GPUS statements on ERA, the ROK coup attempt, the (rightist) European Greens, and two more statements from before November 5th

I thought that I had checked the Green Party of the US' newsroom a few times leading up to and since the election, but I must have missed these. There are a few slight edits throughout. The first press release was originally posted at: www.gp.org/gp_national_womens_caucus_calls_on_biden_to_publish_the_era

Green Party National Women's Caucus Calls on Biden to Publish the ERA

The National Women’s Caucus of the Green Party of the United States calls on President Biden to confirm and publish the Equal Rights Amendment in the US Constitution.

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is the duly ratified 28th Constitutional Amendment that guarantees equal rights to all people regardless of sex.

For Immediate Release:
December 18, 2024

Contacts:
Gloria Mattera, Green Party Media Committee Coordinator, 202-804-2758, media[at gp org]

Jennifer Sullivan, Spokesperson, National Women's Caucus, 352-410-4484

“It's always been baffling to me that the ERA has not been passed, since it was first introduced in 1923! The Senate passed it in 1972, but thanks to the opposition and hard work of conservative opponents like the Eagle Forum and former Congressional candidate Phyliss Schlafly, it's somehow been an issue that just can't come to fruition. However, the required states have ratified it and this issue needs to become a reality. This way, no person or group can ever waste our time by blocking this anymore,” said Jennifer Sullivan, Spokesperson for the Green Party National Women’s Caucus.

The constitutional requirements have already been met:

The US House approved the ERA in 1971 with a bipartisan vote of 354–24. The Senate approved it in 1972 by another bipartisan vote of 84-8.
Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA in January 2020, which means that 3/4 of all the states have ratified it.

Extending protections under the ERA is the most important thing Biden and Congress can do right now.

Green Party of the United States endorses the ERA in its platform: "We support the equal application of the Constitution of the United States of America to all citizens, and therefore call for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)."

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-319-7191
https://linktr.ee/usgreens

Originally posted at: www.gp.org/gpus_stands_with_the_people_of_south_korea

Green Party of the United States Stands with the People of South Korea to Defend Their Rights Against Repression

The Green Party of the United States expressed grave concern over the recent declaration of martial law in South Korea by President Yoon Suk Yeol. While we acknowledge the complexities of governing in a time of heightened tensions, we firmly believe that such an unprecedented and authoritarian action undermines democratic principles and the trust of the South Korean people.

For Immediate Release
December 9, 2024

Contacts:
Gloria Mattera, Green Party Media Committee Coordinator, 202-804-2758, media[at gp org]
Michael Stewart, Co-chair, Green Party International Committee, 202-804-2758

“The deployment of armed troops in Seoul and the restriction of political activities represent a direct threat to the fundamental freedoms cherished in democratic societies. We commend the swift response of South Korea's National Assembly in overturning the martial law decree, and we stand in solidarity with the citizens who took to the streets to defend their rights”, said Michael Stewart, co-chair of Green Party’s International Committee.

The Green Party of the United States emphasizes the importance of nonviolence and peaceful resolution of conflicts, both domestically and internationally. We condemn the use of force against civilians and political leaders and call for a peaceful and democratic resolution to the current political crisis in South Korea. Our platform upholds people's right to engage in political activities free from the threat of violence or intimidation.

The Green Party of the United States joins the three progressive forces in Korea (the Green Party Korea, the Justice Party, and the Labor Party) to urge President Yoon Suk Yeol to reflect on the impact of his actions and the loss of confidence they have created among the South Korean people and the international community. For the sake of South Korea’s democracy and stability, we call on President Yoon to step down from office. This step would open the door for the restoration of public trust and the renewal of South Korea’s commitment to democratic governance.

The horrors of 1980s Gwangju and 1948 Jeju are fresh in the minds of Koreans as 707 Special Forces entered the National Assembly in the pre-dawn hours of December 3, 2024, in order to arrest the leader of the Democratic Party, the Speaker of the National Assembly, leaders of the conservative People Power Party, and other lawmakers. Elders who lived through the horrors of the military dictatorship once again came out to block military tanks and armored vehicles from entering the National Assembly Proceeding Hall.

