I've visited 24 states (counting DC!!) and I would very much like to visit the rest. Intensifying our fundraising efforts will make that possible. If you're not onboard in some fundraising capacity, please think about what you can do to help us qualify for matching funds by the end of this month. And contact us at www.runcynthiarun.org to volunteer and for more information!
I've met some wonderful folks along this journey with whom I've done highway blogging in Texas, stood up for people's water rights in Michigan (can you imagine), rallied with Reverend Pinkney of Benton Harbor who is in jail because he fights to protect that city from the greedy clutches of gentrifiers bent on stealing the people's land. In Oregon, I went on my first-ever trek through an old-growth forest and I actually got to hug a tree! Gosh, I now see what I've been missing. Tim drove me over 1,000 miles in northern California and showed me the very trees saved by Julia Butterfly, a heroine of mine, for sure!
I've had the chance to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. And as candidates before me can attest, that is truly a heart-warming aspect of this effort. To see the many people in our country who are completely comfortable with the political space afforded them by the values of the Green Party. We don't see those values at all in the other two major parties. And just imagine, the current Democratic Party morass that we're all watching get played out better than any daytime soap opera, began because of a desire by certain leaders of that Party, to maintain the "integrity" of the Party's nominating process that is kicked off by states that don't reflect one whit the richly diverse human fabric that now marks the political reality of our country. I think we need to remember that as we watch the drama unfold.Our country is still at war. The Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, the Military Commissions Act are all still on the books. Even the Bush tax cuts are still on the books. Our country is even more a debtor country since the Democrats became the majority Party in the Congress and the foreclosure crisis has not yet even been address--except that in the Wall Street Journal I read that at least one influential Democrat wants cities to demolish "excess" housing stock. That's an interesting notion as people are losing their homes through unregulated and unscrupulous banking practices, and homelessness is on the rise. Our children are not even graduating from high school!
What are our national leaders thinking?
Which brings us to why I'm running. And our charge must be to help voters understand that we're running to fundamentally change the structure of our country's politics. Five percent of the national vote puts the Green Party at the table of public policy making. When I first ran for Congress, it was dubbed the Year of the Woman, and we would say "We want our seat at the table." And when I got to Washington, I saw that it really is a table. And public policy is made at that table. Only thing is, because someone slipped the corporate lobbyists the keys to the room where the table is located, the lobbyists are inside the process and the public--in whose name and with whose resources the policy is made--are locked out. Achieving that 5% with the Green Party, will add another seat at that table of public policy making and the people who occupy that third seat (Green Party members like me!) will remove the doors from the rooms and invite the public to come in and see public policy made in the Sunshine.
Then we won't get these anomalies like politicians telling us they are against the war, but then vote to fund the war because they think no one is watching.
5% is not only victory for the Green Party, it represents a true victory for our country. And could be the beginning of the movement that our country so desperately needs. However, with ballot access being difficult for parties other than the major parties, it becomes increasingly difficult to get that 5%. And I'll tell you, I suspect that the majors like it just fine and dandy this way. Which is why I'm taking the lead in doing something I've never done before in order to have some election integrity for our country and values in public policy making that we've rarely had before. We need volunteers and fundraising so we can ensure ballot access that will bring us that 5%. Please visit us at www.runcynthiarun.org and inquire about how you can help us and the Party achieve ballot access in your or other targeted states.
Lastly, we've posted a new video on www.runcynthiarun.org. Please visit our website and view it. It is emotional and moving and reflects the seriousness of our engagement in the political process and what it means and can mean for all of us. It is the work of one of the many change agents sent my way: Todd Laracuenta of Maralex Designs. This video is worthy of youtube honors and we can make that happen. Please post the youtube URL on every list and everywhere you visit online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSN61d5-q6c. By doing so, you will help this video get seen by the tens of thousands of people who really do need to see it. Again, that URL is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSN61d5-q6c
Finally, many thank yous are in order. Thank you to those who built a Party that has so warmly welcomed me and that is dedicated to truth and justice and liberty for all, where the public policy result that we advocate is consistent with our stated values. Thank you to those who have signed up to be delegates at the Party's convention in Chicago. Thank you to those who have never fundraised in a campaign before, but are doing so! We must not let up! Let's get those matching funds this month!
Onward to Chicago!
-Cynthia McKinney
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