Election Day Is Here—Jill Stein For President—The Work Of Freedom Is Up To Each Of Us

Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States.

(Above–The Bald Eagle is a symbol of our nation.)

I have already voted for Green Party nominee Jill Stein for President of the United States.

I believe that Ms. Stein is the only candidate for President speaking honestly about climate change, our economy that is rigged for the few at the expense of the many, and about the ongoing attacks in our nation against the right to dissent.

Here is the website for Ms. Stein.

If I lived in a contested state I would have voted for President Obama because I believe there are meaningful differences between the two parties.

Here is a list of Green Party candidates in Texas for 2012.

If there is no Democrat on the ballot where there is a Green–or if the Democrat is unlikely to win—please consider the Green and help build a strong voice for the left that will move the Democratic Party just as Libertarians have moved the Republican Party.

It is also possible the day will come that Greens win elections.

An important local election here in Harris County, Texas is for Texas House District 134. I live in this district.

Centrist Ann Johnson offers a hopeful voice against first-term Tea Party extremist Sarah Davis.

Here is the website for Ms. Johnson. 

Texas political blogger Perry Dorrell has compiled two excellent lists on who a liberal or progressive might consider in Harris County and in Texas for 2012.

Here is Perry’s post for federal and statewide offices.  

Here is Perry’s post for Harris County and state legislative races. 

No matter if Mr. Obama or Mr. Romney wins the Presidency tomorrow, big money will still call the shots.

The work of freedom is up to each of us.

Every Texan and every American has the ability to attend a public meeting, attend or organize a protest, write or call an elected official, talk to friends and family, start a blog, donate money, write a letter to the editor, volunteer for candidates and causes, engage in acts of civil disobedience, and to run for public office.

We can also seek to impact society by consistently acting in a way that reflects our best values. Or by working on an artistic or creative effort that expands the range of thought and imagination we have in our society.

It is after the votes are counted that the real work will begin.

Green Presidential Nominee Jill Stein Makes Houston Campaign Stop

I saw Green Presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein speak last night in Houston.

Above you see a picture from that appearance.

Dr. Stein spoke about a hopeful agenda that involved the provision of health care, addressing climate change and protecting civil liberties.

She said that our leaders had “no exit strategies for the crises we face.”

Dr. Stein spoke well and is competent. She is a credible candidate for President of the United States.

Dr. Stein said the Green ticket was on the ballot in 85% of the nation, had qualified for matching funds, and was polling at about 2% in polls that asked about 3rd party candidates.

Here is the website for Dr. Stein if you would like to learn more. 

Dr. Stein will be in San Antonio today –10/6 –and will be back in Houston tomorrow. Here is a link to her Texas schedule. 

Here is the Green Party of Texas. This link has a list of Greens on the ballot in Texas in 2012.

My view is that I’m voting for Dr. Stein in Republican Texas because she is best on our rigged economy, climate change, and issues of civil liberties and protecting the right to dissent.

If I were in a contested state I would vote for Mr. Obama as there are real and important differences between Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney.

The fact that differences do exists between the major party candidates does not mean though that Dr. Stein is wrong when she says that the rich call the shots in America and that it is up to each of us to look for new solutions to change this fact.

A strong Green Party can help push this country in a hopeful direction as it puts pressure on Democrats and as Greens gain support across America.

Green Presidential Nominee Jill Stein To Be In Houston & San Antonio From October 4 Through October 7

(Blogger’s Note–10/2/12—This post has been updated with the latest on Ms. Stein’s schedule.)

Green Presidential nominee Jill Stein will be in Houston and San Antonio from Thursday, October 4 through Sunday, October 7.

(Above–Jill Stein addressing the people. Photo by Paul Stein)

I am voting for Ms. Stein here in Texas. I believe she is the best candidate in 2012 for addressing our rigged economy, climate change and for protecting the right to dissent.

If I were in a contested state I would likely vote for President Obama as there are important and substantial differences between Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney.

Each person must choose their own course. I do know that we do not have to pick from the same options year after year after year.

There is value of hearing what Ms. Stein has to say even if you do not intend to vote Green. A strong voice on the left can only help our nation move ahead in a hopeful way in the fights ahead.

Here is Ms. Stein’s campaign web page.

Here is the website of the Green Party of Texas. 

Here is the website of the Green Party of Harris County, Texas.

