Andrea Merida Cuellar is the Colorado State Co-Chair and the Green Party of Colorado and National Co-Chair. There are real choices for 2016 and fanciful choices. Here Andrea discusses both. For the Green Party there are five candidates running for president and many for other offices. Presently Jill Stein is the present leader for president. The Green Party will hold its nomination in Houston August 4-7 right after the republican and democratic conventions. Also mentioned is the SPUSA. When third parties cooperate we all win.
Sanders made no appreciable gain tonight in Kentucky or Oregon, folks. 4 delegates. And that's before the superdelegates kick in.
Let me break down a few themes I've run across this week about his prospects.
HE CANNOT RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT. More than 40 states have "sore loser laws" on the books to prevent the loser of a primary to turn around and run as an independent in the general. Even though most state deadlines to turn in signatures is around August 10, he runs up against a very truncated window of opportunity between the end of the DNC and August 10-ish to get in thousands of signatures. He already missed that deadline for Texas, which was May 9 for 45,000 signatures of people who did not already vote in the primary.
Would he risk his senate committee appointments for that? Would you?
HE CANNOT RUN AS A GREEN. There's been a lot of noise being made about Jill Stein being open to a joint ticket. The problem is that's not accurate. She said she was open to DIALOG, nothing else. That's how we Greens do it. Further, Stein WILL be on the ballot in many states, and most state parties have already had their state meetings to commit their delegates. The lion's share are already committed to Stein.
Sanders' filing deadline to primary Stein in Colorado was 4/20.
Some are insisting that Stein should move over and let Sanders take the nominee slot. Two things: our delegates are not interested in that. But even more to the point, what does it say when we push aside a woman who has been party building and barnstorming for years now, in favor of a guy that doesn't quite share our views? The sexism in that suggestion offends me.
Even if he asked and was accepted as Stein's VP nominee, he still has ballot access requirements all over the country. And our rules state, regardless of Pres or VP, that they cannot be registered by any other party except as an independent. And sorry, but to compete in a D primary or caucus, DNC rules require registration as a Democrat.
NO, WE WILL NOT 'ENDORSE' SANDERS. See above.
So finally, if you are about a left/progressive agenda as opposed to hero worship, I see that you have two choices: support the Green presumptive nominee, Jill Stein, or go deeper left and support Mimi Soltysik Soltysik/Walker 2016 from the SPUSA.
The Green nominee will be on the ballot come November. Sanders is on track to NOT be on any ballot, and we have the advantage over him because we've been at this ballot access game for 40 years now. The clock is ticking for him to mobilize as an independent.
Anyone who tells you he has options at this point is practicing political malpractice and selling you electoral snake oil. I'm sorry friends, but as noble as the Senator's intentions might be, this is the choice he made.
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