Quote of the Day
"We are in this to build a movement. We are willing to struggle for as long as it takes to have our values prevail in public policy. A vote for the Green Party is a vote for the movement that will turn this country rightside up."
-- Cynthia McKinney
Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney is quoted in The Progressive magazine in a piece titled, The McKinney Choice, wherein author/activist Kevin Alexander Gray notes that a win for the Green Party is defined as 5 percent of the national vote with the hope it “confers major party status” on them. “Then we will have an official third party in this country,” McKinney said in Chicago, “and public policy that truly reflects our values.”
The African-American author/activist explores the McKinney candidacy:
Mention to someone that you’re thinking about voting for former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney or Ralph Nader and they’ll respond, “So, you’re voting for McCain!” Or they’ll say, “You’re wasting your vote.” And if you’re black and not planning on voting for Obama, you may be labeled a “hater” or an “Uncle Tom.” . .
While Obama is cosmetically attractive, he is still a status quo politician. What’s more, he has gone out of his way to disparage members of the African American community as a way to ingratiate himself with white voters. And he sometimes defends the same rightwing positions as his Republican counterpart, as when Obama supported Bush on the FISA bill and agreed with Scalia on the D.C. gun ban.
Aside from Obama’s limitations, there’s the question of movement politics. If we believe that the two party system rigs the electoral game, if we believe that corporate money contaminates both parties, and if we believe change comes from below, then why must we get in line behind Obama? . . read more . .
Progressive Movement Politics Cynthia McKinney News Barack Obama