Below is the press release from the Harris County Green Party about Jill Stein’s visit. I know that I’ll attend at least one of the events in Houston. I ask that you consider attending one of the appearances and that you please help get the word out about this visit.

Please keep in mind that this schedule is subject to change. There will be further updates at this blog.

September 30, 2012 — Green Party US presidential candidate Jill Stein comes to Houston and San Antonio this week, Thursday, October 4 through Sunday, October 7, as her presidential campaign takes her across the nation.

Stein will be in Houston the day after her participation in Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman’s Live Debate Talkback, running concurrently with the Obama-Romney debate in Denver, CO, on the evening of Wednesday, October 3. Stein and Justice Party presidential candidate Rocky Anderson will respond to questions in real time asked of the Democratic and Republican nominees. In effect this debate “technologically” includes the two candidates who were excluded from participating by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Here is the schedule of Stein’s appearances, speaking engagements, press conferences and media availability. Additional events, substitutions, and revisions to this schedule may be reflected in following press releases.

Thursday Oct. 4, 2012 (Houston)

11:00 am   Arrival, Houston Hobby airport

11:30 am   University of Houston (4800 Calhoun Road, 77004), University Center Satellite food court: meet-and-greet with students, faculty, and staff. Media availability.

1:30 pm    University of Houston: classroom discussions

3:00 pm    On air appearance, KPFT 90.1 FM: The New Capital Show with Leo Gold

7:00 pm    Public speaking engagement: Lone Star College — Kingwood (20000 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood 77339), Student Conference Center. Media availability.

Friday, October 5 (Houston) 
                
9:00 am    “Toxic Tour” (also here), led by Juan Parras of t.e.j.a.s. Media welcome (but no availability to the candidate, as tour time is limited). Departure location and tour stops to be determined.

11:00 am   Tranquility Park (400 Rusk Street), Houston: press conference with Parras and Benjamin Franklin, who was choked, pepper-sprayed, and tasered as part of the confrontation with police officers at the Tar Sands Blockade (a citizen action organized to halt the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, ongoing in Wood County, Texas). Media availability.

1:00 pm    Texas Southern University (3100 Cleburne Street, 77004), classroom discussion (to be confirmed).
     
3:00 pm    On air appearance, KPFT 90.1 FM: Partisan Gridlock with Geoff Berg (to be confirmed). 
     
7:00 pm    Public speaking engagement, Saint Stephens Episcopal Church (1805 West Alabama Street, 77098), Precor Hall. Media availability.

Saturday, October 6 (San Antonio) 

2:00 pm  Public speaking engagement, University of Texas -San Antonio, (specific location TBA), Students United for Socioeconomic Justice. Media availability.

7:00 pm   Fundraising event, Bexar County Green Party (276 Natalen, 78209).

Sunday, October 7 (Houston)

12:00 pm The Last Organic Outpost‘s Emile Street Community Farm (711 N. Emile St., near Gunter St.). Stein will tour the sustainable urban agricultural facility (background here). Limited media availability.

2:00 pm   Fundraising event: home of Lee and Hardy Loe (1844 Kipling, 77098).

9:00 pm   On air appearance, KPFT 90.1 FM:  Self Determination with Obidike Kamau. Stein will be on for the full hour.

Media may contact the Stein campaign at media@JillStein.org to schedule an interview. There may be more additions/subtractions to Stein’s schedule as the campaign stops draw closer.

A First Look At The 2012 Green Party Presidential Ticket Of Stein & Honkala—What You Do In Texas Might Not Be What You Would Do In Ohio

Here is a first look at the Green Party ticket for the 2012 Presidential campaign.

On the left is Presidential nominee Dr. Jill Stein of Massachusetts. On the right is Vice Presidential nominee Cheri Honkala of Pennsylvania.

Here is a recent article on Dr. Stein from The New York Times.

From the Times article—

“The Green Party of the United States expects to be on the ballot in at least 45 states and to spend about $1 million on its campaign. At the moment, it has secured ballot access, an organizational test in itself, in 21 states, including the battlegrounds of Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Ohio… Ms. Stein, a physician on leave from her practice… a native of the Chicago area who lives northwest of Boston with her husband, a surgeon (they have two adult sons)..Ms. Stein says she emphasizes issues like ecological sustainability, racial and gender equality, and economic justice. The centerpiece of her platform is a Green New Deal, a twist on the Roosevelt-era programs intended to stimulate job growth and the depressed economy. It could be paid for by ending the presence of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the campaign says, and by eliminating waste in the health care system. Beyond that, Ms. Stein favors a progressive income tax that would raise rates on the wealthy.”

