Greens Gone Digital
by C.A. Matthews
In a history-making effort, the Green Party US has become the first American political party to host an entirely digital Presidential Nominating Convention this past weekend. During the three day online gathering, Greens chose Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker to be their president/vice president candidates. The convention originally had been slated to take place in Detroit, but the pandemic put a halt to those plans as the party leadership felt it was unwise to risk their members' health and safety by meeting in person. In a few short months, the Greens pulled together a relatively smooth running digital meeting using a variety of platforms such as Zoom, Loomio, You Tube and Facebook live-streaming.
Workshop topics included an in-depth look at the current administration's acceleration of the nuclear arms race; ways to handle the ongoing financial crisis and growing national debt; and re-branding the Green Party US as eco-socialists to reach a wider membership with independent voters. Many presenters emphasized how the Greens are the original creators of the Green New Deal, support shrinking the military and demilitarizing the police, and are the only American political party to enthusiastically support Medicare For All as part of their platform.
There were special guest speakers as well through out the day Saturday interspersed between delegate votes. Well known Greens like 2012 and 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her running mate, peace activist Ajamu Baraka, gave stirring speeches. Lisa Savage, currently running for the US Senate (with a good chance of winning under Maine's ranked choice voting system), also addressed the convention along with other Greens who have served proudly in both party and publicly elected positions.
At a little after 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon the tally for the presidential nominee was declared official. Howie Hawkins, a founder of the Green Party US and the original GND candidate when he ran for governor of New York, was overwhelmingly chosen as the 2020 presidential candidate with Angela Walker as his running mate. Dario Hunter/Darlene Elias came in second in the vote tally with less than half the votes of Hawkins/Walker. A smattering of votes were given to other candidates, and a few delegates simply voted "non-committed." Former governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura did receive seven delegate votes. Perhaps he will feel encouraged to run in another four years, as Jesse seems to be a favorite of Young Ecosocialists Caucus members.
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| My view of the GP Presidential Nominating Convention |
This was my first Presidential Nominating Convention, and I was proud to attend as a voting delegate from Ohio. I'd attended the 2019 Annual Meeting in Salem, Massachusetts. I found it fascinating to meet Greens from all over the country and exchange information and ideas with them. I was looking forward to attending the convention in Detroit--less than an hour away from my home--but the virus outbreak crushed those dreams of sitting with my state's delegation and shouting out our support of our favorite candidates during the delegate roll call. Oh, well, there's been a lot of disappointments during these months of COVID-19 lock down, nothing new there. I look forward to the future when perhaps I can serve as a delegate again and enjoy the excitement in person.
Related links:
Hawkins/Walker Campaign Website
http://howiehawkins.us
C-Span Interview with Howie Hawkins (video)
https://www.c-span.org/video/?473680-3/washington-journal-howie-hawkins-discusses-green-party-platform&live=&vod=&fbclid=IwAR2DMQXP5Dn_Gqzubv07wL3WuMOYmA-NGZaavgCCs13FKZeFFcQ8A43DsZs
Green Party US videos--most of the workshops were recorded and can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/GreenPartyVideos/videos
***
Just six weeks before many
international students start their fall terms, ICE has implemented a
rule change that would force thousands out of the country.
Under the new student visa regulations,
international students must enroll into in-person classes at their
institution to remain in the United States. ICE waited until many
colleges and universities had already finalized their class
schedules or made decisions about being entirely online for the term to
announce these changes.
ICE’s goal here is transparent: Force as many
foreign students out of the United States as possible, in the middle of a
global pandemic. Remember – the cruelty is the point.
There’s hope. MIT and Harvard have launched
lawsuits to block the Trump administration’s sabotage. Across the
country, students and teachers are making last-minute 1 credit courses
to help international students stay here. It’s inspiring
to see.
But it shouldn’t be the burden of college
undergraduates and TAs to block Trump’s inhumane policy agenda. Our
leaders have to act against a transparently xenophobic rule change that
was kept hidden until the very last moment.
Shockingly, it gets worse. Many experts suspect
that the Trump administration’s real motivation was to force colleges
and universities to reopen in-person classes this fall – even if it was
unsafe. As the second wave of COVID
crashes upon numerous states, it is unthinkable that our federal
government would force schools to choose between deporting students or
risking their lives.
Thanks for your help,
LeftNet
***
I live in Florida, where coronavirus cases are spiking, and I've had to fight at my job at Checkers just to get masks and gloves to be safe.
Our bosses don't care about us – they don't care whether we live or we die – as long as they make money.