"From Cheonji of Baekdusan Mountain to Baeknokdam of Hallasan Mountain, the Korean Peninsula is in crisis. The future of the Peninsula has never been more uncertain. But history has shown that when citizens come together and reach for a brighter future, the course of history can be changed. Article 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea says that South Korea is a Democratic Republic whose power lies in its citizens. The Korean people have shown us that they will not let their beautiful Republic be taken advantage of," said Austin Bashore, coordinator of the Asia Pacific Sub-Committee of the Green Party International Committee, currently living in South Korea.

The Green Party of the United States emphasizes the importance of accountability, peaceful resolution of political crises, and adherence to democratic values. We stand with the South Korean people and call on leaders worldwide to uphold the principles of justice, transparency, and democracy.

Green Party of the United States
www.gp.org
202-804-2758

[I noted europeangreens.eu/news/us-elections-european-greens-call-for-jill-stein-to-step-down/ , etc. (treachery, "election interference," and an "October surprise" by the "Green" warmongers in the EU?) in a previous post, but I can't find it at the moment.] [On RCV: durhamspark.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-stein-ware-campaign-on-ranked.html ] Originally posted at: www.gp.org/gpus_responds_to_european_greens

Green Party of the United States responds to European Greens: November 1, 2024

Response by the Green Party of the United States to a statement from European Greens
November 1, 2024

We invite European Greens to communicate directly with us to understand our positions and participation in elections, and to support our demand for a national popular vote by ranked-choice voting (RCV) for president, which would eliminate the alleged spoiler factor.

They seem to have swallowed the myth that Stein voters would have voted for the Democrat if Jill Stein had never entered the presidential race, and that Dr. Stein's withdrawal would release her supporters to vote for Harris.

The feedback we are receiving from voters is that Dr. Stein's supporters had no intention of voting for either of the major-party candidates in the first place. Dr. Stein and the Green Party are drawing support from Americans who are appalled by US military aid for Israel's ethnic cleansing and extermination of civilians in Gaza. Large numbers of voters refuse to vote for any candidate who favors more aid for genocide or hesitates to call for an immediate ceasefire, which describes both Harris and Donald Trump.

US Greens have been dismayed by European Green silence or complicity in response to Israel's apartheid policies, illegal occupation of Palestinian lands, and atrocities in Gaza (now spreading to the West Bank and Lebanon). This issue is conspicuously absent from their recent statement on the US elections.

Regarding Ukraine: US Greens don't share European Greens' apparent reluctance to question the role of NATO, which too often promotes global US dominance and military aggression. US Greens have been critical of NATO expansionism, which helped provoke the current proxy war in Ukraine. This isn't an endorsement of Putin's actions — military invasion of another country is always a crime and targeted killing of civilians is always an atrocity that deserves prosecution under international law. Dr. Stein and US Greens have repeatedly called for a ceasefire and negotiation to halt the bloodshed in the Russia-Ukraine war.

We also recognize that, while Trump is calling climate change a hoax, Harris and Democrats will do as little as possible to reduce fossil-fuel extraction and consumption in the US. Harris boasted during the Sept. 10 debate that the Biden-Harris administration has facilitated "'the largest increase in domestic oil production in history," which suggests she will continue to promote an increase as president. See "Green Party: Both Harris and Trump would be a disaster for the climate": https://www.gp.org/harris_trump_would_be_a_disaster_for_the_climate

US Greens and other Stein supporters are as concerned about Trump's anti-democratic, authoritarian policies as anyone else -- perhaps even more so than Democrats, who have consistently compromised with and capitulated to Republicans during recent decades on policy. Harris is already parroting Trump's demagogic fear-mongering positions on immigrants to the US. Democrats have also worked aggressively to suppress Green voters’ voting rights by attempting to remove the Green Party from the ballot in many states.

The Green Party of the US exists and Dr. Stein is running because our country needs a real opposition party and a permanent alternative to the two parties of war and Wall Street.

