I like the Green Party. I really do. In many respects the Green Party is more aligned with my lefty politics than the Democratic Party is. But the Greens will never take hold in America like it has in other places around the world. America is way too conservative for the Greens.
So when I read in the Dallas Morning News that the Greens were going to have a candidate for Texas governor on the ballot this November, my eyes clicked back into their orbits. Because unlike the Libertarians which siphon off votes for both Democratic and Republican candidates alike, no self-respecting Republican would ever vote for a Green candidate.
When Greens run, Republicans win, especially in a close race.
Just ask John Kerry.
Then we come to find that the Greens got some help from an unlikely part of the universe. A Republican consultant, Arizonan Tim Mooney got a bunch of money fronted by a Missouri-based corporation called Take Initiative America which in turn paid another out-of-state company called Free and Equal, Inc. to collect a reported 92,000 signatures (at $4 a signature) in Texas in order for the Green Party to qualify to get on the ballot this fall.
Well not so unlikely it seems. This is just a scheme to split Democratic votes and allow Rick Perry another term in office.
The Greens and the Republicans couldn’t be more pleased.
TDP Chairman Boyd Richie couldn’t be more displeased. Said he:
So when I read in the Dallas Morning News that the Greens were going to have a candidate for Texas governor on the ballot this November, my eyes clicked back into their orbits. Because unlike the Libertarians which siphon off votes for both Democratic and Republican candidates alike, no self-respecting Republican would ever vote for a Green candidate.
When Greens run, Republicans win, especially in a close race.
Just ask John Kerry.
Then we come to find that the Greens got some help from an unlikely part of the universe. A Republican consultant, Arizonan Tim Mooney got a bunch of money fronted by a Missouri-based corporation called Take Initiative America which in turn paid another out-of-state company called Free and Equal, Inc. to collect a reported 92,000 signatures (at $4 a signature) in Texas in order for the Green Party to qualify to get on the ballot this fall.
Well not so unlikely it seems. This is just a scheme to split Democratic votes and allow Rick Perry another term in office.
The Greens and the Republicans couldn’t be more pleased.
TDP Chairman Boyd Richie couldn’t be more displeased. Said he:
“The Green Party has become just another arm of the Republican Party, and Gov. Rick Perry's re-election effort and the Republican/Green Party coordination is a blow to the integrity of our election system.”
But as it turns out, the whole process, which smells to high heaven, may just be illegal. This according to Buck Wood, an Austin lawyer:
“‘That corporation cannot make contributions to political parties in Texas. And to do so is a felony,’ he said. ‘It is also a felony for a political party to accept a corporate contribution.’”
And yes, that may well be, but we should all keep in mind who is in charge here. When you are in charge, you get to make a lot of the rules. And when you are in charge, you get to bend a few. Especially if by doing so you get to stay in charge.
1 comment:
If we had instant run-off voting the Greens would cease to be "spoilers" in the way they are now (and the GOP money would probably go away, too).
I voted Green in the 2008 national election; I think Greens should refuse GOP money on principle, but I understand the practical temptation to take it.
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