The Chris Moeller Archives

Iowa goes Green in '08

Beginning January 1st, 2008, voters in Iowa will be able to register as members of the Green Party on state registration forms. A lawsuit filed in 2005 by the Iowa Libertarian and Green Parties, with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, led to a court decision significantly loosening state restrictions on ballot access for political parties. On November 9th, Secretary of State Michael Mauro announced that the Green Party had successfully completed a petition drive to gain at least 850 signatures from at least five different counties before an October 31st deadline.

This legal and electoral victory for the Greens is one to be celebrated by all Iowans as it gives each and every voter in the state a new viable alternative on their ballot to the slates of candidates fielded by the two dominant war parties, the Democrats and Republicans.

The next important step in wrestling power away from Washington's powerful corporate interests and war profiteers should be the drafting and support of former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney to be the Green Party candidate for president. McKinney is a former Democrat who has publicly condemned government secrecy over the 9-11 attacks and who introduced the first Bush impeachment resolution in the House of Representatives. For these efforts and similar others, she was run out of office twice by operatives within her own party, most recently in 2006. The submitted articles of impeachment against the president charged that: George Bush lied and manipulated intelligence to justify the war on Iraq, that he failed to uphold accountability, and that he violated U.S. privacy law through his domestic spying program. McKinney's often-tumultuous campaign history and her long legislative advocacy for franchising the voting electorate, such as those in Florida in 2000, provides her valuable acquaintance with the battles that surely loom ahead over ballot access.

McKinney supporters have filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to establish an exploratory committee for a Green Party bid. The politico is soliciting individual contributions online, and she's indicated that a formal declaration of her candidacy may be coming before the end of this month.

posted by CM @ 7:01 PM