[GPCA Updates] GP RELEASE Greens to 112th Congress: restore the rule of law after a decade of abuse of the Constitution

[Green Party of California Updates]

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

For Immediate Release:
Monday, January 17, 2011



Green Party leaders challenge the new Congress to restore the rule of law
after a decade of constitutional violations and abuses of power by Presidents
and other officials

• Greens cite election theft, vote theft, torture, warrantless surveillance of
US citizens, official lies and impunity, 'preemptive' military attacks, denied
rights in DC and Puerto Rico


WASHINGTON, DC -- Green Party leaders challenged Democrats and Republicans in
the 112th Congress, as well as President Obama, to end a decade of reckless
violations of the US Constitution, international agreements, and other laws by
the US government and begin a new era of respect for the rule of law.

"The new Congress began with a reading of the Constitution in the US House,
but the document seems to be incomprehensible for many Representatives," said
Muhammed Malik, co-chair of the Miami-Dade Green Party in Florida
(http://www.miamidadegreenparty.org).  "The protections enshrined in the
constitutional amendments and Article Six's requirement that the US honor
treaties are not subject to the whims of Presidents, State Departments, the
Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Security
Administration, or any other government body.  If we don't restore the rule of
law now, we're in danger of seeing the end of the US as a republic and a free
country."

Greens listed examples of official lawlessness and disregard for rights since
2000:

• The Obama Administration has maintained many of the Bush-Cheney abuses of
the Constitution: denial of habeas corpus, detention of suspects for long
periods without charges, persecution of whistleblowers, targeting of innocent
Muslim and Arab individuals and organizations, and surveillance without
warrant of US citizens.  The Obama Justice Department has refused to
investigate and prosecute Bush-Cheney officials for torture and other crimes
-- including President Bush himself, who has boasted publicly of his approval
for waterboarding.

Guantanamo and several 'black sites' remain open.  The treatment of Khalid
El-Masri (tortured under the US's extraordinary rendition program, later found
to be innocent), PFC Bradley Manning (detained in solitary confinement but
unconvicted for leaking classified material to Wikileaks: see
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/12/14/manning and
http://www.psysr.org/about/programs/humanrights/gates-manning-letter.php), and
other prisoners reveals increasing disregard for laws against torture in the
US Constitution and Geneva Conventions.

The Green Party of the United States endorsed impeachment of President Bush
and Vice President Cheney.  Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) introduced articles
of impeachment in December 2006, before joining the Green Party and becoming
the 2008 Green presidential nominee.

• Military action outside of immediate self-defense is prohibited under
international law, but the Bush Administration launched the invasion of Iraq
based on the neocon doctrine of 'preemption,' which is now embraced by both
Democrats and Republicans.  Some members of Congress have urged a military
assault on Iran based on the same doctrine.

• The US, under both Bush and Obama presidencies, has continued to politically
support and fund Israel's brutal treatment of Palestinians, which violates
scores of UN Security Council resolutions and amounts to war crimes under
international law.

• The Wikileaks cables have exposed extralegal actions and official lies,
including US airstrikes in Yemen (denied by President Obama), secret military
operations in Pakistan, a secret agreement with Britain to allow US bases in
the UK to stockpile cluster bombs, and bribery and illegal surveillance to
undermine opposition to US climate change policies
(http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=4215).

"Exposure of wrong-doing by government officials, which often requires
publication of secret documents, is the responsibility of the press in a free
society.  The claim that Julian Assange doesn't deserve First Amendment
protections because he isn't a credentialed reporter is unfounded, since the
First Amendment covers everyone, not just professional journalists," said Pat
LaMarche, weekly columnist for Maine's largest daily newspaper, The Bangor
Daily News and 2004 Green nominee for Vice President.  (See
http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=372)

• Irregularities in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections disenfranchised
thousands of US citizens, especially black, young, and low-income voters.  The
Supreme Court's patently biased Bush v. Gore decision (2000), which handed the
presidency to George W. Bush, held that no national right to vote exists.

Greens led the effort in 2004 to expose and challenge election irregularities
in Ohio and New Mexico (http://www.iwantmyvote.com).  Although two Republican
operatives were convicted in January 2007 of election tampering in Cuyahoga
County, Ohio, Congress has taken no action to protect voters' rights.

Greens have argued that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment requires punishment
for states that "abridge" voting rights.  In the wake of the 2004 election,
Asa Gordon, chair of the DC Statehood Green Party's Electoral College Task
Force, filed suit against the malapportionment of Electoral College votes
under the US's winner-take-all election system, citing Section 2's penalty
clause and the legacy of racial disenfranchisement in southern states.

On Jan. 4, the day before the first session of the 112th Congress, Mr. Gordon
was granted an emergency presentation of arguments before US District Court
Judge Henry H. Kennedy challenging the seating of Representatives from
southern states.  Mr. Gordon's motion is currently pending.  (More information
and documents: http://www.electors.us or contact Asa Gordon at 202-635-7926)

• Whole populations of the US remain outside the US Constitution's coverage.
The local laws of the District of Columbia are subject to Congress's control
and veto power, regardless of the will of DC residents.  Whether Democrats or
Republicans have been in control, the White House and Congress have ignored
the repeated requests by the citizens of the nation's capital, with its black
majority, for full representation in Congress and statehood.

The US has also ignored demands by the people of Puerto Rico for
self-determination and independence, ignoring protests against US Navy bomb
detonations in Vieques, which have spread depleted uranium contamination, and
unwanted laws and policies imposed on the island by the US government.

"The Green Party calls for the end of the colonial treatment of people living
in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and others who've been denied
self-determination and self-government," said Darryl! L.C. Moch, who serves on
the steering committee of the DC Statehood Green Party
(http://www.dcstatehoodgreen.org).  "We support statehood for DC
(http://www.gp.org/press/pr-state.php?ID=172).  We support the 2005 draft
resolution by the UN's Special Committee on Decolonization calling on the US
to allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their right to
self-determination and independence
(http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2005/gacol3121.doc.htm).  Bipartisan
inaction on DC and Puerto RIco are an affront to the UN's Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the US's own equal protection laws.  It's time
to complete the unfinished business of the Civil Rights Movement and the
national rights of US colonies."


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
• Green candidate database and campaign information:
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/ballotstatus
• Green Party Livestream Channel http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus

Green Pages: The official publication of record of the Green Party of the
United States (Fall 2010 issue now online)
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog


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