We invite European Greens to communicate directly with us to understand our positions and participation in elections, and to support our demand for a national popular vote by ranked-choice voting (RCV) for president, which would eliminate the alleged spoiler factor.

The Democratic Party has ignored and rejected this demand, which leads us to suspect that Democrats would rather lose to Republicans like Trump than tolerate the presence of more than two parties and real competition in U.S. elections.

European Greens have the privilege of living under fairer and more democratic proportional representation electoral systems. Their public critiques of US politics should focus on why the unfair US system needs to be reformed. This would be more constructive than questioning, without talking to US Greens, the strategies of Green organizers, activists, and candidates here on the ground who must operate under the current system.

Insert photo: Israel’s war on Lebanon is “upending children’s lives,” according to UNICEF. (Photo: via UNICEF)
Source: https://www.palestinechronicle.com/deep-emotional-scars-unicef-highlights-effects-of-war-on-children-in-lebanon/

Originally posted at: www.gp.org/harris_trump_would_be_a_disaster_for_the_climate

Green Party: Both Harris and Trump would be a disaster for the climate

Global temperatures will be higher after four years whether Harris or Trump wins; Greens urge enactment of the Green New Deal and a Day One presidential climate-emergency declaration

WASHINGTON, DC — The Green Party said today that while Donald Trump remains a climate denier willing to sell the White House to the fossil-fuel industry, Kamala Harris’s climate agenda would also lock in climate collapse.

For immediate release
Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Contacts:
Gloria Mattera, Green Party Media Committee Coordinator, 202-804-2758, media[at gp org]
Scott McLarty, Green Party Media Director, 202-878-2112, scott[at gp org]

"Trump would burn the planet faster, but Democrats are still leading us to climate chaos. Too many climate activist organizations and groups like MoveOn continue to promote voting for Democrats despite their weak record and platforms, hoping they'll get better post-election. But Dem leaders constantly find excuses to appease oil companies and they fail to deliver even on their weak promises," said Rachel Braaten, Green candidate for Mayor of Crystal, Minnesota.

"The Green Party remains the only national party committed to the concerted radical action needed to prevent a global climate catastrophe and to provide a decent future for Americans and the rest of humanity," said Braaten.

The Green Party since 2010 has called for an Ecosocialist Green New Deal in the US. The Green New Deal combines an immediate halt to new fossil fuels and transition to 100% renewable energy within a decade with a robust Economic Bill of Rights which includes a living wage job and income for all, single-payer Expanded and Improved Medicare for All, and affordable housing.

2024 Green presidential nominee Jill Stein introduced the Green New Deal on the national stage during her 2012 presidential campaign.

What a Harris presidency's climate policies will look like

Kamala Harris boasted during the September 10 debate that the Biden-Harris administration has facilitated "the largest increase in domestic oil production in history," which suggests she will continue to promote an increase as president.
A report from the United Nations Environment Programme, "Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air… please!" warns that governments are falling far short of the emission cuts embraced in the Paris Climate accords. Global warming last year already exceeded the target level of 1.5 degrees Celsius, with extreme weather rampaging across the US and the planet. The UN predicts that global warming will soar to 3-degree C warming this century, far beyond safe limits.

A Harris White House will not meet the Paris goals or fulfill the previous commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to reduce US emissions by 50% by 2030, which is now only six years away. Global temperatures will be higher after four years whether Harris or Trump wins on November 5.

While Harris touts casting the deciding vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, the bill included much less funding for renewable energy than initially proposed and has so many handouts for false climate solutions that the Wall Street Journal reported that oil and gas companies are lobbying Trump to continue it. Greens noted that renewable energy will not slow the advance of climate chaos unless fossil-fuel consumption is drastically reduced.
Harris has reversed her opposition to fracking gas and dropped her prior support for the Democrats' far weaker version of a Green New Deal, with its 30-year timeline. While Greens would slash the military budget 50 to 75 percent to help pay for a Green New Deal, Harris is committed to funding increases to maintain the most lethal and climate-damaging force on the planet.