My own view about the Green Party in 2012 is that this election is sufficiently important to support the corporate-owned Mr. Obama in states where the outcome might be doubt, but that if you live in state where you have been disenfranchised by the Electoral College you should consider your options.

Ms. Stein is on the ballot in Texas and has my vote. If I were still in my longtime home state of Ohio I would vote for President Obama.

There are very meaningful differences between Mr. Obama and Mitt Romney

At the same time, President Obama has done substantial damage to the progressive and liberal cause by never at any point in his term truly offering any real measure of hope and change to a power structure in our nation that increasingly offers opportunity only to an elite few.

The President has not spoken frankly about the stark realities of our changing economy, or about the evermore apparent fact of climate change.

There is rarely a clear answer to the conflict between short-term realities and long-term hopes that is part of any political activity.

This is why I offer the split decision of hoping for Mr. Obama’s reelection and supporting Dr. Stein here in Texas.

I’ll have more to say about all this in the weeks and months ahead. For now, I ask that folks please give a first look to the 2012 Green ticket.

Here is the website of the Stein campaign.

Here is the Facebook page of the Stein/Honkala campaign.

Texas Democratic Primary Is May 29—Kirkland And Fertitta Lack Credible Opponents In Two Harris County Races

The Texas Democratic primary will be held this month.

Primary Day is Tuesday, May 29. Early voting runs May 14-May 25.

The time by which you must register to vote to take part in the primary is already past.

Who may vote in this primary?

Any registered Texas voter may vote in the Democratic primary with the exception of those who have signed a ballot access petition for a Green or a Republican in 2012.

Here are some additional facts about the primary from The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area.

There are contested Democratic primaries in Harris County, and for all Texas on the upcoming ballot.

I have written about one of these contested primaries so far on the blog.

Highly-rated incumbent Harris County judge Steven Kirkland has a primary opponent for no other reason than that Judge Kirkland is gay.

Another easy race to call is the primary for the Democratic nomination for Harris County District Attorney.

Lyold Oliver has run for office a number of times before in Harris County as a Republican. He has also voted in Republican primaries.

Zack Fertitta is the only credible candidate on the Democratic ballot for DA.

Fellow Houston and Texas blogger Charles Kuffner has the best rundown of the Democratic candidates here in Harris County, and about other contested Texas primary fights as well. 

You might feel that the two-party system is broken and in the hands of the rich.

You might be torn over the fact that while there are clear differences in many respects between the two major parties, that it is also so both parties ignore the poor, and are both leading us to a police state in which the super-wealthy call all the shots.

Fellow Houston and Texas blogger Perry Dorrell has written about the Green Party slate in Harris County and in Texas at his great blog Brains & Eggs.

I will be voting in the Democratic primary.

I guess that is what I should do. It’s what I have done before.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be endorsing candidates in other contested Democratic races.

Maybe I’ll even find a real liberal someplace along the way.

To The Benefit Of Greens, Democrats Unable To Find Candidates For Full Texas 2012 Ballot—Greens Could Assert A Unanimity Against State-Sponsored Rape That Has So Far Eluded Texas Democrats

The Texas Democratic Party has failed to offer candidates for five statewide offices on the Texas 2012 General Election ballot.

(Above–A voting machine)

In two of these five races without a Democrat there is a Green Party candidate on the ballot.

This means that Greens are likely to maintain automatic ballot access for Texas in 2014 just as they have for 2012.

Automatic ballot access is gained when any candidate of a party wins 5% of the vote on Election Day. Greens reached this target in 2010 when Democrats failed to fill out a full slate in that year as well.

I look forward to voting for these Greens on Election Day 2012 so that the Green Party will have ballot access in 2014.

The Libertarian Party has candidates for every statewide spot in 2012.

I’ve heard people complain about Greens taking votes from Democrats in Texas.

Yet the responsibility for finding candidates is with the Democrats.

Texas Democrats had plenty of time to work this out. They were unable to do so.

My hope is that Greens will reach the point where they can win 5% and far more in races where a Democrat is on the ballot.

