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Green Party Dopes
Submitted by Dan U-A on Fri, 07/14/2006 - 1:06pm.
Along Chestnut St, there are a number of people with petitions. They are asking people on the street to sign a petition to help them raise the minimum wage. Odd, I thought, considering the law was just passed and signed.
Turns out, they are actually people from the Green Party, and the signatures are not a petition to raise the minimum wage, but instead to get their candidate on the ballot for Senate. When my politically aware friend inquired why they were asking people to sign a petition to raise the minimum wage, they said, "welllll, our guy would raise the minimum wage even higher." Uh huh.
I am sure technically, they are breaking no laws by getting signatures in this way. But, if the green party thinks that they will build their ranks by being dishonest with people walking down the street, then Green is also the color of something they are smoking.
i signed
their petition over a month ago. a girl came up to me and clearly stated she was petitioning to get a green party candidate on the ballot.
i wonder if the people on chestnut st you saw were paid petitioners. i ran into a ton of paid petitioners all over the city who had no fucking clue what they were doing or didn't care and would just say anything to try to get people to sign up. i was collecting sigs for pennacchio becasue i cared and knew a little bit of what was going on, not collecting $20/page i brought in at the end of the day.
they're doing a disservice to their party and their cause, if they're members that is. if not, the greens should look within their party to find those dedicated to do so because they believe in it and i know they're there, i've met them.
--
Albert Yee
http://dragonballyee.blogs.com
As a Democrat...
As a Democrat, and loyal progressive, I believe anything the Greens can do to increase their strength is a good thing.
in general and specific
I'd like to agree with you, Charlie, in the general sentiment that having more parties getting more ideas into the common discussion is good. However, I'd sure hate to see a Green candidate in the Senate race do for Casey what Ralph Nader did for Gore -- give disaffected Dems a place to vote that won't help get Santorum out of office. This isn't the year; the stakes are way too high.
acm
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
— Margaret Mead
If the Greens are paying $20
If the Greens are paying $20 a page for petitions, where do you think the money for this is coming from?
If the petions are for the Green Senate candidate, I wonder if the money is coming from Rick Santorum.
isn't that
every year?
--
Albert Yee
http://dragonballyee.blogs.com
yep
Santorum has certainly voiced his enthusiasm for having a third candidate in the race; I think anybody who believes his "vigorous democracy" argument is self-deluded...
acm
I figured somebody would say that
I honestly have never worked in any races, or lived in any states with races, that felt as important/dire as the last Bush election and this Senate race. I see very few around the country that feel equally important now. Perhaps your perspective is more pure, or maybe you just distrust all claims of urgency or pragmatism.
Is there any race that you would consider important enough that you'd be willing to support your second choice candidate in order to defeat that opponent? I really want to work toward better choices in all races, more progressive folks in the pipe, more credit given to those who enter the race, etc. But if you think that a Green candidate can do anything here other than help give Santorum another term, I honestly think that you should wonder why he's so happily chipping money into their petition-gathering effort, and maybe give it more thought.
[If that's not what you're saying, then please clarify.]
acm
it's just that "this year is
it's just that "this year is too important" has been used for almost evey election since i turned 18 in 1998.
i'm not saying that i think it's okay for the Greens to happily accept money coming from Man on Dog. that's what turned a boatload of people against Nader in 2004, he was taking right wing PAC money. the votes the Greens get would most likely go to a Dem, yes and no shit, Man on Dog knows that. but the Dems have consistently been running to the Center/Right from the top down and are not doing anything to give the base of the party any leeway. and PACs are an ugly affair, Man on Dog and Mr. Snooze share monies.
why do the Dems [at the top] always run away from the base and the Repugs fire them up? and what are the results on election day?
i'm not saying i'll be voting Green [i've met and spoken with Romanelli], but they are the ones giving me a candidate whose stances on the issues appeal to me.
--
Albert Yee
http://dragonballyee.blogs.com