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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=title><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><a
href="http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/node/273">http://www.allthingscynthiamckinney.com/node/273</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=title><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=title><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=title><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence: Cynthia McKinney: The New Face of the Green
Party</span></font></span> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Submitted by admin on Sat, 02/23/2008 - 02:21.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>ESSENCE .
LIFESTYLE . VOICES<br>
<a
href="http://www.essence.com/essence/lifestyle/voices/0,16109,1714833,00.html"
title="http://www.essence.com/essence/lifestyle/voices/0,16109,1714833,00.html">http://www.essence.com/essence/lifestyle/voices/0,16109,1714833,00.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-weight:bold'>Cynthia McKinney: The New Face of the Green Party</span></font></b><br>
Former <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Georgia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
congresswoman <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Cynthia McKinney </st1:PersonName>wants
Black women to know why they should vote for her during this year’s
Presidential election<br>
By Wendy L. Wilson<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>By now we
all know there is both a woman and a Black man running for President of the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
But most folks may not be aware of another candidate who embodies both of these
characteristics. Former <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Georgia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
congresswoman <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Cynthia McKinney </st1:PersonName>is
also in the running as a candidate representing the Green Party. A lifelong
Democrat, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">McKinney</st1:place></st1:City>
was a staunch supporter of the party’s involvement in anti-war and human
rights legislations. And while these causes are still on her list of
priorities, <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">McKinney</st1:place></st1:City>
is now rolling with a new team of policy makers who she says are right up her
alley. She recently spoke with essence.com on her underdog bid for the White
House.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
Why should people consider taking a harder look at the Green Party?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Cynthia
McKinney: As I travel, talking to Americans across the country, I’ve
learned that there is life outside of the two-party paradigm. We have a
generation of folks who watched in horror as young people protested the Vietnam
War outside of the Democratic National Convention and saw how they were
subsequently treated. That was a tipping point for a lot of people. Today, some
feel that their votes won’t be counted because of election integrity.
There are people who want to see an end to the war, and that hasn’t
happened, despite the Democratic majority in Congress. So you have all these
different people who have reached the same conclusion that the two-party
paradigm doesn’t serve their interests anymore. But let’s not
withdraw from it; let’s change it.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
You’ve been a Democrat all your life. Why switch to Green now?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.: You
know, I never really got the chance to know the members of the Green Party
across the country before. Now, I’m getting to know the most wonderful,
idealistic, patriotic people who have made me feel at home. It’s just
wonderful to be with people who have thought through the process and how we can
work to make it better.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
How many votes do you need to be considered?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.: The
Green Party needs 5 percent of the votes in the 2008 election to be
institutionalized as a third force in American politics.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
Why should we consider voting for you?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.: If
people feel deep within their hearts that there is still something structurally
wrong with the limited choices we have in our two-party system, then I want
people to say let me be a part of the 5 percent that changes the structure of
our country. Right now, public policy is made in a room where the door is
locked. The people are outside; only two representatives [Democrats and
Republicans] are in that room hammering out policy. Somebody gave the corporate
lobbyists a key so they can come and go as they please. The Green Party will
open the door for people who care about impeachment, the war, civil liberties,
and economic justice. We will pull up a chair and be a part of the
conversation. You’ll get different results and people won’t feel as
if they were marginalized out of the process.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
You’ve done a lot for the people in <st1:City w:st="on">New Orleans</st1:City>
and the <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gulf States</st1:place></st1:State>
after the Hurricanes. Why is their cause still so important to you?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.:
I’ve been very active in the treatment against Hurricane Katrina
survivors. After having participated in the International Tribunal on
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and visited <st1:City w:st="on">New Orleans</st1:City>
and the <st1:State w:st="on">Gulf States</st1:State> several times, I have
helped to put together a 10-point plan for the survivors, which is based on the
Reconstruction Movement and the Reconstruction Party [in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>]. This
10-point plan includes an electoral system that allows for integrity and voter
choice, full employment including the right to organize, reparations, a budget
for human needs, policies against police brutality, a way to end the drug war
and prisons for profit, means to protect the environment, end militarism and
continue to stand for peace. There’s a lot more that our country can do
in its own borders and in the global community.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
What are some issues you plan to tackle in your campaign?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.: I
haven’t visited a single city that isn’t reeling from overpriced
housing and gentrification. We want to demystify the phenomenon known as
gentrification and that’s a project that I’ll be working on in the
days ahead. I want to be at the ground floor of exposing what’s happening
to innocent people.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
Mumia Abu Jamal, former Black Panther and convicted criminal who currently sits
on death row, supports your candidacy. In fact, he has issued a statement for
your website. Knowing his background, how do you feel about his endorsement?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.:
I’m extremely pleased to have Mumia’s support. I see him as a
political prisoner. All one has to do is read the documents to see that. The
government clearly spells out what it planned to do to members of the Black
Panther Party despite the Constitution. When you decide whether or not to
follow the path of truth and justice, then you will see these activities for
what they are; illegal and un-American.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
What do you think of the two Democratic frontrunners, Sen. Obama and Sen.
Clinton?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.:
It’s interesting that you asked me about them and not the Republicans.
The issue for those of us who decided to take a third path is not about the
individual characteristics of a candidate because there are wonderful Democrats
and activist Republicans like Ron Paul. But we should be asking ourselves, what
are the limits of these parties? We have to look beyond the candidates to see
what the party itself stands for. So issues like reparations while it’s a
part of the 10-point plan is also a part of the 2008 Green Party platform.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
You introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush, Vice President
Cheney and Secretary of State Rice for manipulating intelligence and lying to
justify the war. Why would you do that?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>C.M.:
Because it was warranted! These people have lied to the world. They have taken
our country to war and they have violated US and International laws with crimes
against humanity, peace and torture. The Democratic majority in Congress has
failed to provide secure elections so we don’t have to deal with these
outdated election machines. They have yet to repeal the Patriot’s Act.
These issues that we’re talking about now, will be the issues that must
be confronted by the new administration in 2009. They are not going away. They
won’t melt into the fabric of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. If anything they are going
to soil the fabric of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Essence.com:
What gave you the courage to try to impeach the President?<br>
C.M.: You can’t be afraid to search for truth, find the truth and then
fight injustice. The great people of the world like Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., like Rosa Parks, like Patrice Lumumba, stood up for their country and the
value of the people. But in doing so, you have to be prepared to fight the
injustice that comes along with the knowledge that you gain.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>For more
information on Cynthia McKinney’s campaign, click on her website, <a
href="http://www.runcynthiarun.org/">www.runcynthiarun.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS";color:black;font-weight:
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