They still have some work to do to reach that goal. Greens have to show that they are worth voting for when there is a Democrat on the ballot.

One way that might be done is to point out differences between Greens and Democrats.

For example, three Texas Senate Democrats— Eddie Lucio Jr., Carlos Uresti and Judith Zaffirini-–provided critical votes to help pass the forced sonogram bill and the state-mandated rape of unwanted vaginal probes that are inherent to that onerous law.

Maybe Green candidates in Texas could establish a unanimity against state-sponsored rape that so far has eluded Texas Democrats.

Here is the Green Party of Texas.

Top Texas blogger Perry Dorrell has written on the ballot access concern at Brains & Eggs.  

Ballot Access News has a report on Texas filings. 

Paranoia In American Politics Has Long Been With Us—Those Of Us On The Left Must Do The Work Of Freedom Ourselves

Hamburger Wearing An Astros’ Hat—A member of the Texas Liberal Panel of Experts—is reading The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays by Richard Hofstadter.

This 1965 book makes it clear that extreme paranoid thinking has long been a feature of American public life. Some may think that today’s conservative movement and Republican Party is some type of new-fangled craziness. Yet as it says in the Bible—There is nothing new under the sun.

Here is a link to the Paranoid essay which was first delivered as a lecture in 1963, and then appeared in Harper’s Magazine in 1964.

From this essay—

“American politics has often been an arena for angry minds. In recent years we have seen angry minds at work mainly among extreme right-wingers, who have now demonstrated in the Goldwater movement how much political leverage can be got out of the animosities and passions of a small minority. …. Anti-Catholicism has always been the pornography of the Puritan. Whereas the anti-Masons had envisaged drinking bouts and had entertained themselves with sado-masochistic fantasies about the actual enforcement of grisly Masonic oaths, the anti-Catholics invented an immense lore about libertine priests, the confessional as an opportunity for seduction, licentious convents and monasteries….we now take the long jump to the contemporary right wing, we find some rather important differences from the nineteenth-century movements. The spokesmen of those earlier movements felt that they stood for causes and personal types that were still in possession of their country—that they were fending off threats to a still established way of life. But the modern right wing, as Daniel Bell  has put it, feels dispossessed: America has been largely taken away from them and their kind, though they are determined to try to repossess it and to prevent the final destructive act of subversion. The old American virtues have already been eaten away by cosmopolitans and intellectuals; the old competitive capitalism has been gradually undermined by socialistic and communistic schemers; the old national security and independence have been destroyed by treasonous plots, having as their most powerful agents not merely outsiders and foreigners as of old but major statesmen who are at the very centers of American power. Their predecessors had discovered conspiracies; the modern radical right finds conspiracy to be betrayal from on high.”

It is important to see that this type thinking is not just part of today’s right wing. And that it is not just conservatives who embrace paranoid thinking in how they see the conduct of public affairs. Plenty of folks on all sides of the aisle are full of crazy notions.

(A good book that reviews Hofstadter’s thought is Richard Hofstadter—An Intellectual Biography by David S. Brown.)

Yet among in today’s politics, it is the conservative movement and Republican Party that is to the greatest extent predicated on extremism, fear and anger.

The bottom line for those of us on the left is that while circumstance and the actions of others makes a difference, what we are able to control is our own actions and our own effort. The work of freedom and democracy is up to each of us.

Just as anti-tax and business lobbyists, so-called pro life advocates, and the gun lobby found common cause to build the modern Republican Party despite differences—Liberal and progressive Democrats, Greens, Occupy Wall Street backers and most on the left are on the same side. There does not have to be full agreement or 100% cooperation, but we can all move in the same general direction.

Flexibility Is Life And Progress—Different Sets Of Tracks Can Lead In The Same Direction

Last week I watched President Obama’s State of the Union speech.

On my Facebook that evening, I saw a number of reactions to the speech from both moderate and liberal Democrats, from Green Party supporters, from Occupy Wall Street backers and from socialists.

The Democrats all liked the speech, while some of my friends further along on the left had reactions ranging from partial approval to scorn.

This is all fine with me. While I am not President Obama’s most ardent supporter, I am on the side of all good people who want to  help move our great nation to the left.

There is no point in a rigidity that excludes people on our side of the aisle.

