“There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.” - Joseph Campbell

Opportunity is knocking for the Green Party! I think it is an understatement to argue that the vast majority of the people in the U.S. have, slowly but surely, grown sick and tired of the so-called Two-Party system (a duopoly) which has given the country: a deranged President George W. Bush Jr. and a corrupt administration; a war without end in Iraq, which was fueled by conniving Neocons, like the recently indicted Irving “Scooter” Libby; a shaky economy driven by dubious “Free Trade” policies that are systematically destroying our nation’s manufacturing base; a GOP-controlled Congress, led by first class hypocrites, such as Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN); a Me-Too-Democratic Party, dominated by rabid war hawks, like Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) and “Smirking Joe” Lieberman (D-CT) (1), play acting as the opposition; a criminally indifferent attitude towards the status of our fragile environment and ecosystems; and with the creation of the Homeland Security Agency and the passage of the draconian USA Patriot Act - the makings of a police state. (2)

Something has got to change on the electoral political front. It must happen sooner rather than later. The Green Party, I believe, is the answer. It advocates “empowering citizens and communities.” (3) The Green Party has the progressive values that, if enacted into policy, will give our governments now dominated by fat cat contributors at every level, back to the people. (4) But, it needs more committed members and supporters and credible candidates in order to take on the present incumbents and educate the public around the important issues that are effecting their lives. It must also keep itself clear of the corrosive influence of the scheming Wire Pullers for the special interests. I believe the American people are ready for such an electoral change.

Take my state of Maryland for example. It now has a Republican Governor, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who is known as a clone of that God-awful Newt Gingrich. I suspect that if Ehrlich could get away with it, he would “privatize” the Chesapeake Bay and sell it, in a back room deal, to one of his cronies. In the Nov. 2006 general election, his opponent will probably be the Democratic Mayor of Baltimore, Martin O’Malley. He poses as a fearless crime fighter, while the murder stats in the city continue to go right through the ceiling and his cops are directed to waste their time raiding nickel-and-dime poker games. If you turn the local municipal cable station on, O’Malley’s voice barks back at you continuously, 24/7, just like a robot-like character out of George Orwell’s “1984.” Under these circumstances, a solid Green Party candidate for governor, can “pull a Jesse Ventura,” and win, just like “The Body” did in MN, in 1998.

I also think the Green Party can make significant progress in Maryland in the 2006 election, for other state and congressional offices. It has already posted a highly qualified candidate for the U.S. Senate - Kevin Zeese. (5) A former press secretary to Ralph Nader, he has labeled the Democratic Party in MD, “a machine party that is in bed with many of the same big-business interests as the Republicans.” (6) Zeese has been working hard to build a unity campaign with others around the state, such as activists from MD’s Populist and Libertarian Parties. He is also a staunch foe of the illegal Iraqi War and a close confidant of Cindy Sheehan. (5)

In the upcoming General Election, Zeese could see himself pitted against a Democratic Party standard bearer for the U.S. Senate seat, such as the African-American legend, Kweisi Mfume; and/or the deep pockets candidate, Rep. Ben Cardin, who was an ex-Speaker of the House of Delegates in MD. They are both formidable candidates. On the Republican side of the ledger, MD’s Lt. Governor, Michael S. Steele, is a sure bet to win his primary. Although, Zeese can’t compete with any of these guys in the financing of his campaign, he is more than capable of debating them about the Iraqi war, the faltering economy and the social justice concerns of the people. My suggestion is that Zeese start engaging the three: Mfume, Cardin and Steele, now, about the main issues in the campaign, and not wait until the primaries are over. The Green Party is the fastest growing party in Maryland. (3)

Meanwhile, Bush’s popularity, in Maryland, has fallen to new lows in the polls not witnessed by any national leader since the grim days of Richard Nixon’s Watergate-related scandal. According to the Baltimore Sun, Bush’s approval rating has dipped in Maryland from a high of “83 percent in January 2002, to 33 percent this month.” Nationwide, it’s about 39 percent. Some of the important matters that have triggered Bush’s decline, according to the Baltimore Sun article, have been the failure of the Iraqi War; the “Scooter” Libby scandal; and the grossly inept way his administration responded to “Hurricane Katrina.” (7)

Even Republicans in Maryland are turning against Bush for lying about the reasons for the Iraqi War. One of the political Independents, too, who participated in the Baltimore Sun’s detailed survey said, “I think we should bring our guys back from Iraq and send Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld over there instead. We have no business being over there. Where are the weapons of mass destruction? It’s like the Vietnam War, ugly all around.” (7)

The Democrats, naturally, are hoping to build on Bush’s serial troubles and cut down on the GOP’s 29-seat advantage in the House of Representatives in the coming 2006 mid-term elections, according to Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD-5th). Unfortunately, he epitomizes exactly what is wrong with the Democratic Party across the country and the desperate need for the Green Party to oppose it and also the Republicans. Hoyer is a war hawk, a supporter of the Bankruptcy Bill, (which made it harder for working class individuals to declare bankruptcy), and a lackey for the powerful credit card cartel. Hoyer has received “more than $300,000 from credit card companies” in campaign contributions. (8) Shouldn’t there be a law against Congressmen, like the pseudo-liberal Hoyer, sucking up to the greedy credit card cartel at the expense of the public? (9)

Here’s a glimpse into a new possibility for you: If I were to run for governor in MD, on a Green Party ticket, and if I were to be fortunate enough to win, my first official act would be to use all the resources of my office to stop the building of that ultra-expensive “road to ruin,” the “Inter-County Connector,” an 18-mile highway between Gaithersburg, MD, to U.S. 1, near Laurel MD. (10)

Finally, I believe the time has come for the Green Party to step and up and be bold! (11) It is absolutely essential that each candidate that it puts up for office makes it known to the voters that if they are elected, it will not be business as usual. Public office is a public trust. Let a new political day dawn for America, and for Maryland, too. I’m hoping the Green Party will lead the way before this corrupted Two-Party system, (duopoly), and its cunning manipulators, drive our America into the abyss.

Notes:

1. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman has been a shameless shill for Israel’s Ariel Sharon. He was was also one of the leading attack dogs, who drove Howard Dean, an anti-Iraqi War candidate, out of the Democratic Primary, in 2003, for daring to suggest the U.S. should adopt an “evenhanded approach” to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. See, www.commondreams.org/views03/0914-04.htm
2. www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7624.shtml
3. www.mdgreens.org/
4. www.gp.org/
5. kevinzeese.com/index.php
6. Baltimore City Paper, “Mobtown Beat,” June 15, 2005.
7. “Bush’s Popularity in State Reaches New Low,” by Tom Pelton, 11/07/05, Baltimore Sun.
8. Baltimore Sun, “Hoyer Whip Aims to Put Party Back in Business,” by Gwyneth K. Shaw, Nov. 6, 2005.
9. For background information on the shenanigans of the credit card cartel, please check: world.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/14409/
10. www.taxpayer.net/TCS/RoadRuin/md.htm
11. To view a video of some Green Party candidates, in MD, sharing their past experiences on the campaign trail, go here: homepage.mac.com/bhughes2/iMovieTheater142.html

© William Hughes 2005.

William Hughes is the author of “Saying ‘’No’ to the War Party” (IUniverse, Inc.). He can be reached at liamhughes-AT-comcast.net.