Police beat us and kill us – they don't give Black lives the dignity we deserve as human beings. It ain't right.
I've had enough. I believe that we've ALL had enough.
That's why I'm walking off my job on July 20 as part of the Strike for Black Lives.
Don't see an event near you on the map? Sign up to host your own event.
We demand:
-
Justice for Black communities. That means higher wages, better jobs, and unions for all so we can build real economic power. It means healthcare for all, action on climate change, better education opportunities, criminal justice reform, and most of all – listening to Black workers and leaders.
-
Elected officials and candidates use their authority to rewrite the rules so that Black communities can thrive. We need safe and fair voting so all of us can participate in our democracy.
-
Corporations take immediate action to dismantle racism, white supremacy and economic exploitation wherever it exists, including in our workplaces. Employers like Checkers and McDonald's need to pay higher wages and give us sick leave, we need personal protective equipment (PPE) and hazard pay during the pandemic. We need to disrupt the cycle of poverty that has existed for generations.
-
Every worker has the opportunity to form a union, no matter where they work. People of color need a seat at the table to be able to fight for our families and communities.
We won't win because politicians or companies decide out of the goodness of their hearts to give us what we demand. We
will win only because we join together with ONE voice to force
politicians and companies to give us what we've always deserved.
Together in justice,
Alex Harris
Checkers Worker
Tampa, FL
Fight for $15
Checkers Worker
Tampa, FL
Fight for $15
P.S. The Strike for Black Lives will be happening during a
worsening pandemic. If you plan to attend an event in person, take a
look at our Coronavirus Safety guide.
Senator Brian Schatz (D–HI) has introduce an amendment that will prevent local police forces from getting tear gas,1 drones,2 armored vehicles,3 and high-caliber weapons of war4
from the military. This important amendment — in addition to
initiatives to defund police departments and hold police officers
accountable for committing crimes against the public — will help combat
systemic police brutality in the U.S.
Contact Congress TODAY to stop police departments from buying military weapons.
Arming police forces with military weapons doesn’t reduce crime or protect law enforcement officers from violence.5 In fact, police forces that are equipped with these weapons are more likely to kill civilians.6 Even worse, militarized police forces often target Black and minority-majority communities, where getting killed by the police is among the leading causes of death.7
Local law enforcement agencies have bought billions of dollars worth of guns, explosives, helicopters, and more from the military.8 Senator Brian Schatz (D–HI) wants to end this practice by passing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.9 This important amendment will prevent the transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, but only if more members of Congress support it.
Contact your Senators and Representatives now and tell them to support the Schatz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Regards,
Dayton
P.S. Stopping this one program is an important step. But the fight to end police violence can’t end there. Please learn from, support, and donate to organizations like Movement for Black Lives, Black Visions Minnesota, MediaJustice, and Stop LAPD Spying who are leading this work.
[1] USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/
[2] Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-
[3] CNN
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-
[4] Courthouse News
https://www.courthousenews.
[5] PBS
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
[6] CATO Institute
https://www.cato.org/blog/
[7] LA Times
https://www.latimes.com/
[8] Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/how-
[9] Sen. Brian Schatz on Twitter
https://twitter.com/
***
From Fight for the Future:
Contact Congress TODAY to stop police departments from buying military weapons.
Arming police forces with military weapons doesn’t reduce crime or protect law enforcement officers from violence.5 In fact, police forces that are equipped with these weapons are more likely to kill civilians.6 Even worse, militarized police forces often target Black and minority-majority communities, where getting killed by the police is among the leading causes of death.7
Local law enforcement agencies have bought billions of dollars worth of guns, explosives, helicopters, and more from the military.8 Senator Brian Schatz (D–HI) wants to end this practice by passing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.9 This important amendment will prevent the transfer of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies, but only if more members of Congress support it.
Contact your Senators and Representatives now and tell them to support the Schatz amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Regards,
Dayton
P.S. Stopping this one program is an important step. But the fight to end police violence can’t end there. Please learn from, support, and donate to organizations like Movement for Black Lives, Black Visions Minnesota, MediaJustice, and Stop LAPD Spying who are leading this work.
[1] USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/
[2] Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-
[3] CNN
https://www.cnn.com/us/live-
[4] Courthouse News
https://www.courthousenews.
[5] PBS
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/
[6] CATO Institute
https://www.cato.org/blog/
[7] LA Times
https://www.latimes.com/
[8] Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/how-
[9] Sen. Brian Schatz on Twitter
https://twitter.com/
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