and how to make it right, but it's just Too Scary to let them be heard?
Give me a break!
Winning to me is Waking up a Nation to the Power they COULD have still, and How Close we are to Losing that Power through Apathy, Fear, Infighting, Blackouting, etc..
Winning to me is getting Enough of an ABUNDANCE of Votes if you get people to the polls who otherwise would ONCE again "sit this one Out" because the two Chosen ones by corporate parties funded by the Arms industry hope to give us More of the Same. That given those inspired to vote for Truth we as the GP might have a fighting chance of ballot access in our states.

Sorry, I have waited long enough for the Dems to actually do something.  And to stop acting like "Republican light" by catering to corporate interests.  I am voting Green. And my conscience is clean.  

The Green Party is the only party talking about the environmental solutions that America needs. The Green plan would make us all healthier and safer, and if the poor have more to gain from that (as they've borne the brunt of environmental problems), does that make it any less valid? The fact is that America's working poor have no voice in Washington aside from a handful of maverick Democrats, and Greens are working to change that. And since all Green candidates take a pledge to refuse corporate money, you can be sure they won't back down from protecting our environment.

The Green Party is working hard to get senators, representatives, and other officials elected. However, it makes no sense to sit out the presidential election when Greens would lose hard-won ballot access in many states by doing so. As we watch both parties moving farther into the corporatist camp, it's imperative that we break our addiction to the corrupt, do-nothing Democratic party and build a party based on real American values. If you want more military spending, more drilling, and more government surveillance, by all means vote for Obama/McCain, but recognize my right to vote for a candidate that I actually agree with. If you think I should vote for Senator Obama, then tell him to debate Cynthia McKinney so that we can compare their respective merits.

McKinney and the Greens know that with the corporate media and the Commission on Presidential Debates whiting her out, she'd be lucky if a majority of Americans even knew she were running. That being said, McKinney has wisely defined victory as 5% of the vote - which would establish the Green Party as America's third major party and qualify it for federal matching funds. Think about it - a national party standing up for grassroots democracy, social justice, human rights, peace, and ecological wisdom. That's what we're working for, and if environmentalists and their fellow progressives ever want to stop fighting Washington DC and start running it, then they should help build the Green Party into a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Greens will keep running at all levels, against all odds, because there is so much at stake.

Several reasons:
--to give people who have dropped out of politics a reason to register and vote
--to get the Green Party ballot access in states that require running a presidential candidate
--to attract voters to local Green Party candidates on the same ballot line
--to bring attention to issues the other candidates won't dare mention (like single-payer universal healthcare and immediate withdrawal from Iraq)
(by the way she will win if enough people vote for her!)

I was in her district in GA when she was in Congress. This woman is not who Greens should be wanting to represent them. When she lost her seat, she & her father (both career politicians) had no qualms about letting their true colors show. They both said it was because of the Jewish vote! This in a district which is massively African-American with a very small Jewish population. She also had some rather outlandish theories regarding the 9/11 attacks, among other things.

Knowing what I know about her, I think the Greens should have looked elsewhere for a candidate. McKinney acted like a nutcase as Congresswoman, & it's likely she hasn't changed much since then. Don't waste your vote on her; she's really not worth it.

Please keep it up!  I've been a longtime Grist fan, and a registered Green for longer than that, but extremely disappointed in your total lack of coverage for Green Party candidates, rather ironic for an e-rag that dotes on environmental as well as political issues.  You're practically giving McCain the greater benefit of the doubt and free publicity too boot.

Meanwhile, without a third party to apply pressure to the candidates, esp. the Dems, they're free to court the center stripe and back away from ambitious and much-needed change vis a vis everything from energy policy to endangered species.
Case in point . . . offshore drilling.  Obama first opposed it, now is capitulating.  If he had the fear that voters would vote Green instead he might actually stand firm and walk his talk.  McCain is certainly not holding his line, esp in regards to climate change- is it too much to expect of these guys?

Every midterm I hear people bemoaning their own party's ineffectiveness and discussing the need for a new party.  Well here it is folks, but you have to have the fortitude to leave the nest first, or at least make it clear that you expect more from your own candidates, and a system that allows third parties to compete fairly and squarely.

But please Grist-  more Green Party coverage!

NM Green

I also live in McKinney's old district in Georgia and think those of you supporting her are just as crazy as she is.

Are you voting for the Green Party or Cynthia McKinney the candidate?  I think anyone that votes party is no better than the ultra conservative republican that votes based on the fact that their candidate is pro-life.  

I agree with Green Party ideals but I have to ask if you seriously believe that she is a better candidate than Obama?  And what about her VP?  I have nothing against Rosa Clemente but I hardly think she is qualified to be a heartbeat from the presidency.

I think the most important thing is that everyone gets out there and votes their conscious but please don't think you're voting for an idea; you are voting for a person (2 actually), the people that will lead our country!