Here is the entirety of  chapter 76 of the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao Te Ching—

Men are born soft and supple;

dead, they are stiff and hard.

Plants are born tender and pliant;

dead, they are brittle and dry.

This whoever is stiff and inflexible

is a disciple of death.

Whoever is soft and yielding

is a disciple of life.

The hard and stiff will be broken.

The soft and supple will prevail.

Yet–of course–we must move in a hopeful direction and this does require at the least a measure of coordination.

The good news is that different sets of tracks can lead in the same direction. We see this in picture below of railroad tracks that I took in Houston last year.

There are multiple tracks, but they merge.

See who your friends and allies are and see the good in them. Focus on where you agree and move forward.

We can be both flexible and focused on a common goal.

Should You Vote Green In Texas Comptroller Race?—Greens Not Running A Solid Operation

In the race for Texas State Comptroller, there is no Democrat on the ballot.

There is a Republican, a Green, and a Libertarian.

If the Green, Ed Lindsay, gets 5% of the vote, as he may well, than Greens get automatic ballot access in Texas in 2012.

On the one hand, this would allow a competing and possibly more liberal voice on the Texas ballot. On the other hand, Greens on the ballot would likely take away from Democrats.

You’ve just got to decide which of there things are of greater value in your estimation.

The Green got on the ballot with a great deal of help from Republican money. Republicans want to see Greens taking votes away from Democrats in 2012.

While I did not like the Republican involvement, I felt both major parties take a lot of corporate money and they they rig the ballot access process to harm third parties.

The issue under consideration in this race has been what do you think abut Greens on the ballot. The actual candidate,  Mr. Lindsay, has been something of an afterthought.

As it turns out, he is not a great candidate.

The Texas political blog Burnt Orange report has been of the view that you should not vote Green in Texas in 2010.  BOR says the Greens in 2010 are a Republican creation with no point but to harm Democrats.

Mr. Lindsay took exception to this view and wrote BOR a letter.

You can go and read the letter for yourself. It is not coherent.

I don’t wish to be disrespectful to Mr. Lindsay, but he does not appear to be fit for this office. There is a bottom line standard of competence that all candidates most meet.  They need to be able to get on the ballot, and at least be able to give the appearance of being credible for the office they seek.

It would also be nice if the Green Party of Texas could have updated its web site since July 23 of this year.

I voted nine days ago. It does no good to consider if I would have voted Green if I had seen this letter from Mr. Lindsay before I voted.

For those of you who have not voted, you have to ask yourself if Texas Greens are running an operation that merits a statewide ballot placement.

At the moment, it seems that they are not running such an operation.

I Support Green Candidate Edward Lindsay For Texas State Comptroller—Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up

Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas.

With the round-up is a picture I took last week of Edward Lindsay. Mr. Lindsay is the Green Party candidate for Texas State Comptroller.

There is no Democrat running for Comptroller. If Mr. Lindsay gets 5% of the statewide vote, then the Green Party gets automatic ballot access statewide in Texas for 2012.

I’m going to vote for Mr. Lindsay and I hope he reaches 5%. I think Texans would benefit from a Green option in 2012.

Many Democrats care a lot about the people they represent. Other Democrats are beholden to corporate interests and/or are complacent in safe districts that often have serious problems of poverty.

This is my own view. I’m not speaking for the TPA or for TPA member blogs.

Here’s the round-up—

This week on Left of College Station Teddy analyzes the positions Chet Edwards and Bill Flores take on American foreign policy, and looks at the polls as the primaries end and the general election begins. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that Texas remains 6th in the nation as poverty levels soar. What are Republicans doing about it? Defunding education and health care, two of the most important pillars of success for Texans.

It’s been a terrible week for Todd Staples. McBlogger notes that it’s rare for the failure of a public official to be so glaringly obvious. It’s exceedingly rare for the coverup of that failure to be bungled quite so badly. Then again, it’s not often that said public official is facing Hank Gilbert.

Off the Kuff commented on the proposal to create an elections administrator in Harris County.

Both Rick Perry and Todd Staples committed their own comedies of errors, preserved forever on video. See PDiddie’s Brains and Eggs and LYAO.

Dembones at Eye On Williamson highlights the less-than-truthful attack of Diana Maldonado’s opponents in Maldonado fires back over debate flap.

