While I mentioned her in a blog post, the only thing I have read about Green Party candidate Jill Stein were a few other than than mainstream news report about her arrest outside the latest Romney-Obama debate.
…Stein and Honkala were held for eight hours, handcuffed to chairs.
Regardless of what you think of the Greens, I think it’s newsworthy in itself for a presidential candidate to get arrested for essentially trying to campaign.
Why the MSM silence about Green? Might it be because she appeals to the disgruntled left?
As HuffPost blogger Carl Gibson wrote:
Jill Stein is a candidate that the other 90 million of us can get excited about. Picture the populist candidate Barack Obama once was in 2008, minus the financial support from Wall Street banks and oil companies, and the fawning coverage from mainstream media outlets. In her Green New Deal, she’s vowing to end drone strikes, tightly regulate Wall Street, halt all government-funded construction of fossil fuel-dependent projects, and end all foreign wars and occupations.
This is not to suggest that I am enthused about third party candidates. I have not voted for any since 1976, when I voted for Libertarian Roger McBride. However, it does seem that if there is to be coverage of some of them, there ought to be coverage of all of them. At least Ralph Nader had enough name recognition that he could not be ignored.
I learned today that retired CNN host Larry King will be moderating a debate between all the major third party candidates on Tuesday.
The former CNN giant will guide next Tuesday’s debate in Chicago, which will be broadcast on the Internet. The candidates taking part are the Libertarian Party‘s Gary Johnson, the Green Party’s Jill Stein, the Constitution Party‘s Virgil Goode and the Justice Party’s Rocky Anderson.
King told The Associated Press that it’s clear none of them will win, but he said they all deserve a voice in the presidential race. Democrats and Republicans are keeping tabs on Johnson and Goode, two ex-Republicans who could be factors in key battleground states.
Why is the focus only on the two disgruntled ex-Republicans?* Why aren’t they “keeping tabs” on the Green Party or the Justice Party? Are they trying to pretend they don’t exist? As to Rocky Anderson, the former Mayor of Salt Lake City has some very interesting ideas, but few outside of the area have heard of him.
If third parties are to be written out of the equation and excluded because they’re not “big fish,” it only seems fair to me that they all be excluded equally. Otherwise, it just perpetuates the endless cycle of rule by bigger fish over smaller fish.
MORE: As many readers know, I enthusiastically supported Gary Johnson when he was a Republican candidate, and I wish he had not given up on what he said about the future of libertarianism being in the GOP. Like it or not, this is still a two party system, and I don’t like seeing libertarianism being sidelined. (I prefer Gary Johnson to Ron Paul, but I think Ron Paul has the better long-term approach. I want libertarians to be at the table.)
Comments
7 responses to “Selectively excluding the little fish”
Stein could be to Obama what Perot was to Bush 41. Hence, she must be destroyed! Or at any rate, so marginalized that nobody will ever hear of her.
On the other hand, Romney might not need a Perot from the left to win at this point. Obama may be his own Jimmy Carter.
The Republicans sidelined Johnson from the beginning. And mainstream Republicans hate libertarians more than they hate Democrats.
Since I live in Illinois and have a “free” vote I’m going to indicate my displeasure by voting Johnson. Maybe if he gets enough votes the Rs will notice. Or not.
http://hillbuzz.org/think-squad-chicago-blacks-say-democrats-are-clueless-about-how-mad-theyve-made-black-folk-in-last-year-87735
http://www.globemagazine.com/story/895
http://hillbuzz.org/daily-doom-antidote-solid-proof-obama-is-planning-a-concession-speech-event-for-november-6th-election-night-10182012-10182012
One of the biggest problems with the third-party candidates is that they attempt to come into the Presidential race, often at the last minute. It would be better to start a lot earlier out, before the two major party candidates suck all the air out of the room and pull all the press.
Second is that they try for the brass ring of the Presidency straight off. How about getting third parties into state and local offices first, establishing a platform and a track record of success or failure, of proven policy, then taking it to the next level and have something to show? How about getting some third-party atttempts at the US House of Reps?
For example, Virgil Goode is my former Congressman, he lost his seat, and disappeared for more than two years, if he and his supporters were serious, he should have been supporting candidates for everything from dog-catcher on up, now it looks like he’s some kind of crank/spoiler.
Gary Johnson, potentially a viable candidate, but he should have made his break much earlier, campaigned on his principles to separate himself from the R’s, now he looks like a “what-about-me?” also-ran and spoiler.
Green Party= Utopian Socialists without exception, IMO. I’ve seen nothing in the last 30 years that changes my opinion.
I’m dissatisfied as well, but I know that 4 years of O is too much, and anything or anyone that diminishes the chance of getting him out of office will ultimately be detrimental to the country as a whole. Stop the Executive branch, get some Libertarians into Congress to keep the Executive in line, and maybe we can even get at least one Libertarian into the SCOTUS.
In your first paragraph you call Jill Stein “Jill Green” which made it very confusing when you started talking about some woman named Stein.
Correction made. Thanks!
I’m with RobG – libertarians (small or large L) need to start at the bottom and keep working up. Dogcatcher or Mosquito control (I’m in Florida…) if necessary. EDUCATION – school boards…who controls the cradle rules the world. The ‘progressives’ got that – and that’s partly why we are in a world of hurt now.
But every libertarian I know wants to run for US Sen/Rep/Pres. Start small. Work up.
P.S. Eric – I lasted a lot longer voting for 3rd party than you did. The FIRST time I voted one of the two was post-9/11. And, yes, I held my nose, HARD, and voted Rep. Then and since. But if Hillary had won the Dem’s last time, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have switched. She’s bellicose. I like that in a woman. McCain, was broken – and he still is, unfortunately. He deserves our sympathy, not our votes.