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Posts Tagged ‘Cynthia McKinney’

In Her Own Words: Cynthia McKinney Speaks About having Supply Boat Rammed

8:21 am By Maegan La Mala · Gaza| israel · Comments Off

31 Dec 2008

Nothing more threatening than a former U.S Congresswoman/former U.S. Presidential candidate bringing medical supplies to Gaza. Add this to an ever growing list of international laws Israel is breaking.

Via / Prison Planet

Supporting mainstream, investing in third party

11:52 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

30 Oct 2008

The following text (which was sent to me in an email) reminds me of La Mala’s fiery words about how this election can not be the ‘end’ of political mobilization, even if the Obama/Biden ticket wins. It answers the question, how can you vote for a third party candidate while also supporting Obama?

It also deals with the constant pitfall so many organizers fall into–thinking that an election cycle represents the beginning and ending of a campaign. In other words, what would happen if those interested in third party candidates consider a ‘campaign’ to be 7 years, or 12 years, or 30 years long?

Support Obama, and Vote McKinney? Not a contradiction.
The women of color running for President & Vice President

By Amee Chew

October 2008

The Green Party Presidential ticket of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente brings something special and unprecedented to U.S. politics. Not only are they the first all women-of-color ticket for President and Vice President with ballot access in most states.[1] These women take racial justice seriously, and have made strides to put gender at the center of a progressive agenda. For these two, it’s more than skin deep.

They’re the Presidential ticket that talks about amnesty for undocumented workers, that opposes guest worker programs as riddled with abuses, because they believe a just immigration reform means addressing the trade and economic policies fueling poverty and migration. They’re the ticket that demands reparations in the form of federal investment in low-income families and communities of color, to end racial disparities in health, housing, education, and incarceration. They call for the right of return for Katrina survivors; an end to prisons for profit, to the War on Drugs. And they speak of reproductive justice – not just the right to abortion, but actual healthcare access; of freedom from coerced or uninformed medication and sterilization.

Nowhere do we see Nader, or white male Third-Party-politics-as-usual, bringing in these issues – this slice on life, or sensitivity. McKinney, for instance, points out that Social Security cuts will disproportionately harm women. The Green Party candidates offer to do us the public service of contesting Palin’s brand of “feminism.” Let’s take them up on it.

Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney Answers Sanctuary’s Call on Immigration Issues

6:42 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration| US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

28 Oct 2008

It’s been a few months since the Sanctuary sent the presidential wannabes a comprehensive questionnaire on immigration and related issues. The online coalition of bloggers and activists heard back from Barack Obama’s campaign and heard deafening silence from John McCain’s camp.

With a week before election day, the Green Party candidate, Cynthia McKinnney responded to the questionnaire and her answers are on point when it comes to looking at immigration through a global human rights lens.

Read some excerpts from her response after the jump.

Third Parties will not destroy the U.S., I swear!

1:31 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

14 Oct 2008

If you’re like me and not inclined to be all that supportive of a two party system, you’ll be really interested in the most recent commentary by Democracy Now! hostess, Amy Goodman. In it, she takes on the reason that the presidential debates suck on so many levels (a debate only works if there is fundamental difference between those debating) and what is being left out of debates as a result of two party dominance (poverty, labor protections, military industrial complex, and as Mala noted, immigration).

Some of the good done by third party pressure:

George Farah directs Open Debates, a group that works “to ensure that the presidential debates serve the American people first.” He told me that “historically, it has been third parties, not the major parties, that have supported and are responsible for the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, public schools, public power, unemployment compensation, minimum wage, child labor laws. The list goes on and on. The two parties fail to address a particular issue; a third party rises up, and it’s supported by tens of millions of Americans, forcing the Republican and Democratic parties to co-opt that issue, or the third party rises and succeeds, which is why the Republican Party jumped from being a third party to being a major party of the United States of America.

Many people have pointed out to me that voting green (or libertarian) could ultimately be a vote for the opposing team rather than a vote for an issue they believe in–and then of course they point frantically to Florida and Ohio as proof.

I wonder–could it be possible that if those voters were inclined in the slightest to stand up for the multitudes of homeless/people of color who voted and were actively disenfranchised, Florida and Ohio wouldn’t have happened?

Could blaming third parties be the easy way to avoid the messy realization that voter disenfranchisement is an essential part of a dirty rotten corrupt system that needs some serious cleaning up?

The Green Ticket: McKinney and Clemente Just the Facts

5:06 pm By Maegan La Mala · US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

31 Jul 2008

If you (like many!!) are struggling to make it through all the political rhetoric being thrown about now during the U.S. election cycle, please click over to WOC PhD’s place for a “just the facts” sort of post on the Green Party’s team: Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente. Some of the facts:

* extend access to education to immigrants and low income college students without debt
* insure housing – stop government plans to demolish unused housing and give to developers for “revitalization” instead of recycling/refurbishing homes for low income and homeless use,
* address government policies that encourage gentrification to ensure the preservation of affordable housing and established communities success
* sign the UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights
* support all workers rights to unionize end anti-union policies in industries

For more, see here.

Will the Presidential Candidates Heed the Sanctuary’s Call?

5:07 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Blogs| Immigration| Internet| US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off

11 Jul 2008

Sometimes you have to put politicians feet to the fire when it comes to being clear and real about an issue. The hot-button immigration issue, especially as it relates to the mythic Latino voting block has gotten lots of play by the presidential candidates. Recently both John McCain and Barack Obama played amigos to Latinos at the LULAC conference. This weekend they will certainly be all smiles and bad Spanish as they speak at the NCLR conference. But the Latino blogosphere and pro-migrant blogosphere wants more than sound bites, which is why the founding editors of The Sanctuary have put together a detailed questionnaire focusing on issues surrounding immigration. This was distributed to the 2008 presidential candidates over two weeks ago.

The Obama camp says a response is forthcoming and the McCain camp has stayed quiet but with election day coming closer and plenty of opportunities to play up the Latino vote until then, The Sanctuary had to put the candidates’ feet to the fire. So the questionnaire was resent, requesting a response by a specific date.

Now is the time for the presidential wannabes to step up to the plate and put some depth beyond the rhetoric. Let’s see if si se puede.

Edited to add that this is a joint effort of concerned pro-immigrant bloggers. Among them are:

Problem Chylde
Cross Left
Latina Lista
Zuky
Latino Politico
The Unapologetic Mexican
Xicano Power

Read the entire questionnaire after the jump

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