Cynthia McKinney for president

North Carolinians have only three progressive choices for president, all write-ins - Green Cynthia McKinney (www.gp.org), independent Ralph Nader (www.votenader.org), and Socialist Brian Moore (www.sp-usa.org).  As I showed in a post over the summer, Obama is not really a progressive choice, because he is basically for the same imperialist, anti-democratic, and pro-capitalist policies, such as the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, wiretapping Americans, and using our tax money to bail out Wall Street.  We will still be at war under an Obama administration, and possibly at war with Iran, Pakistan, Syria, or Sudan, and we will not recover the civil liberties lost under Bush and Cheney.  There are important differences between Obama and McCain, such as on the environment, abortion, and gay rights, but on the economic, diplomatic, and Constitutional basics there is mainly a difference in style, not in whom they represent. 

 

I have voted for Ralph Nader before, and the disgusting way many Democrats blame him for Bush's 'election' in 2000, when the real cause was the Gore campaign's reluctance to fight for its voters, is why I am now a registered independent.  Nader's refusal to run under a party is one big reason I am not supporting him this time.  If he ran as a Green, or under some other party, his candidacy would help build that party, even though he is likely to lose the election.  But he is running only for himself.  I think I have also heard him make many statements about "Red China" and its bad policies, as if China is led by real communists and as if those bad policies come from communists. 

 

Brian Moore is probably the most progressive candidate, even anti-capitalist, but if I am going to vote for a party that is not capitalist, I want it to be one closer to my ideas about socialism.  The Socialist Party is also weaker the Green Party (at least in this state) and probably will get fewer votes than Nader, though I don't have statistics on this, so my vote would have less impact.  I looked at the SPUSA's website, expecting to find more anti-communism than I did, but they are definitely enemies of Marxism-Leninism, being against "'Communism,'" the "authoritarian" "Stalinist Soviet Union" ( they probably mean "totalitarian" to refer to the socialist USSR too), and Leninist internal party organization, such as democratic centralism.  They obviously use Marxist theory, but Marx and Engels are not mentioned at all as far as I can tell.  They are similar to the Eurocommunists that Enver Hoxha warned against, and I doubt they will gain power with the methods they advocate.  If the Wikipedia entry on the SPUSA is accurate, they were very influenced by Trotskyists, and very right-wing pro-Israel, working class party liquidating, Democratic Party-tailing Trotskyists at that, only a few decades ago.  I don't want to encourage the SPUSA and belief in their anti-revolutionary methods, though I am for their right to ballot access.   

 

This leaves Cynthia McKinney and her running mate, Rosa Clemente.  I liked what I heard about McKinney's role in the House when she represented Georgia, and more information is available at the Green Party's website.  The Greens are definitely a capitalist party, probably mainly representing the small capitalists, and because of this they cannot end the imperialist and anti-labor policies of the government, but they could make some changes in the short term.  People need to see how little can be done about the problems of the day without ending capitalism and building socialism.   

 

According to the Durham County Board of Elections, to vote for a recognized write-in for president, and their running mate, voters only need to write-in the presidential candidate's first and last names.  For some other offices, such as soil and water commissioner, any write-in counts.