A
Presidential Candidate Who Gets It on Immigration -
Cynthia
McKinney Responds to Sanctuary Survey
by: The Editors, The Sanctuary, Promigrant
Tue Oct 28, 2008
at 16:49:12 PM EDT
With a week until
Election Day, Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney today released a comprehensive and thoughtful response to
The Sanctuary's questionnaire on immigration and issues of concern to the Latino community.
Showing the vitality
and importance of voices from outside the mainstream two-party political paradigm, Congresswoman McKinney puts forth not only
a strong understanding of the complexities of these issues, but also a vision of real-world solutions. Her refreshing willingness
to confront the broader social and economic realities which undergird international migration further demonstrates that practical
solutions will not come from political compromises and "bipartisan" gamesmanship, but rather from rigorously-grounded assessment
and analysis.
Simple put, McKinney
gets it right.
While Senator Obama
was gracious enough to take the time to respond to our survey, his answers still left something to be desired. In important
ways, the language of the vision he presented is based upon many of the same failed systems and policies that have mired the
debate from the start.
Senator McCain
on the other hand has refused to respond to our survey or even answer our phone calls. Instead, he has crafted his message
according to his intended audience of the moment, telling Latinos and others concerned about immigration that they should
trust his past record of seeking reform, while repudiating that record when speaking to his conservative base.
Given these choices,
it's clear that McKinney presents the only meaningful and truly comprehensive approach to this issue. Let's hope that in the
future, voices like hers get the attention they deserve and a chance to break through the political din.
Cynthia
McKinney is for the People
Green
Party becomes the first party to endorse the
Standing
For Voters pledge to defend election integrity
• Green national candidates McKinney and Clemente
sign on, along with other Green candidates; Greens cite their leadership role in the 2004 Ohio and New Mexico recounts after
evidence of vote theft
• Greens condemn GOP efforts to disqualify legitimate
voters in the 2008 election
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party of the United
States has become the first political party to endorse the Election Integrity Pledge promoted by Standing For Voters
(http://www.StandingForVoters.org),
an internet-based group inviting candidates to pledge their commitment to fair elections. Along with the Green Party, several
Green Party candidates have pledged 'no early concessions' and actions challenging election outcomes if necessary: presidential
candidate Cynthia McKinney and vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente; US Congressional candidates Carol Brouillet (Calif.-14),
Rebecca Dewitt
(Ariz.-4), Harold Burbank (Conn.-5), and Mike Beilstein (Or.-4); and five candidates for state and local
offices: Dan Kairis of Illinois, Richard Boyle of California, Rick
Lass of New Mexico, Allan Hancock of Minnesota, and
Charles A. Pillsbury of Connecticut.
"Led by David Cobb, our 2004 presidential candidate,
Greens organized the response to the 2004 vote theft. John Kerry and most of his fellow Democrats did nothing after reports
and evidence of GOP election manipulation and obstruction of African American and young voters surfaced. Meanwhile, Greens
filed for the recounts in Ohio and New Mexico and raised most of the money for legal expenses. It's our special obligation
and privilege to be the first party to sign on to the Standing For Voters pledge," said Holly Hart, secretary of
the Green
Party of the United States.
For more on Green leadership in the Ohio and New Mexico
recounts, visit IWantMyVote.com (http://www.iwantmyvote.com).
In signing the pledge, Greens sharply condemned recent
tactics that have been used to obstruct and discourage voters, especially African Americans in certain states, from voting.
Such tactics include letters to voters falsely claiming that they've been declared ineligible to vote, foreclosure lists denying
right to vote because a voter's address is "no longer valid," and vicious attacks on voter registration efforts.
"The drastic efforts to disqualify legitimate voters
suggests that we'll see a repeat of Republican conspiracies to steal the national election. Will Democrats fight this time,
or will they roll over again and leave it to the Green Party?" asked Sanda Everette, co-chair of the Green Party.
The documentary 'American Blackout' covers Cynthia McKinney's
role in the struggle for election integrity (http://www.americanblackout.com). A recent essay by Ms. McKinney also addresses
the breakdown in fair elections (OpEdNews.com, Oct. 7,
http://www.opednews.com/articles/-Where-s-Kenny-Rogers-When-by-Cynthia-McKinney-081007-748.html).
The Green Party advocates various systematic reforms
to ensure fair, accurate, and truly democratic elections, including public financing of elections, free time on public airwaves
for all candidates, repeal of ballot access laws restricting alternative-party and independent candidates, paper verification
and open-source software for computer voting systems, instant runoff voting, and proportional representation.
According to the Standing For Voters pledge, signers
promise to challenge election results "if the combination of election conditions, incident reports, and announced election
results calls into question the reliability of the official vote count." Should another candidate be declared the winner in
a race, signers vow to "wait until all valid votes are counted and all serious challenges resolved before conceding defeat."
"We'd like to see all of the nation's political parties
endorse Standing For Voters, as the Green Party has done nationally," said Emily Levy, Standing For Voters Project Coordinator.
"As participants in what's commonly known as 'our democratic process,' all parties should commit to fair elections. We welcome
endorsements from local, state, and national party organizations, as well as other groups that care about democracy."