At TexasKaos, lightseeker takes on the overblown conventional wisdom of a Republican landslide in November. Give a read: Self-fulfilling Prophecy and Midterms.

Neil at Texas Liberal used a picture he took this week of an unattended lifeguard station in Galveston to show how the Tea Party/Republican Party would govern America.

I’m Glad The Green Party Will Be On The 2010 Texas Ballot

The Green Party of Texas will be allowed to remain on the 2010 Texas statewide ballot.

(Above–Sometimes Democrats want every voice to count. But other times they do not.)

This despite the fact that Republican operatives funded the petition drive to get the Greens on the ballot.

It is true that taking Republican money would appear to be in contradiction to Green beliefs.

On the other hand, it is difficult to come up with the money for a statewide petition drive in Texas to gain ballot access.

Statewide ballot access in Texas in 2010 required about 44,000 valid signatures. And as anybody who has ever gathered signatures can tell you, many signatures are for various reasons not going to be accepted.  You always have to turn in many more signatures than required to be certain you’ll make the ballot.

If any Green candidate in Texas gets 5% on November ballot, Greens will get automatic ballot access for 2012 in Texas.

Because there is a Green candidate in a statewide race this year in Texas where no Democrat is running, this 5% goal may well be reached.

Republicans and Democrats collude across the country to deny ballot access to third parties. Only when it serves the interests of one of the mainstream parties is an exception made to this unspoken pact.

Republicans and Democrats across the country are drowning in corporate money.

In a recent Pennsylvania case,  Democrats sought big money damages from Greens as part of a contested ballot access fight.

The State Democratic in Texas plans to go after money damages as well. (It is at the bottom of the story linked to here.)

What is the point of this but harassment?

Our ballot is not the property of the two mainstream parties. While I will vote for many Texas Democrats in 2010, I will also likely vote for at least one Green candidate as well to help Greens gain ballot access for 2012 and to help Greens build a party structure for the challenges ahead.

Here is what Democrats could do—They could win a statewide election for once. The Green party is not why no Democrat has won a statewide election in at least the 12 years I’ve lived in Texas. The 2006 Democratic nominee for Governor—a man named Chris Bell—could not even muster 30% of the vote.

Here is the blog Ballot Access News.

Here is the blog Green Party Watch.

Here is the Green Party of Texas.

Here is the Green Party of Harris County, Texas.

If Socialism Is The Way We Are Headed, Where Are The Socialist Marches And Candidates?

I keep hearing that the nation is moving towards socialism, yet I have not seen one socialist rally or heard of a socialist radio program.

While I imagine that there are socialist candidates for office in the United States, I am not aware of any.

We do, I’m glad to say, have one avowed Socialist in the United States Senate—Bernie Sanders of Vermont refers to himself as a Socialist. I wish we had more Socialist elected officials.

There was a time when Americans were open to Socialism. In 1912, Socialist Eugene Debs won 6% of the overall vote for President. There were Socialist parties in states across the union.

The 1912 Socialist platform had planks such a minimum wage and an income tax.

The Nation Magazine ran an article last year about ideas of Socialism in the United States today.

There is nothing that says Socialism can’t again become a force in the United States.

Just as I feel we should be open to the Green Party as on option when Democrats fail the American people, Socialism and the ideas of Socialism can be part of the agenda on the left.

Green Party Ballot Access Drive For Texas In 2010—Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up

At the end of this post is the weekly round-up of the Texas Progressive Alliance. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. (Each week I run the TPA round-up and include  facts about Texas politics or Texas history. Running the round-up this week with information about the Green Party in no way implies that my TPA fellow bloggers support or do not support Green Party ballot access or any Green Party candidates in Texas for 2010.)

With the round-up this week is information about efforts by the Green Party of Texas to get ballot access in Texas for the 2010 election. If successful, these efforts may lead to automatic ballot access for Texas Greens in 2012.

Greens are running a candidate for State Comptroller named Ed Lindsay. There is no Democrat in this race. If Mr. Lindsay can get on the ballot and then win 5% on Election Day, the Green Party would qualify for automatic Texas statewide ballot access in 2012. With no Democrat on the ballot, the 5% goal is very possible.

There are Greens running for other positions for the Texas Statewide ballot and in other races in Texas. A petition effort is underway to help get these folks on the ballot. This petition effort is detailed at the link to the Green Party of Texas.

