Who should get Green Party US president nomination? A celebrity or a nobody?
By Chuck Fall
Green Liberty Chapter of Oregon Pacific Green Party, held a general meeting and the topic of Cornel West and the 2024 presidential election was discussed.
While some in the group felt very strongly that Cornel West would help grow Green Party ranks, and expand the ballot into every state, and could even be a great candidate, others voiced interest in recruiting, or doing fusion with, Robert Kennedy Jr.
Meanwhile, I promoted Emanuel Pastreich for being a ‘truth leader’ as called for by Cynthia McKinney in her presentation to the Lawyers Committee for 9/11 Truth.
The point being, there is a diversity of opinion among some Greens over who would be the best candidate for President.
We are early enough in the 2024 presidential nominating process that the Green Party should be able to organize a series of candidate forums that provide Greens a way to assess who should get the nomination.
While expanding GP ballot access into all of the states is necessary for the party to grow, it is unclear how, and if, a fusion politics with an independent, or even a Democrat, could serve Green objectives. In the end, I expect the Greens will nominate a Green and work to get ballot access in as many states as possible. Indeed, rules require a Green Party presidential candidate to be registered Green. However, Howie Hawkins in 2016 ran on the Green Party ballot line, but also declared he was a candidate for the Socialist Party, which didn’t have ballot access.
Meanwhile, if environmentalism was the chief value we want to see in our president, then Robert Kennedy has huge credibility given his long experience fighting polluters in the Hudson Valley, and suing Big Pharma on behalf of injured parties.
Cornel West is solid on social justice but has less of a track record fighting for the environment, while Pastreich explicitly calls for restoring earth’s ecosystem, among other issues. All three condemn the domination of regulatory agencies by Big Money.
However, Green Liberty stands on the four pillars for democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom and non-violence equally, and to some extent these values overlap. For example, the extreme loss of biological diversity, and the environmental ruin of the planetary ecosystem is a form of violence that stems from the unchecked power of the corporations to conduct business without regard for the consequences.
The Green Liberty concern for state crimes arises out of an awareness that the lack of accountability has bred impunity for corporations to pollute and spread toxins, like glyphosate, and PFAS (forever chemicals) without consequence. Similarly, we the people have not been consulted around whether or not we want to deploy the 4 G and now 5G microwave systems that require multiple antenna placement. Greens call for the the precautionary principle to be applied to any consideration to advance new technologies; this has not been done. Green candidates must subscribe, and convince the state Green Parties, that the precauitonary principle is important.
Evaluating a candidate’s position on state crimes, along with their stance on other green issues, should be a litmus test for qualifying for the Green Party nomination.
The Green Party Presidential Candidate Support Committee processes filings for the Green Party nomination. To qualify one must meet financial requirements, collect signatures of 100 Greens from at least 5 states, file as a Green with the Federal Elections Commission, among other steps.
The state parties select the nominee for US President, and delegates vote at the presidential convention. Therefore, it behooves any prospective nominee to visit each state, in person or by zoom, and campaign for the nomination. Currently, there are at least 12 registered Greens who have indicated an intention to seek the Green Party presidential nomination.
Cornel West is the first to publicly align with the Green Party. With help from Dr. Jill Stein, 2016 Green Party presidential candidate, Cornel West has been doing a virtual barn storming of independent and mainstream media outlets, from CNN to Fox News to Pasta Jardula at Convo Couch.
West initially entered the Presidential race after filing with the Federal Elections Committee under the auspices of the People’s Party. Some delegates to the GP US national committee objected to a People’s Party candidate representing he was seeking the Green Party endorsement. Subsequently, West dropped his People’s Party affiliation and re-registered under the Green Party, and is now the presumed front runner.
There are no formal plans in place yet for a candidates’ debate, but each state may initiate candidates forums at their own discretion. A series of debates should be advanced to give Greens a way to evaluate the candidates, and introduce to the public, Green presidential prospects.
Conceivably, the Green Party US in conjunction with the individual state parties, could help organize a series of debates, or open forums, to promote awareness of the Green Party, and begin the process of laying out the issues candidates think important and likely to inspire Americans to vote Green.
As an advocate for recruiting Emanuel Pastreich, who is not currently registered Green, I request that Green Party candidate forums be inclusive of independent, non-greens, since we are so early in the selection process. From a candidates’ forum, Greens may discover Pastreich has the right stuff to lead the Green Party, and would recruit him.
As mentioned, there is a contingent of Greens who feel strongly that the Green Party should hitch its wagon to the Robert Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign on account he is presidential, could actually win, is a champion of the environment, will fight against chemical toxins in our food, water and air, and isn’t afraid to tell the truth about government lies.
Kennedy explains his value as a presidential candidate by citing his extensive legal experience suing corporations and fighting the capture of our regulatory agencies by corporations., and that he could be a unifying force in the country. However, without registering Green, Kennedy won’t be an option until he wins the Democratic Party nomination, which is a long shot.
On the matter of making Covid an issue for debate, Green Party US Steering Committee has endorsed the Covid vaccine, while the Black National Caucus has opposed it. Cornel West has praised Dr. Fauci for his work on behalf of the Covid, but admitted to Pasta Jardula he needed to learn more about what happened under Covid, and that he would re-appraise his position as well as get up to speed on the internal debates within the Green Party.
The unwillingness of the Green Party US and the individual State Parties to take a strong stance against the Federal Covid Response means we will have less standing to criticize when another faux ‘pandemic’ or climate emergency is presented and used as an excuse to put society into a lockdown and deny civil liberties by requiring vaccine passports, for example.
We the people need a president who won’t be silent in the face of a crime. Silence is a form of complicity. Cognitive dissonance is not an excuse to not object and criticize a bad policy. It is the position of Green Liberty that the Green Party US candidate needs to have the courage to speak truth to power. Both Kennedy and Pastreich are doing this; West isn’t.
Greens should remain open at this early stage of the selection process and consider all of our options and choose the candidate that will fight injustice and advance a plan for real change.