Greens Challenge Moveon.org

[Guest Starlene Rankin]

"MoveOn has done an admirable job of rallying people nationwide behind Cindy Sheehan's protest vigil in Crawford, Texas," said Rebecca Rotzler, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States and Deputy Mayor of New Paltz, New York. "But MoveOn itself has undermined such efforts by refusing to endorse an immediate end to the occupation of Iraq."

 

Journalist Norman Solomon has noted that MoveOn declined to support a resolution from Rep. Lynn Woolsey stating that "the president should develop and implement a plan to begin the immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq" and Rep. Barbara Lee's (D-Calif.) bill to block the establishment of permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq ("The Iraq War and MoveOn", Common Dreams, August 18,

<http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0818-33.htm>).

 

Several Green Party members, including Ms. Rotzler (who also serves as co-chair of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee), Andrea Garland of New Orleans, and Mato Ska of Phoenix have traveled to Crawford to join Cindy Sheehan's vigil at 'Camp Casey' near Mr. Bush's ranch, while thousands of other Greens participated in support vigils across the U.S. on August 17.

 

The Peace Action Committee issued a statement in support of the Camp Casey vigil

<http://www.gp.org/press/pr_2005_08_10.shtml>, which Ms. Rotzler presented to Ms. Sheehan.

 

"We challenge MoveOn to listen to its own membership, and take a stand against the invasion and continued occupation of Iraq," said Ms. Garland.

 

Greens have rejected the claim of Democrats like

Senators Hillary Clinton (NY) and Joe Biden (Del.)

that the problem with the Iraq War is the Bush

Administration's military miscalculations.

 

"The invasion and occupation are crimes, based on deception about the motivations for the invasion, a radical ideology that embraces 'preventive war' -- condemned by international law after World War II -- and an oil grab," said Leenie Halbert, Louisiana Green and member of the party's International Committee. "This abuse of power was inevitable after most Democrats in October 2002 voted with Republicans to surrender Congress's constitutionally mandated power to declare war to the White House."

 

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

Green Party of the United States

http://www.gp.org

1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404

Washington, DC 20009.

202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN

Fax 202-319-7193

[seabob]

Starlene, Thanks for challenging Moveon. I wonder how Moveon and GPUS compare with giving top leadership to females? I know you are a female. And I know Greens have a Feminist Key Value. But I also know that virtually all Green locals are controlled by males, or females who go along with the males. Do you see this as a problem? By the way, I work with some Moveon folk in Sacramento although I vote with San Bernardino Greens. Seabob