The statewide races in Texas are important in 2010. Bill White for Governor and Linda Chavez-Thompson for Lieutenant Governor are the Democratic nominees who I strongly support. Given the difference between these two candidates and their Republican opponents, it is essential that they be elected for the economic and educational well-being of all Texans. Another big issue is how Texas will implement federal health care reforms. Will Texans get access to health insurance and have a chance to get well when they get sick, or will our state government fight health care reform all the way and allow people to die from lack of care in order to satisfy the Republican political base?

These things said, Texans deserve options at the ballot box. In addition to giving Texans a true choice in the race for State Comptroller, Greens are offering a candidate , Paul Cardwell, for the District 9 State Board of Education race where there is also no Democrat on the ballot.

Libertarians are on the ballot all over Texas. Libertarian ballot access gives Republicans an option when they do not like their own nominees, and it gives voice to constituencies in Texas that may not always find something to support with the two major parties. While Libertarians are a dismal selfish lot, they have the right to ballot access and to try to convince voters to accept their barbaric law-of-the-jungle views.

Greens should have the chance to advocate for economic, social, and environmental justice and fair play. Here are the ten core values of the Green Party.

The Green petition can be signed by any person who did not vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries last month. I voted in the Democratic primary and am not eligible to sign the Green petition. You must also be a registered voter to sign the petition. Here is a list of county Green Party contacts in Texas if you want to volunteer to circulate the petition.

The Greens are making the petition available online for you to print up and circulate. You can print it and have family members and friends sign. Here is an explanation of this process. Even the smallest number of signatures makes a difference.

Please consider the helping the Green Party get on the ballot in Texas in 2010. Green party ballot access will strengthen democracy in Texas by giving voters more options.

Here is the weekly TPA round-up—

At Texas Vox, our thoughts remain with the victims of the West Virginia mining disaster, the worst mining accident in 25 years.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme wants to know why Republicans like Victoria’s DA Steve Tyler, Nueces County’s DA Anna Jimenez and (who could forget) Alberto Gonzales abuse their offices?

The Texas Cloverleaf thinks Rick Perry is eyeing 2012 before 2010 is even over with.

Green Party Ballot Access In Texas For 2010—Texas Progressive Alliance Round-Up

Here is the weekly posting of the Texas Progressive Alliance round-up. The TPA is a confederation of the best political bloggers in Texas. The round-up can be found at the end of this post.

The Texas Democratic Primary was held on March 2. Texas Democrats now have the statewide ticket for November elections.

Here is a full list of these statewide candidates from the Texas Democratic Party.

There are also of Green Party nominees in Texas for 2010.

Green Party precinct nominating conventions will be held on Tuesday, March 9. Here is a list of where in these conventions will be held. There will then be county conventions on March 13.

Beginning on March 10, Greens will be able to circulate ballot access petitions in an effort to place candidates on the ballot both at the local and statewide level.

Here is how the Greens explain the process of getting on the ballot in 2010–

“In order to obtain a ballot line in the November election, the number of participants at precinct conventions can be supplemented by petition signers requesting Green Party ballot status. Petitions will be circulated for a 75 day period starting on March 10, the day after the precinct conventions. The number signing or attending precinct conventions must total at least one percent of the total number of votes received by all candidates for governor in the most recent gubernatorial general election, around 44,000 voters.”

I think the way it works is that you cannot sign the Green petition if you voted in a party primary on March 2. I signed a ballot access petition for Green candidates in 2009 City of Houston elections. I was able to do so because there is no party primary for odd-year elections.

The Green party has not caught in Texas and the United States the way one might have hoped a few years ago. Still, a counterweight to Democrats that often takes core voters for granted would be welcome. If you did not vote in a primary last week, you should consider signing the Green petition if offered.  Green candidates on the November  2010 ballot may well merit your consideration.

Here is the web home of the Green party of the United States. Click the link and see what these folks are saying.

Here is the weekly TPA round-up—

From the Barnett Shale, TXsharon announces a new “Watchdog” for drillers and her SOS to EPA about benzene and other dangerous toxins in the Denton Creek watershed was heard. The EPA has responded! Read all about it at Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS

After the latest prevarication on her date of departure from the Senate, PDiddie at Brains and Eggs opines: “Kay Bailey, won’t you please GO HOME?!”

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme shows the Texas Supreme Court flipping the finger to Texans, yet again.