Politirazzi

By Lynne

Last week, the Green Party made history by nominating the first all-women-of-color presidential ticket. Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (who served six terms in Congress) chose Rosa Clemente as her running mate.

Rosa Clemente, 36, is a Puerto Rican of African descent. Cynthia McKinney is African-American.

Rosa was born in the South Bronx and is a graduate of the University at Albany-SUNY and Cornell University. A community organizer, hip-hop activist and independent journalist, Rosa was a lead organizer for the first National Hip-Hop Political Convention in 2004. She stated:

“I don't see the Green Party as an alternative. I see it as an imperative.”

(continued)

(AP)

By Jeff

Bob Barr isn’t going to be president; we know that for sure. He knows he’s not going to be president, and his ardent supporters know he isn’t going to be president. Third-party candidates don’t run to get elected, they run to gain visibility for their message, hoping that some of their core issues will gain traction and force the general election candidates to take a favorable stance.

Barr is certainly the highest-profile candidate to start a third-party run in my lifetime (nobody knew who Ross Perot was before he started). But the concern about Barr is how genuine are his beliefs. Barr was a Democrat in the '60s until being exposed to Ayn Rand. Then was a Republican until 2004, and has been a Libertarian since.

Now changing political parties isn’t a huge red flag since the move from Democrat to Republican in many cases really isn’t a very big difference; Reagan did it. Jim Webb did it. But Bob Barr sure seems to be changing his mind a lot, and we’ve learned from John Kerry, flip-flopping can paralyze the effectiveness of a candidate’s message.

(continued)

By Lynne

McCain might not have to do anything to grab disgruntled Hillary supporters away from Obama ... not as long as Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney is in the race.

The Nation posted an opinion piece this week by John Nichols in which two students, former Clinton supporters who are now backing McCain, wrote:

For those of you who just can't stomach McCain, we suggest you look into Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate. She is an African American woman from Georgia and is a former member of the House.

We think the endorsement will make more impact if it goes to John McCain, but we see Cynthia McKinney as a viable alternative and someone more qualified than Senator Obama to be President having served for longer in Congress.

In fact, McKinney served six terms in Congress and two terms in the Georgia Legislature. She’s poised to become the Green Party's first female presidential nominee.

Students aren't the only ones noticing. Comedian Roseanne Barr posted several endorsements of McKinney on her blog this week. Since Roseanne "will vote for a woman instead of a man," she is urging support for "cynthia mckinney of the green party. the green party is the future of america ..."

(continued)

Breaking

(Getty)

Maverick-longshot-but-nonetheless-impassioned Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has announced he will end his campaign tonight.

Now's a good time to check out Paul's awesome CGI-laced campaign ad, written on by our Dan.
— Emily

By Dan

Cheers of "Barr/Root" went up from the crowd (which sounded like the Hebrew derivation of Barack Obama's name, "Baruch" meaning "Blessed") after the results from the 5th ballot were posted to the floor at this year's Libertarian Party convention in Denver, Colo., when third-place finisher Waybe Allyn Root asked his supporters to throw their support behind a Barr/Root ticket in 2008.*

On the sixth ballot, the Libertarian party chose its presidential nominee. Bob Barr will be at the top of the ticket, after running neck and neck with Mary Ruwart through the first five ballots. During Bob Barr's acceptance speech, he gave a shout out to his campaign staff including the Marijuana Policy Project's executive director, Rob Kampia, who stood on the stage behind Barr, and shook his hand as he walked off the stage. Proving once again that libertarian party politics makes the strangest bedfellows.

(continued)

By Meg

This one’s for you, Jeff and Adrian.

It’s official: Former Congressman Bob Barr is running for president — as a Libertarian! Curious what the two of you think about this. I personally don’t know much about the guy except that he hates former President Clinton and loves marijuana.

Sounds like every philosophy professor I had in college ...

Recently my very talented and very handsome (his own description) colleague, Ryan Chatelain, wrote about the wide-ranging third-party candidates vying for the White House. One of those candidates is Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, a vampire who wants to punish dangerous criminals by impaling them with an 8-foot stake.
— Emily

By Matt

It was reported over the weekend that Bob Barr, the former congressman from Georgia, has formed an exploratory committee and may be entering the presidential campaign as the Libertarian Party’s candidate. While I understand the frustrations that led Barr to leave the Republican Party and that are apparently motivating him to seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination, I wonder whether his entrée into the race could do more harm than good to the values Libertarians like him espouse.

There is no chance Barr can win the general election. He may intend his candidacy to “Send a Message” or to raise issues he and other Libertarians consider important , but neither Barr nor anyone else can seriously believe that his campaign can or will do much else.

(continued)