/CommonGroundWithTheGreenParty
Progressives seek common ground with members of the Green Party in order to pursue common sense solutions for the common good as evidenced by the following excerpts from the Green Party Platform:
EXCERPTS FROM THE
GREEN PARTY
PLATFORM:
It is our responsibility to rebuild the political culture of the United States in order to stop wars of aggression, short-sighted ecological destruction, erosion of our rights, and policies that perpetuate social and economic injustice.
In contrast to Democrats and Republicans, all Green candidates pledge not to accept corporate money for their campaigns.
We propose a vision of our common good that is advanced through an independent politics free from the control of corporations and big money, and through a democratic structure and process that empowers and reaches across lines of division to bring together our combined strengths as a people.
Participatory Democracy, rooted in community practice at the grassroots level and informing every level, from the local to the international.
Social Justice and Equal Opportunity emphasizing personal and social responsibility, accountability, and an informing ethic of Nonviolence.
Ecological and Economic Sustainability, balancing the interests of a regulated market economy and community-based economics with effective care for the Great Economy in which we are embedded: the ecosystems of the Earth.
PEACE AND NON-VIOLENCE:
Our country's long wars and worldwide military presence are immoral and unsustainable. Our military budget must be cut dramatically.
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society's current patterns of violence.
We will work to demilitarize and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments.
We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in danger.
We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
GRASSROOTS:
All human beings must be allowed a say in decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another.
We work to improve public participation in every aspect of government and seek to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them.
We also work to create new types of political organizations that expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in decision-making.
Our citizens must not permit usurpation of their authority by acts of individuals and government agencies that isolate or insulate government from their oversight and control.
Citizens of a democracy must have the information and ability to determine the actions of their government.
Toward this end, we consider serious reform of campaign funding to be essential, as well as curbs on the influence of corporations on lawmakers and regulatory agencies.
Greens will crack down on political corruption and strengthen the voice of the people at all levels of government.
Greens seek to repair U.S. electoral system, from how elections are financed, to conducting them in more fair and representative ways, to ensuring accountability and transparency on all levels of government.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:
We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, any discrimination by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, religion, or physical or mental ability that denies fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
ECOLOGICAL WISDOM:
Human societies must function with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature.
We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet.
We support a sustainable society that utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation.
To this end we must practice agriculture that replenishes the soil, move to an energy-efficient economy, and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
DECENTRALIZATION:
We seek a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system controlled by and mostly benefiting the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system.
Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all.
COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMICS:
We demand a living wage and a real safety net.
We support redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy.
We support developing new economic activities and institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological, and responsive and accountable to communities.
We support establishing a form of basic economic security open to all.
We call for moving beyond the narrow 'job ethic' to new definitions of 'work,' 'jobs' and 'income' in a cooperative and democratic economy.
We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy – those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, and the like.
We support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation.
EQUALITY:
We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender.
RESPONSIBILITY:
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal wellbeing and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony.
We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.
FOCUS ON THE FUTURE:
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals.
We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
We must make the quality of all lives, rather than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking and policy.
ELECTORAL REFORM:
Prohibit corporations from spending to influence elections, preferably by constitutional amendment abolishing granting corporations constitutional rights guaranteed to natural persons.
Eliminate all ballot access laws and rules that discriminate against smaller parties and independents, and otherwise place undue burden on the right of citizens to run for office.
Create a new publicly-funded People's Commission on Presidential Debates, and open its presidential debates to all candidates who appear on at least as many ballots as would represent a majority of the Electoral College and who raise enough funds to otherwise qualify for general election public financing.
Any candidate who refuses to participate in such debates would lose general election public financing for their candidacy.
Amend federal law to remove the non-profit tax exemption status that allows corporations to fund the existing Commission on Presidential Debates and other such exclusive privately controlled debate entities.
Amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to change the percentage of the presidential popular vote required for a new party's candidate to receive first time General Election public funding from 5% in the previous General Election to 1%; and change the percentage of the presidential popular vote required for a new party to receive public presidential convention funding from 5% for its candidate in the previous general election to 1%.
Support the right to initiative, referendum and recall at all levels of government.
Enact signature gathering standards that empower volunteer collection efforts and financial disclosure requirements that identify the sources of funding behind paid signature efforts.
Enact a national "right to vote" law or constitutional amendment to guarantee universal, automatic, permanent voter registration, along with fail-safe voting procedures, so that eligible voters whose names are not on the voter rolls or whose information is out-of-date can correct the rolls and vote on the same day.
Restore full citizenship rights to felons upon completion of their sentence, including the right to vote and to run for elected office.
Make Election Day a national holiday and/or have weekend elections.
Amend the U.S. Constitution to require that all vacancies in the U.S. Senate be filled by election rather than appointment.
Develop publicly-owned, open source voting equipment and deploy it across the nation to ensure high national standards, performance, transparency and accountability; use verifiable paper ballots; and institute mandatory automatic random precinct recounts to ensure a high level of accuracy in election results.
Establish guarantees that every citizen's vote counts, and that all U.S. voting systems—including electronic ones—are verifiable, transparent and accurate.
Establish a National Elections Commission with the mandate to establish minimum national election standards and uniformity, partner with state and local election officials to ensure pre-election and post-election accountability for their election plans, require nonpartisan election boards, and depoliticize and professionalize election administration across the United States.
Establish independent and transparent non-partisan redistricting processes to stop partisan gerrymandering and protect minority rights and representation.
Increase the number of polling places, and increase the pay for poll workers.
In contrast to Democrats and Republicans, all Green candidates pledge not to accept corporate money for their campaigns.
We propose a vision of our common good that is advanced through an independent politics free from the control of corporations and big money, and through a democratic structure and process that empowers and reaches across lines of division to bring together our combined strengths as a people.
Participatory Democracy, rooted in community practice at the grassroots level and informing every level, from the local to the international.
Social Justice and Equal Opportunity emphasizing personal and social responsibility, accountability, and an informing ethic of Nonviolence.
Ecological and Economic Sustainability, balancing the interests of a regulated market economy and community-based economics with effective care for the Great Economy in which we are embedded: the ecosystems of the Earth.
PEACE AND NON-VIOLENCE:
Our country's long wars and worldwide military presence are immoral and unsustainable. Our military budget must be cut dramatically.
It is essential that we develop effective alternatives to society's current patterns of violence.
We will work to demilitarize and eliminate weapons of mass destruction, without being naive about the intentions of other governments.
We recognize the need for self-defense and the defense of others who are in danger.
We promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree, and will guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
GRASSROOTS:
All human beings must be allowed a say in decisions that affect their lives; no one should be subject to the will of another.
We work to improve public participation in every aspect of government and seek to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them.
We also work to create new types of political organizations that expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in decision-making.
Our citizens must not permit usurpation of their authority by acts of individuals and government agencies that isolate or insulate government from their oversight and control.
Citizens of a democracy must have the information and ability to determine the actions of their government.
Toward this end, we consider serious reform of campaign funding to be essential, as well as curbs on the influence of corporations on lawmakers and regulatory agencies.
Greens will crack down on political corruption and strengthen the voice of the people at all levels of government.
Greens seek to repair U.S. electoral system, from how elections are financed, to conducting them in more fair and representative ways, to ensuring accountability and transparency on all levels of government.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY:
We must consciously confront in ourselves, our organizations, and society at large, any discrimination by race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, nationality, religion, or physical or mental ability that denies fair treatment and equal justice under the law.
ECOLOGICAL WISDOM:
Human societies must function with the understanding that we are part of nature, not separate from nature.
We must maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet.
We support a sustainable society that utilizes resources in such a way that future generations will benefit and not suffer from the practices of our generation.