“We need a president who on Day One will declare a climate emergency and take needed executive action," said Randy Toler, co-chair of the Green Party of Florida. Toler's family in Tampa Bay was devastated by two hurricanes in 13 days.

"We need a president who understands that ending capitalism and its focus on growth and private profit is part of the climate solution — something expressed by both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Pope Francis. We need to make the polluters pay, including a robust carbon fee and dividend. We need to say no to fossil fuels and the corporate hucksters peddling false climate solutions like nuclear and carbon capture and sequestration," said Toler.

One of the many Green Party candidates running for local office on the climate issue is Eddie Espinoza, candidate for Texas Railroad Commissioner, the public official who regulates the state's oil and gas industry.

"The only climate solution is to transition away from fossil fuels to clean renewables like wind, solar, and utility-scale batteries. I call for no fracking, no new fossil fuel projects, and a phase out of current fossil fuel energy plants. The Railroad Commission should ban carbon capture schemes, because carbon capture is not a real climate solution," said Espinoza.

Questions for Kamala Harris

You've repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza. If you're truly disturbed by the Israeli Defense Forces' extermination of innocent civilians, why haven't you sought a cutoff of US weapons for Israel to force a ceasefire?
Why haven't you called Israel an apartheid state, in agreement with the assessment of over 156 other world leaders and the International Court of Justice?
As senator, you supported the Green New Deal, which was originally proposed by the Green Party, including a carbon tax and bans on fracking and offshore drilling. Why do you now endorse fracking and more drilling as the global climate crisis worsens? Why did you boast during the September 10 debate that the Biden-Harris administration has facilitated "the largest increase in domestic oil production in history"?
How do you plan to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the previous commitment of the Biden-Harris administration to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, which is now only six years away?
As senator you co-sponsored a bill setting a schedule to increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles. As vice presidential candidate you said you would reinstate federal emission rules for vehicles that would lead to 100% of cars sold in 2035 having zero emissions. Why have these positions disappeared from your campaign?
Democrats had over 50 years to codify Roe v. Wade. Instead, President Obama declared it "not the highest legislative priority" in 2009 and Hillary Clinton chose an anti-abortion running mate in 2016. Why did Dems wait until 2020 to decide that protecting women's reproductive rights is urgently important?
Dr. Stein has rejected an endorsement from rightwing extremist David Duke. Will you reject the endorsement you received from former Vice President Dick Cheney, whose role as mastermind of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and deceptions to win public support for it led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and thousands of US troops?
Many Democrats have expressed outrage over support by some Republicans for Dr. Stein's campaign. Is this outrage fair when the Harris-Walz campaign has accepted endorsements and generous contributions from Liz Cheney, her father, former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson, and other Republican leaders and PACs?
As senator you called the border wall proposed by Trump "un-American" and said you wouldn't vote for it "under any circumstances." Why, as vice president, did you support a Senate bill to fund a wall? Why do you support tighter rules on asylum claims? Why have your positions on immigration moved closer to Trump’s?
Given your experience working at McDonald's, why don't you support a livable $25/hour federal minimum wage for American workers including fast-food employees?
You co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation as senator and promoted it as vice-presidential candidate. Why did you abandon your support for Medicare For All? What is your plan now to cover 27 million uninsured Americans and protect us from financial ruin because of a medical emergency?
Why haven't Democrats in the US Senate used their power to block Republican presidents' extremist appointees to the Supreme Court, as Republicans have done to Democratic presidents' appointees? An example is Judge Amy Coney Barrett, whose confirmation Dem Senators including you could have prevented using the same procedural tactics that Sen. Mitch McConnell employed to obstruct an Obama nominee.
If Trump wins on November 5, who will Democrats blame the most to deflect attention from their failures? Jill Stein? Muslim voters? Black and Latinx men? Vladimir Putin? Susan Sarandon?

Durham Spark - Durham, North Carolina, USA

Saturday, December 28, 2024