Interview With Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney

[XXPANTHAXX]

This interview with Cynthia McKinney by a Utah newspaper (SL Weekly at
slweekly.com) provides answers to questions many people have.

Fred Vitale
Michigan State Coordinator
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McKinney/Clemente Campaign


5 Spot | Cynthia McKinney, 2008 presidential Green Party candidate - Salt Lake City Weekly - Salt Lake City's Independent Guide To News, Arts & Entertainment

Cynthia McKinney is a former Georgia House of Representatives member.
She served six terms as a Democrat, including powerful assignments on
the Armed Services and International Relations committees. In 2008, she
left the Democratic Party to run for president as the Green Party
candidate.

You were originally a Democratic member of the House, but switched party
affiliation to the Green Party. What motivated this shift?

The Democratic Party left me by refusing to address rampant voter
disenfranchisement in 2000 and 2004 and refusing to stand up to an
administration that was lying to the public, which resulted in
trillion-dollar deficit for the people and loss of lives in Iraq. I
found a home where my values were reflected back to me, with the Green
Party.

What changes would a McKinney administration bring?

First, we would stop the wars. Then, we would start to undo the mess
Wall Street has made with the connivance of the two parties by bringing
the four pillars of the Green Party (ecological wisdom, social justice,
grassroots democracy and nonviolence) into the policymaking of this
country. We would see an end to institutional policies of discrimination
and class division, which would strengthen our communities to be
sustainable, healthy, and livable.

Why should voters support your campaign?

I have worked to bring integrity to our purported democracy by
addressing the inequities of the voting process in order to ensure that
everyone has the right to vote. I am committed to bringing our troops
home from Iraq. Our administration would decrease defense spending and
use those dollars for human services, such as education and universal
single-payer health care, and improving our planet through programs that
will support a healthier environment and provide a new manufacturing
base of jobs in the renewable energy sector.

What is the hardest part about running a third-party ticket?

The corporate-controlled media says this is a two-party country, despite
the fact that the constitution never mentions political parties. Thus I
am routinely ignored (thankfully not by your paper) and, though
Americans may share my values, they have to spend time searching for
information that I exist and am a viable candidate for president.

In addition, ballot-access laws vary wildly from state to state, making
it extremely prohibitive for parties to run qualified candidates and
give voters more choice. Utah is considered one of the 'reddest' states
in the nation, thus making it seem like there is no choice. It is
difficult to persuade citizens to consider voting for Green Party
candidates and values when they think their vote doesn't matter.

Would opening the debates create a flood of candidates filing for the
presidency?

It might, but considering the quality of what the two biggest parties
offer, wouldn't that be preferable? Opening the debates would certainly
make a situation where more diverse people would file and it would make
them more representative of the population and constituency.

What would ending NAFTA and other trade agreements do for the average
person?

For many people it would mean they would have jobs again, jobs producing
products our communities need. It would restore environmental and worker
protections as well as incentives for local manufacturing and
production. This would benefit all of us with higher paying, more
stable, and more meaningful employment opportunities. The products
produced would not have to be recalled because they contain elements
known to be toxic.

Ending economic disparities is a proposal. What programs would bring an
end to disparities?

That's like asking for a laundry list. First, let's stop the golden
parachutes for CEOs who can't run a business, and that means electing
people who aren't beholden to corporations. An end to ridiculous 'free
trade' agreements. Real support for public education, including helping
everyone who wants to go to college. When our urban schools fail, partly
because of lead paint in the homes and poor diets, a major lead-removal
program and urban gardens may be the things that make the biggest
difference. Major tax reforms that don't punish people for not being
wealthy. Making sure every American has a home, a home that uses no
fossil fuels and has no toxins in its construction, and a major
investment in clean, renewable-energy systems and mass transit that
works.

You propose reparations for blacks. Would this lift the economic
disparity? Where would the funds come for this program?

The fortunes in this country were originally based on ownership of land
or on the slave trade, and that original deficit in the owning of land
created an economic hole that African-Americans have never been able to
climb out of. A lack of democracy has perpetuated that system, in which
African-Americans own less, and are subjected to the most financial
irregularities that Wall Street perpetuates.

There are many things to do to end the disparities in our communities:
remove lead paint, improve the diet of all children, improve schools in
low-income neighborhoods instead of giving them fewer resources; the
list goes on for quite awhile. Reparations is one of the things that
completes the picture. If we stop funding wars and bailouts, we could do
amazing things in this country.

How does the McKinney campaign differ from Obama and McCain?
My campaign is not lead by corporate lobbyists and spin-doctors. It is
based on real people with real solutions for the violence, injustice and
ecological collapse we see around us. Since we take no corporate
contributions, we do not work for Wall Street, we work only for you!

Some of the policy differences are:

-The McKinney Campaign wants immediate withdrawal of troops and
contractors from Iraq (thereby bringing Utah troops home).
-The McKinney Campaign wants to cut off all war funding thereby having
more money for human-welfare services such as education, where Utah has
the lowest spending per pupil and the highest class sizes in the nation.
-The McKinney campaign supports a universal single-payer health care
system that covers everyone.
-The McKinney Campaign opposes war with Iran.

Do you believe you will win?

What is your definition of "win?" If the Green Party gets 5 percent of
the vote, we will qualify for millions of dollars in public funding.
This will enable us to promote policies that the other parties aren't
even mentioning, such as single-payer, universal health care. If you
want public policy that that reflects your values, then your vote for
the Green Party will be a step toward that goal.

[Fenix]

There's a poll on campus and the amount of campaign materials out there for democrats and republicans is foolish. But that Green Party sign is clear and visible. I send positive vibes to this strong Sister and her campaign daily.

I didn't know that with 5 percent of the vote they qualify for public funding. This should be known to registered voters all over. Then people will understand that it's more than just a "morality vote".