[Sosfbay-discuss] FW: Recent McKinney Statement and Press Release

[Drew Johnson]

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Recent McKinney Statement and Press Release
From:    "Tim Smith" Rioryon at aol.com
Date:    Wed, June 11, 2008 13:10
To:      JamBoi at Greens.org
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>SNIP<

Can you forward the following message ... for me ?  Many thanks in advance..

>SNIP<

*********** Original Message ***********



Dear California Greens and CalForum Contributors,

    Recently, we've been hearing  more innuendo and insinuation from the
usual suspects and idle  rumor-mongers on this list just because Cynthia
McKinney doesn't mention in  every speech or statement that she is still a
candidate for the  Green Party's presidential nomination...
    It is doubtful that the nattering nabobs of negativity will be
satisfied with the following recent (5/31) statement and the press
release (dated 6/2)
from her campaign spokesperson John Judge, (see below) but i present them
if you need proof...
    For those of you who may have some lingering doubts, please have a
little faith and consider that Cynthia McKinney is clearly NOT a "trojan
horse", a "token" , an opportunist,  or a fence-sitter...

Peace/Unity

tim smith
_rioryon at aol.com_ (mailto:rioryon at aol.com)


********** Message #1 **********

(Distributed on May 31st)

>From Cynthia McKinney
STATEMENT ON HUNGER STRIKE TO OPPOSE U.S. STAR  WARS DEPLOYMENTS IN CZECH
REPUBLIC & POLAND

Dear Jan Tamas and Jan Bednar:

It is impossible for me to say strongly enough how important your  efforts
are in the Czech Republic to oppose deployment of U.S. so-called missile
defense bases.  Your leadership is being watched and is appreciated all
over the
world.

While in Congress I voted against every iteration of  so-called missile
defense--star wars--that was authorized or appropriated.   I want you to
know that I deeply understand the dangers that will come from a  decision
to accept the U.S. Star Wars radar in the Czech Republic and  interceptor
missiles in Poland.  There is no doubt that a new cold war is  underway
here that could once again bring Europe back into the middle of another
U.S.-Russia conflict.

Your hunger strike in Prague since May 13, and now  joined by others
including Bruce Gagnon in the U.S., is an important effort to  bring this
issue to the public consciousness.  The American people have  been
deceived at every turn by this Bush Administration and have yet to learn
of  the dangers and enormous cost of this new arms race we are creating.
Thank  you to you and to Bruce for your courageous and determined stand.

Let me assure you that as a candidate for the U.S. Green  party presidential
nomination (emphasis  added), and a former Member of the U.S. House of
Representatives, I very  well understand the importance of your citizen
action to demand a national  referendum in your country on this deployment
issue.  I also understand  your desire to prevent the U.S. from
establishing military bases in your country  after your long history of
occupation by Nazi Germany and the former Soviet  Union.  I am touched by
your desire for real democracy in your country and  agree that occupation
and democracy are not compatible.

Dr. Martin Luther  King, Jr. once remarked that the United States was the
greatest purveyor of  violence on the planet.  Sadly, that has not changed.
Please know  that as I campaign, I will share your stories with those I
meet as I cross our  nation.

Thank you all again for your demand for peace and  democracy.

Cynthia McKinney
Candidate for President of the United  States
Green Party
 (mailto:globalnet at mindspring.com)
*********** Message #2  ***********

(Distributed on June 2nd)

For immediate release
June 2, 2008

(emphasis added)

Contact:
John Judge  202-584-1021
press-secretary at runcynthiarun.org

Cynthia McKinney Takes Lead with Clear Majority of Delegates
As Green Party Heads to Chicago Presidential Nominating Convention

[Washington, DC] Recently released preliminary results show
that Cynthia McKinney has taken a clear lead in the  delegate
count for the upcoming Presidential Nominating Convention of  the
Green Party of the United States, scheduled for Chicago, from
July  10th - 13th. With the addition of the recent Florida and
New York mail  balloting results, McKinney now has an outright
majority of 267 of the 550  allocated delegates. With these
results, former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney now
commands her first clear majority of  convention delegates
in the ongoing contested four-way race for a Green  Party
presidential nomination.

