This is a topic that I have written on before, but the latest surge of support for Bernie Sanders has truly boggled my imagination, especially now that the Green Party's Jill Stein has officially entered the 2016 Presidential race. While from a progressive standpoint, Sanders is a FAR superior candidate to Hillary Clinton, but both of their progressive creds PALE in comparison to Dr. Stein's.
Sanders has vowed not to take corporate donations to his campaign, but lest we forget that he is running as a Democrat. Therefore any PARTY monies spent on his campaign will not come with the same guarantee of "corporation-free." If Sanders takes the nomination, and that is a BIG if, his campaign will see corporate money, albeit indirectly. The Green Party, on the other hand, HAS never taken corporate contributions. In fact, it is clearly stated in the by-laws of the party. You can vote for a candidate who won't take corporate money - running under the auspices of a party that gets the MAJORITY of its funding from corporations- or you can vote for a candidate, and party, that has not, does not, and will not ever allow itself to be influenced by corporate contributions. The first step to getting big money out of politics is the get big money out of your party. In this respect, big corporate dollars are to the Green Party what caffeine is to 7-Up: Never had it, never will.
15 - Love, Stein/Greens.
Sanders has also already stated publicly that he will endorse whomever happens to be the eventual Democratic nominee (read: Hillary Clinton). This alone should be enough reason to think twice about supporting Sanders. For all of his populist rhetoric, he still seems to be content to default to the "lesser of two evils" in the inevitable eventuality of losing the primary. This is neither a display of spinal fortitude nor one of the principled stands that he has taken over the years. If Sanders had stated that he'd endorse a candidate that more closely resembled his populist rhetoric, I might have reconsidered supporting him in the Democratic primary.
30 - Love, Stein/Greens.
Sanders has vowed not to take corporate donations to his campaign, but lest we forget that he is running as a Democrat. Therefore any PARTY monies spent on his campaign will not come with the same guarantee of "corporation-free." If Sanders takes the nomination, and that is a BIG if, his campaign will see corporate money, albeit indirectly. The Green Party, on the other hand, HAS never taken corporate contributions. In fact, it is clearly stated in the by-laws of the party. You can vote for a candidate who won't take corporate money - running under the auspices of a party that gets the MAJORITY of its funding from corporations- or you can vote for a candidate, and party, that has not, does not, and will not ever allow itself to be influenced by corporate contributions. The first step to getting big money out of politics is the get big money out of your party. In this respect, big corporate dollars are to the Green Party what caffeine is to 7-Up: Never had it, never will.
15 - Love, Stein/Greens.
Sanders has also already stated publicly that he will endorse whomever happens to be the eventual Democratic nominee (read: Hillary Clinton). This alone should be enough reason to think twice about supporting Sanders. For all of his populist rhetoric, he still seems to be content to default to the "lesser of two evils" in the inevitable eventuality of losing the primary. This is neither a display of spinal fortitude nor one of the principled stands that he has taken over the years. If Sanders had stated that he'd endorse a candidate that more closely resembled his populist rhetoric, I might have reconsidered supporting him in the Democratic primary.
30 - Love, Stein/Greens.
The Green Party is founded on four pillars and ten key values. The four pillars are: Ecological Wisdom, Social Justice, Grassroots democracy, and nonviolence. While Sanders scores on the first three pillars, his pro-Israel stance runs in direct opposition to a policy of nonviolence.
The Ten Key Values, listed on the left, better address the social, environmental, economic, and political concerns of the so-called "progressive" left, but progressives can't seem to let go of party identification with the Democrats. Again, I find this baffling as a recovering Democrat who shuffled off the party 15 years ago after too many ethical and policy failures. The whole thing smacks of equal parts battered wife and Stockholm syndromes. Progressive Dems seem to have begun identifying with their captors and tormentors, and at the same time, wonder "how we'll ever make it with out them."
40 - Love, Stein/Greens.
Many Green Party members have vowed support to Sanders in the primary, but say that they will vote for Jill Stein in the general election. This is a truly short-sighted approach to the 2016 presidential, and runs completely counter to the party's key value of 'Future Focus.' Your party needs you, and yet, you would exert your efforts in support of a candidate that has already told you that he's shifting his support to a candidate that DOES NOT REPRESENT YOU. Again, the mind is boggled.
If that's not enough to convince you, please, for your own sake, watch this interview with Dr. Stein on Larry King's PoliticKing.
The Ten Key Values, listed on the left, better address the social, environmental, economic, and political concerns of the so-called "progressive" left, but progressives can't seem to let go of party identification with the Democrats. Again, I find this baffling as a recovering Democrat who shuffled off the party 15 years ago after too many ethical and policy failures. The whole thing smacks of equal parts battered wife and Stockholm syndromes. Progressive Dems seem to have begun identifying with their captors and tormentors, and at the same time, wonder "how we'll ever make it with out them."
40 - Love, Stein/Greens.
Many Green Party members have vowed support to Sanders in the primary, but say that they will vote for Jill Stein in the general election. This is a truly short-sighted approach to the 2016 presidential, and runs completely counter to the party's key value of 'Future Focus.' Your party needs you, and yet, you would exert your efforts in support of a candidate that has already told you that he's shifting his support to a candidate that DOES NOT REPRESENT YOU. Again, the mind is boggled.
If that's not enough to convince you, please, for your own sake, watch this interview with Dr. Stein on Larry King's PoliticKing.
In closing, here is my message to Progressive Democrats and Greens that are supporting Bernie Sanders in the primary. If you allow yourself to be herded by the sheepdog, YOU WILL GET FLEECED!
Game, Set, Match. Dr. Jill Stein/Green Party #Jill2016
Game, Set, Match. Dr. Jill Stein/Green Party #Jill2016
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