[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens reply to Bill Maher's quest for 'a real progressive party': Here we are!

Wed Jul 1 19:26:05 PDT 2009

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GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Green Party responds to Bill Maher's call for "an actual progressive
party": We're here already!

• A Real Party for 'Real Time': Greens send an open letter to Maher

WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party has sent an open letter to Bill
Maher after a June 19 broadcast of 'Real Time' in which Mr. Maher
said "[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to represent the
millions of Americans who aren't being served by the Democrats.
Because, bottom line, Democrats are the new Republicans."

The Green Party's reply to Mr. Maher: "Hey, Bill, we're over here!
What you described is the GREEN PARTY!  We already exist!"

The progressive party sought by Bill Maher describes the Green
Party: "Shouldn't there be one party that unambiguously supports
cutting the military budget, a party that is straight up in favor of
gun control, gay marriage, higher taxes on the rich, universal
health care -- legalizing pot -- and steep, direct taxing of polluters?"

The open letter urges Mr. Maher to acknowledge the Green Party and
have a Green candidate or leader on the show.  The text of the
letter is appended below.

The Green Party is currently preparing for its annual national
meeting, to take place in Durham, North Carolina, from July 23 to
July 26 (http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM
http://ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.html).  Reporters are invited to
cover the meeting (http://www.gp.org/forms/media).

"America's First Party"
An Open Letter to Bill Maher from the Green Party

Dear Mr. Maher,

We were thrilled to hear you talk about us when you discussed the
need for a new party -- a "first party" -- during the June 19
broadcast of 'Real Time.'

The only part you left out were the words "Green Party."

Here's what you said:

"We don't need a third party.  We need a first party.  You go to the
polls and your choices are the guy who voted for the first Wall
Street bailout, or the guy who voted for the next ten."

"Shouldn't there be one party that unambiguously supports cutting
the military budget, a party that is straight up in favor of gun
control, gay marriage, higher taxes on the rich, universal health
care -- legalizing pot -- and steep, direct taxing of polluters?
These aren't radical ideas.  A majority of Americans are either
already for them or would be if they were properly argued and defended."

"[W]hat we need is an actual progressive party to represent the
millions of Americans who aren't being served by the Democrats.
Because, bottom line, Democrats are the new Republicans."

Hey, Bill, we're over here!  What you described is the GREEN PARTY!
  We already exist!

Maybe you forgot about us because the major media have an aversion
to mentioning the Green Party and our candidates.  Maybe the FCC has
banned "Green Party" along with the late George Carlin's seven dirty
words, "Chomsky," "End the Drug War," and other language that
offends delicate sensibilities.

For the major networks, and apparently PBS and NPR too, the very
idea of more than two candidates in an election makes talking heads
explode.

If Green candidates started getting elected to higher office, the
radical ideas that aren't really radical would get a fair hearing
and a chance of passage.

Imagine if a few Greens got seated in Congress.  Greens don't take
corporate contributions, so they'd be immune to the influence of
Exxon-Mobil, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Raytheon, Monsanto,
etc.  When Rep. Nancy Pelosi sends out orders not to seek a probe of
Bush-Cheney officials who authorized torture dungeons, Greens could
tell her to take a hike.

A few Green congressional victories would cause a seismic shock to
the political landscape.  Democrats would no longer have Republicans
as their sole competition.  The scope of national debate would no
longer be Dems on the left, Repubs on the right, a phony middle
ground between them, and a narrow range of political ideas
comparable to the corner grocery limiting your choice of beverage to
Coke or Pepsi.

With some Greens in Congress:

• Democrats couldn't pretend to be the antiwar party while voting
for more war funding.

• Single-payer national health care would be on the table and might
even pass.   President Obama and most Democrats already know
single-payer is the best proposal.  But they feel compelled to
appease the health insurance, pharmaceutical, and other lobbies and
find common ground with Republicans who believe the free market has
sufficient mojo to cure every illness and injury.

• We'd hear the truth: that "emissions trading" is a license for
corporate polluters to keep polluting, that "clean coal" is a plot
to turn West Virginia into a crater, that the trillion-dollar Wall
Street bailout and confiscation of savings and pension money are the
greatest transfer of wealth from working people to big banks in history.

There's a bipartisan consensus that corporate profit margins always
take precedent over Americans facing financial ruin over a health
emergency or credit card debt or a mortgage or a lost job.  Whenever
you hear the word "bipartisan" on the evening news, check the
silverware.

What are we going to do about this situation, Bill?  If you really
want a "first party" for America, will you throw us a bone on your
show?  Will you have a Green candidate or Green leader on once in a
while?  (Ralph Nader doesn't count -- he's not a member of the Green
Party.)

How about Rev. Billy Talen of the Church of Life After Shopping
(http://www.revbilly.com)?  Rev. Billy is now a Green candidate for
Mayor of New York City (http://www.voterevbilly.org).

Rosa Clemente, our 2008 vice-presidential candidate, said that the
Green Party "is more than an alternative, it's an imperative."
Based on your comments, Bill, it sounds like you might agree with Rosa.

We look forward to hearing back from you.  You can see what we're up
to on our web site (http://www.gp.org).

Sincerely,

The Green Party
http://www.gp.org

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
• Green candidate news
http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
• Green candidate database http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml
• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

2009 Annual National Meeting of the Green Party, Durham, NC, July
23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM
• Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

Green Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1
The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United
States
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog

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