Reuters: Green Party names McKinney as presidential pick
CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Green Party, which captured far less than 1 percent of the vote in the last presidential election, chose former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney as its 2008 presidential candidate on Saturday.
McKinney, 53, will be joined on the ticket for the November election by vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente, a hip-hop artist and activist.
McKinney received 313 out of 532 votes cast at the party’s nominating convention in Chicago, party spokesman Scott McLarty said. . .
CNN: McKinney running for president as Green candidate
Big congratulations go out to the McKinney campaign (I also must say that I was impressed with the campaign of Kat Swift of Texas).
I’m glad we have choices nationally, even if we don’t in Oklahoma, and I hope that Cynthia’s presence will bring issues to the table that will otherwise be ignored. I know that many will say that she could be a spoiler this year, but I think that Obama has nothing to worry about IF he stays true to progressive values. We must end the war, now! We must fight poverty. We must ensure that the constitution is protected. I’m still an Obama supporter, but if he keeps making compromises like the horrid FISA vote, I may end up supporting McKinney instead.
Also, I’m proud to see the GP have an female ticket this year. David Cobb committed in 2004 to wanting to see a female GP presidential candidate in ’08, and I’m glad his wishes came true. And not only that, but the GP has an ALL female ticket at the top. I think, unless, I’m mistaken that this is a first in US history.
On a sidenote, I haven’t yet figured out how the Oklahoma GP delegates voted. I appreciate the value of proportional and ranked voting systems, but I wish the GP could do a better job of explaining election results.
The Green Party must really be confused and desperate. After watching Cynthia McKinney’s behavior, hitting the Capitol Hill police officer, in 2006, I couldn’t imagine her running for dog catcher. Why would anybody in their right mind elect McKinney to anything … let alone the Presidency of the United States?
Who in the H**L comes up with these choices? I don’t like Obama or McCain, but McKinney as a GP nominee for POTUS in insane!
There are two sides to every story, Gina. See http://www.democracynow.org/2006/4/4/cynthia_mckinney_accuses_capitol_police_of
Cheryl, could you explain why picking McKinney is insane?
Is it because she is a black woman or do you have substantive concerns based on the issues?
As a resident of the former district that Ms. McKinney used to represent, I can only shake my head at the decision of the Green party to choose her as it’s representative.
Ms. McKinney made statements that infuriated me and many of her constituency. She embarrased us with her action during the controversy in Wash with the security guard who did not recognize her, and her political positions have frequently been at odds with her supposed supporters and they also have a decidedly exclusionary bent.
I detested her because of these items and the possibility of illegal activity in her campaign financing and I was thrilled when she moved ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
The Green party will be sorry if she continues to represent her.
Oh great, Georgia is producing an entire crop of kooks for our amusement during the election.
I would vote for any political candidate before I voted for Cynthia McKinney. I love jmb how you bring race into this. If someone is a bad person they are a bad person. It has nothing to do with race. I have lived in Atlanta for 25 years and have seen first hand the ridiculous behavior of Cynthia and her father. You can say what you want but she did hit that officer on capital hill and that is not the only physical altercation she has been involved in lately. For anyone who is not familar with Cynthia McKinney just google her and listen for a few minutes and you will be able to make up your own mind about her. This is a TERRIBLE decision for the Green Party!!!
The Real Issue…Don’t waste your vote on an individual or a party that will not make a difference except to disrupt!!
I agree with Gina. When I say McKinney got the nomination, my immediate thought was “you mean the one who it the capitol police officer?” That is what she known for and the GP must truly be desperate. Or smoking some green.
Speaking of the environment, I also wonder what record, if any, that McKinney or her running mate have on the environment. I know the GP stands for other issues, but aren’t environmental concerns the thrust of the party?
Well JM, as the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but can’t *make* them drink.
The folks who are unencumbered by the thought process will find reasons to despise whomever we Greens nominate.
Remember how they dripped with derision when we choose one of America’s most respected men, Ralph Nader. Remember how they complained that we had no right to run our own candidate and “ruin the election”? Then, when we ran a low key campaign in 2004 they gave our campaign grief yet again!
We can’t win with these sorts of folks, so let’s forget them and move on to folks who are willing to engage in some research rather than follow the leader off a cliff…