Greens urge a large turnout for antiwar protests

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805,
starlene@greens.org

Greens urge a large turnout for antiwar protests on October 5

• Green stress that street protest must be followed by political action to replace warhawk Democrats and Republicans in office.

• Greens note bipartisan support for continued occupation of Iraq, criticize Dems’ failure to filibuster bill giving Bush license to approve secret torture.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Green Party leaders urged fellow Greens and all Americans who oppose the Iraq occupation and the Bush agenda to turn out for widespread protests planned for Thursday, October 5.

The ‘World Can’t Wait’ protests, to take place in Washington, D.C. and other cities across the U.S., are sponsored by the Alliance for Global Justice.

The Green Party and its candidates have called for immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, and have called for impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. (The Green Party is not affiliated with the Alliance for Global Justice.)

“We urge all Americans who oppose the Iraq war and the disastrous policies of George W. Bush to turn out for the October 5 protest, but street demonstrations are just the beginning,” said Bo Levis, Green candidate for Congress in Wisconsin’s 5th District, who was arrested during a nonviolent protest outside the Brookfield office of prowar Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) on September 25.

“If we really want to ‘drive out the Bush regime’ we need concerted political action — not just to stop the current administration from dismantling democracy and threatening global stability, but to end two-party domination,” said Mr. Levis. “The Bush presidency isn’t just a product of the Republican Party, it’s the result of two partiesthat espouse a military-corporate ideology under the pretense of patriotism and homeland security.”

Greens noted that recent protests were hugely successful in demonstrating public opposition to the Iraq invasion, but failed to prevent the invasion or end the occupation, to persuade either Republicans or Democrats to change their positions, or to remove warhawks from public office.

“The two greatest mistakes we can make are to believe that street protest alone or that replacing Republicans with Democrats will change the direction of the U.S.,” said Howie Hawkins, Green candidate challenging Hillary Clinton for her U.S. Senate seat and completing an antiwar Campus Tour to mobilize students.

“Even if Democrats win in 2006 and 2008, they will keep in place many of the worst Bush policies, maintaining the Iraq war, U.S. support for Israel’s murderous and illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, and threats of an attack on Iran. Most Democrats have seldom seen a bloated defense appropriations bill they didn’t like.”

Green Party candidates have been especially critical of Republicans and Democrats who failed to stop a recent antiterrorism bill (Military Commissions Act of 2006) that gave President Bush extraordinary power to approve torture without public or congressional oversight, in violation of the Geneva Convention, and granted the President and other public and military officials immunity for war crimes.

“Democrats could have filibustered Congress’s license for the President to rubberstamp torture,” said Rae Vogeler, Wisconsin Green for the U.S. Senate . “Instead, fearing Republican accusations that they’re unpatriotic and soft on terrorism, they offered muted opposition, enabling passage of a phony compromise between the White House and so-called Republican moderates like Sen. McCain and Sen. Warner.”

Greens have led numerous antiwar efforts in recent months, including municipal ballot measures in Wisconsin calling for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq; a major rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 30 calling for impeachment.

(coverage linked at); VotersForPeace.us , cofounded by Kevin Zeese, Maryland Green candidate for the U.S. Senate.

“The only solution to the rapid erosion of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law and the advance of Bush’s radical ‘unitary executive power’ is sustained political action led by an independent noncorporate political party,” said Chris Lugo, Tennessee Green for the U.S. Senate, who will participate in local demonstrations on October 5. “We need to replace Republicans and Democrats in public office. That’s the message Greens will take to the street on October 5.”

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