McKinney is  widely acknowledged, both inside and outside
the campaign, as a leading contender for the Green Party's
presidential nomination.  Campaign organizers point out that
nearly two-thirds of delegates have been  named and instructed
so far. There are 840 total possible delegates,  including 34
uncommitted delegates, and some states for which  allocation
is incomplete. McKinney's lead puts her ahead of all  other
announced and write-in candidates, including early returns for
Ralph Nader, who has announced he will run independent of the
Green Party.

However, her campaign is not taking anything for granted.  Campaign
supporters have taken the initiative to carry her message to the  public
in spite of inequitable access to the public airwaves and debates,  which
are being used to promote some candidates to the exclusion of others.
"Ms. McKinney may be heading into the convention with an  impressive
lead," said one campaign staffer, "but this contest is not yet  over, and
we're urging our supporters to engage with this campaign and  help us use
this opportunity to bring to the forefront issues no other  candidate in
this race is prepared to raise as effectively as Cynthia  does."

Cynthia McKinney has an impressive public record  serving two terms in the
Georgia Assembly and six terms in the U.S.  Congress. She is the only
genuinely anti-war candidate currently running for  President, and a
recognized and beloved spokesperson and leader for the  disfranchised
millions of women, African-Americans and other people of color  who too
often have been denied their right to vote or to have their votes  fairly
counted. McKinney has been traveling the United States as well as  abroad
and speaking to tens of thousands of people who feel they are not
represented by the existing political parties or leaders in office.  Her
campaign has built a broad coalition, greatly expanding on the  Green
Party's traditional base.

Congresswoman McKinney broke with the Democratic Party after a
newly elected majority in the House of Representatives failed to
end the war on Iraq or address the critical social, economic and
environmental crises faced by the nation. Even now her former
party's presidential candidates refuse to make concrete promises
to  end ongoing carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan, nor to address
the Bush-Pelosi saber-rattling against Iran. These are issues
that the Green Party has made a focus in their recent campaigns.

McKinney's campaign and candidacy have not gotten the press
coverage enjoyed by other emerging party candidates, such as
former Congressman Bob Barr, who this past weekend won  the
Libertarian Party nomination. Nor has she enjoyed the media
attention  focused on the independent Nader campaign. Even so,
her campaign is  attracting broad grassroots support from
citizens who have taken matters into their own hands to spread
her message, on YouTube and elsewhere. As one example, see:
http://www.runcynthiarun.org/Video/FocusedOnGloryOfBetterAmerica

Campaign organizers point out that the Green Party is expected
to be on nearly all  state ballots by November. With over
200 elected officials currently serving  at the local level,
the Green Party is the most successful emerging American
political party in nearly a century. The media, supporters
note,  particularly those using the public airwaves, have a
responsibility to fully  inform the American electorate of all
their choices in the upcoming  election.

McKinney emphasizes her long-term strategy of 'adding  a
chair to the table' for the disfranchised by winning a 5%
electoral count, qualifying her Party for public campaign
funds in future elections.  "Despite the limits and problems
relating to national elections, it will take  only 5% of the
Presidential vote in November to add a seat to the table  of
decision-making. This will open the door on the  long-closed
two-party system to some essential public scrutiny and  input,
and position the Green Party for the 2012 race," noted  Cynthia
McKinney. "Reclaiming our nation from the corporate war  makers
will be a long and arduous process. But it is work we cannot
afford to postpone. The Green Party has been tilling this soil
for nearly  twenty years now. And the stakes for people across
this country and around  the world are simply too high for us
to shrink from the challenge in this election cycle."

For more on Cynthia McKinney's campaign, and the
issues being raised, please see her campaign site at:
http://www.runcynthiarun.org
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