Why Greens Won't Side With Democrats

The woman you won't hear about on the news.

The Green Party could not have picked a better candidate to run for president. A former Democrat, Cynthia McKinney is by far the most leftist woman politician today.

McKinney has been around politics since 1986. A native Georgian, McKinney followed the footsteps of her father, a former Georgia State Rep. In 1988 she became a State Rep herself then she climbed up the political ladder and got a seat in the US House of Representatives to represent black constituents in Atlanta.

If there is one thing you should know about Cynthia, its that she is extremely outspoken and well-liked among "radical lefties." I'm not trying to offend anyone, but there are lefties that will debate you on issues you never even dreamed of. I'm talking about wild conspiracy theories about 9/11 and things like getting Bush and all his cronies to be tried in a criminal court for crimes against humanity. I know that many Democrats on the left, me included, may agree with the "radical lefties" in some of the things I just mentioned, but these "radical lefties" I'm talking about take those issues to a whole new level. They don't put up with ANY flip-flopping, they're extremely passionate, and they can organize a mass grassroots protest of some 50,000 people on Pennsylvania Avenue in a matter of hours. I know this because I was a radio reporter with Pacifica Radio and I covered many events that the Greens coordinated.

McKinney has been talking to these radical lefty crowds for years. The opportunity to run for the Green Party was only a matter of time. She has shared the podium with Nader, though I'm not sure if they're still great pals. You can Wikipedia Cynthia and learn that she has criticized Republicans and fellow Democrats like no one else has -- on the Iraq war, globalization, how Hurricane Katrina and Rita were handled, connections to greedy corporations, etc. I think the only person McKinney may like in the Democratic party is Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich -- who I often think is one step away from becoming a Green or an Independent.

The Greens have a very special friend - filmmaker Michael Moore, who doesn't describe himself as Green, but he is. Just take a look at his documentaries where Democrats and Republicans are fair game. After Cynthia won one of her re-election campaigns, Moore was quoted saying, "I'm glad Cynthia McKinney's coming back to Congress, and I'm glad if my movie helped make that happen." He was referring to his documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11." Moore has also featured Ralph Nader in his films.

The thing you may not want to believe, its that this "radical left" is needed in American politics. These are the folks who make noise when things don't go well, that means they're ALWAYS making noise. True Greens see most Democrat leaders, such as Nancy Pelosy and Joe Liberman as "neo-cons." Many Greens also think that Democrats are no better than Republicans. This is important because it helps keep liberal Democrats on their toes. But Democrats are still not good enough for some of these lefties, so the Green Party offers a refuge.

What has been interesting in this election is that many of my Green friends were seriously optimistic about Obama. I suppose he was the first Democrat, aside from McKinney and Kucinich, that they really liked. They have been considering voting for him, but after Obama's move to the center, these Greens are abandoning the idea of voting for a Democrat. And, no, they won't even consider voting for Hillary Clinton. Michael Moore in his documentary "Sicko" tainted Clinton as a sellout to the pharmaceutical companies.

The Greens suffer from being completely ignored by mainstream media. Though they present a little over 300,000 registered voters, the media should still see it as its duty to cover what they do. I bet you that this year, McKinney won't even get invited to the presidential debates. She'll get the same treatment as Nader. This is unfortunate and it robs the American people from hearing other perspectives that could help them make better informed decisions. Outlets like Pacifica Radio and other community radio is all the Greens have, though with the Internet their outreach may improve.

All in all, our Green brothers and sisters and the Democratic Party have one enemy in common: radical-conservative Republicans. But that doesn't seem to be enough for Dems and Greens to unite. Imagine how great would it be if talented and passionate Greens and Independents joined the Democrat Party? It would be the goodbye to centrist agendas and wish washy Democratic values. The Democrats need reforms so badly and if it continues to morph into a Republican twin, it will lose the few great lefty Democrats it still has; folks like Kucinich, who help keep the party honest and closer to the people.

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