Green Party of Monroe County: GP RELEASE Green Party: "60% want a third party? Let's talk."‏

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

This release is online at http://www.gp.org/index.php/green-party-press-releases/details/4/648.html

Contacts:

Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org

Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Green Party: "60% of Americans want an alternative party? Let's talk."

• Green Party Speakers Bureau: Green leaders available to speak on democracy and electoral reform: http://www.gp.org/speakers/speakers-democratic.php

WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party candidates and leaders said that a recent Gallup poll shows that the recent shutdown left millions of Americans feeling betrayed by both Democrats and Republicans in Washington and open to a major new political party.

According to the poll, "Amid the government shutdown, 60% of Americans say the Democratic and Republicans parties do such a poor job of representing the American people that a third major party is needed." ("In U.S., Perceived Need for Third Party Reaches New High" Oct. 11, http://www.gallup.com/poll/165392/perceived-need-third-party-reaches-new-high.aspx). See also "Many students would welcome third major political party" (USA Today, Oct. 19, http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/19/millennials-want-political-reorganization/3013343/).

Greens called the shutdown, which might reoccur soon as Congress and the White House continue budget negotiations, an opportunity for Americans to discuss the future of U.S. democracy and ending domination by two parties.

• Joe DeMare, Green candidate for Bowling Green City Council in Ohio (http://www.joedemareforagreenfuture.org): "Americans are realizing that the shutdown is a symptom of two-party politics. The shutdown revealed Republicans as the party of irresponsible extremists, but Democrats have also moved far to the right. The solution to shutdowns, sequestration, and the politics of war and Wall Street isn't compromise or the phony center between the Ds and the Rs. The solution is multiparty democracy and the end of two-party rule. The shutdown proved that America needs a party that refuses corporate contributions and that represents working people -- including federal and state employees. That's why we call the Green Party an imperative for the 21st century."

• Alfred Molison, Texas Green and a federal employee: "Social Security and Medicare are in danger from both parties. Much of the Obama Administration's agenda and accomplishments, including the Affordable Care Act and plans to slash Social Security, would have been recognized as Republican ten years ago. The individual mandate was introduced by the Heritage Foundations and promoted by Republicans until Democrats made it the basis of the ACA. The bipartisan debate over the ACA is between two factions that want to keep our health care under the control of for-profit insurance company gatekeepers. The Green Party continues to demand Medicare For All -- single-payer national health care, in which patients and physicians, not corporate bureaucrats, make decisions about medical care."

• Lynne Serpe, Green candidate for New York City Council, District 22 in Queens (http://www.serpeforcouncil.org): "The movement for an alternative party will grow as more Americans vote independently. But we also need election reforms, like Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional Representation, caps on political contributions, public funding for campaigns and repeal of election laws in many states that privilege Democratic and Republican politicians and obstruct other candidates and parties. Greens have advocated these changes since the party was founded and we're helping to lead the struggle to make the U.S. a real democracy."

• Marian Douglas-Ungaro, activist for statehood and equal rights in the District of Columbia and member of the DC Statehood Green Party: "Women are among those hardest hit by sequestration, austerity measures, and the recent shutdown. Women stand the most to lose from deals between the White House and Congress to shred the safety net and scale back earned benefits. Greens have different priorities: Cheri Honkala, the Green Party's 2012 vice-presidential nominee, helped host a meeting in Philadelphia this past weekend of the World Court of Women that focused on poverty (http://economichumanrights.org/?page_id=7). Women of all backgrounds deserve a political party that we can build from the bottom up. Democrats and Republicans measure the health of the U.S. economy according to Dow Jones, the GDP, and corporate profit reports. Greens judge the economy according to how many people are lifted out of poverty."

• Laura Wells, Green candidate for California Controller in the 2014 election (http://www.LauraWellsSolutions.com): "Richmond, California is the best example of government for the people, not corporations. It is the largest city in the U.S. with a Green Party mayor. Gayle McLaughlin is a champion of solutions for people, and stands up to the biggest corporation in the state, Chevron. Now she's taking on Wall Street banks, intending to use eminent domain if necessary to keep people in their homes. Why did she move on that idea and other mayors did not? Because she's a Green and takes no corporate money. My favorite election ever was in Richmond in 2010 when Chevron put $1 million into three races and lost, lost, and lost. The candidates who took no corporate money won. And the people won."

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

GP RELEASE Green Party: "60% want a third party? Let's talk."‏

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