To this end we must practice agriculture that replenishes the soil, move to an energy-efficient economy, and live in ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.
DECENTRALIZATION:
We seek a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system controlled by and mostly benefiting the powerful few, to a democratic, less bureaucratic system.
Decision-making should, as much as possible, remain at the individual and local level, while assuring that civil rights are protected for all.
COMMUNITY BASED ECONOMICS:
We demand a living wage and a real safety net.
We support redesigning our work structures to encourage employee ownership and workplace democracy.
We support developing new economic activities and institutions that allow us to use technology in ways that are humane, freeing, ecological, and responsive and accountable to communities.
We support establishing a form of basic economic security open to all.
We call for moving beyond the narrow 'job ethic' to new definitions of 'work,' 'jobs' and 'income' in a cooperative and democratic economy.
We support restructuring our patterns of income distribution to reflect the wealth created by those outside the formal monetary economy – those who take responsibility for parenting, housekeeping, home gardens, community volunteer work, and the like.
We support restricting the size and concentrated power of corporations without discouraging superior efficiency or technological innovation.
EQUALITY:
We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender.
RESPONSIBILITY:
We encourage individuals to act to improve their personal wellbeing and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony.
We seek to join with people and organizations around the world to foster peace, economic justice, and the health of the planet.
FOCUS ON THE FUTURE:
Our actions and policies should be motivated by long-term goals.
We must counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.
We must make the quality of all lives, rather than open-ended economic growth, the focus of future thinking and policy.
ELECTORAL REFORM:
Prohibit corporations from spending to influence elections, preferably by constitutional amendment abolishing granting corporations constitutional rights guaranteed to natural persons.
Eliminate all ballot access laws and rules that discriminate against smaller parties and independents, and otherwise place undue burden on the right of citizens to run for office.
Create a new publicly-funded People's Commission on Presidential Debates, and open its presidential debates to all candidates who appear on at least as many ballots as would represent a majority of the Electoral College and who raise enough funds to otherwise qualify for general election public financing.
Any candidate who refuses to participate in such debates would lose general election public financing for their candidacy.
Amend federal law to remove the non-profit tax exemption status that allows corporations to fund the existing Commission on Presidential Debates and other such exclusive privately controlled debate entities.
Amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to change the percentage of the presidential popular vote required for a new party's candidate to receive first time General Election public funding from 5% in the previous General Election to 1%; and change the percentage of the presidential popular vote required for a new party to receive public presidential convention funding from 5% for its candidate in the previous general election to 1%.
Support the right to initiative, referendum and recall at all levels of government.
Enact signature gathering standards that empower volunteer collection efforts and financial disclosure requirements that identify the sources of funding behind paid signature efforts.
Enact a national "right to vote" law or constitutional amendment to guarantee universal, automatic, permanent voter registration, along with fail-safe voting procedures, so that eligible voters whose names are not on the voter rolls or whose information is out-of-date can correct the rolls and vote on the same day.
Restore full citizenship rights to felons upon completion of their sentence, including the right to vote and to run for elected office.
Make Election Day a national holiday and/or have weekend elections.
Amend the U.S. Constitution to require that all vacancies in the U.S. Senate be filled by election rather than appointment.
Develop publicly-owned, open source voting equipment and deploy it across the nation to ensure high national standards, performance, transparency and accountability; use verifiable paper ballots; and institute mandatory automatic random precinct recounts to ensure a high level of accuracy in election results.
Establish guarantees that every citizen's vote counts, and that all U.S. voting systems—including electronic ones—are verifiable, transparent and accurate.
Establish a National Elections Commission with the mandate to establish minimum national election standards and uniformity, partner with state and local election officials to ensure pre-election and post-election accountability for their election plans, require nonpartisan election boards, and depoliticize and professionalize election administration across the United States.
Establish independent and transparent non-partisan redistricting processes to stop partisan gerrymandering and protect minority rights and representation.
Increase the number of polling places, and increase the pay for poll workers.
