South Carolina Green Party thanks Eugene Platt

The Steering Committee of the South Carolina Green Party thanks Eugene Platt for his good work and strong effort in running as the Green nominee in the 1st Congressional District special election.

The media and a large part of the public have been distracted by the celebrity and notoriety of the two major party candidates.  Eugene Platt stood as a public servant, a native Charlestonian, and a responsible, thoughtful progressive.

Eugene discussed national health care, a non-interventionist foreign policy, the sanctity of labor rights, and the importance of spending on social services rather than expensive and wasteful military programs.  If it was not for Eugene’s contributions, this campaign would have been entirely content-free and personality driven.

The public is better served by a diversity of voices and viewpoints representing all parts of the political spectrum.   The Charleston Patch did a disservice to the people of South Carolina, when they reduce political debate to an empty, content-free show.   The Working Families Party misled thousands of pro-union voters into supporting an anti-union candidate. This blind commitment to horserace politics does not serve the public interest.

We commend the League of Women Voters and the NAACP for holding nonpartisan, inclusive events that encouraged discussion and promoted democracy.

Eugene Platt was able to give progressives a reason to vote, to organize and to join the Green Party.  After Colbert-Busch’s outrageous statement that she was “proud” of South Carolina’s deplorable anti-union reputation, we were proud to offer a humane alternative in Eugene that workers and progressives could endorse.  The campaign has been a success in these terms.

Campaign Links

Eugene Platt for Congress: http://www.voteplatt.com

Eugene Platt for Congress on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eugene-Platt-for-Congress/14190535917

Green Party

Green Party of the United States: http://gp.org

South Carolina Green Party: http://scgreenparty.org

South Carolina Green Party on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthCarolinaGreenParty

South Carolina Green Party: Include Platt in Debate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
To: South Carolina Media
South Carolina Green Party:  Include Platt in Debate
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Charleston, SC; Columbia, SC

CONTACT
Eugene Platt, Nominee for 1st Congressional District
Scott West, Co-Chair, SC Green Party, 347-581-0230

South Carolina Green Party:  Include Platt in Debate
Eugene Platt should be included in the Monday April 29, 2013 debate for the May 7 special congressional election.

Eugene Platt is a public servant of long standing, having been reelected to the James Island Public Service District every four years since 1994.

Eugene Platt ran as the Democratic Party nominee in the 1st Congressional District during the 1992 election.

The public is better served by a diversity of voices and viewpoints representing all parts of the political spectrum.

Many polls do not include candidates who are not members of the two major parties. Public Policy Polling mentioned Eugene Platt in the April 24 poll, after previous polling data suggested a tie in the race between Sanford and Colbert-Busch.  Now that apolitical drama has created an advantage for Colbert-Busch, The Citadel has acted to exclude Eugene Platt from the scheduled Monday debate.

This commitment to horse race politics does not serve the public interest. The local media and local institutions like the Patch and the AARP do a terrible disservice to the people of South Carolina, when they reduce political debate to an empty, content-free show.

Without Eugene Platt, the most that will come from the Citadel debate is a series of “gotcha” moments.

With Platt, the debate will be compelled to widen the scope of debate and seriously discuss such issues as

* Health Care:  Eugene Platt is a long-time supporter of universal health care.  If the goal is to sustainably provide health care for all Americans, only a single-payer national insurance plan will work.  Both the unfettered-market approach favored by the Republican and the mandated insurance favored by the Democrat will leave millions uninsured and fail to control costs.

* War:  Eugene Platt is in favor of a non-interventionist foreign policy.  The United States made a serious mistake in invading Iraq in 2003 in a manipulated search for non-existent Weapons of Mass Destruction. Opposition to the 2003 Iraq war is a litmus test for future action against military adventures.

* Illegal Immigration and the Economy:  South Carolina, America, and nearby countries need local economic control and development.  This meant increased power to labor unions in the workplace to control conditions, profits and benefits, and the decentralization of development.  Strengthening local labor markets abroad through decentralized development will lessen the dislocation of economic migrants across borders.

* Political Openness: Eugene Platt is the embodiment of effective local politicians who do not fit inside the mainstream. If we cannot incorporate common-sense progressive proposals into the political debate, our society is the poorer for it, mistakes will be made, and opportunities missed.

About the Green Party
The Green Party of the United States has participated in local and congressional elections since the 1980s, notably in the Presidential election to 2000, when nominee Ralph Nader received 2.3% of the national vote.  For more information visit: http://gp.org.

The South Carolina Green Party nominee Tom Clements of Columbia received 121,472 votes or 9.25% of the total in the 2010 U.S. Senate election running against a Democrat and a Republican.  For more information, visit http://scgreenparty.org.

Campaign Links
Eugene Platt for Congress:  http://www.voteplatt.com
Eugene Platt for Congress on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eugene-Platt-for-Congress/14190535917

Green Party Links
Green Party of the United States:  http://gp.org
South Carolina Green Party:  http://scgreenparty.org
South Carolina Green Party on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SouthCarolinaGreenParty

2012 Candidates

The South Carolina Green Party has six candidates on the 2012 ballot, including Presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Learn about them all here:
https://scgreenparty.wordpress.com/2012-sc-green-party-candidates/

Open The Presidential Debates

As President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney square off in the first presidential debate in Denver on October 3, Democracy Now! will broadcast live from Denver with a special expanded presidential debate from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. ET.  Jill Stein and Rocky Anderson will join host Amy Goodman for equal time responses from these two presidential contenders who were shut out of the official debate.

Occupy the Debates! Join Occupy Denver, Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala as we march on the Commission on Presidential Debates.

Recently, a third of what were originally ten sponsors pulling out of the CPD presidential debates which have invited only Obama and Romney. If the CPD removed the non-objective polling criterion for debate inclusion, leaving in place the criterion of being on enough state ballots to have a mathematical possibility of winning the election, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein would be the only additional candidates to be included.

People can contact the remaining sponsors and get involved online via the resources below.  Many thanks to Paulie Cannoli of Independent Political Report for the links.

We Demand Real Debates: Occupy the CPD
http://occupythecpd.org/

Philips pulls presidential debate sponsorship
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/09/philips-pulls-presidential-debate-sponsorship-137053.html

Third Sponsor Pulls Out of Commission on Presidential Debates
http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/2012/09/third-sponsor-pulls-out-of-commission-on-presidential-debates/

Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson Files Anti Trust Claim Against the CPD
http://www.policymic.com/articles/15188/ron-paul-supporters-will-appreciate-gary-johnson-files-anti-trust-claim-against-the-cpd-in-the-name-of-liberty

Why the CPD Decision to Keep Gary Johnson Out of the Debates is Illegal
http://www.policymic.com/articles/15380/gary-johnson-polls-why-the-cpd-decision-to-keep-him-out-of-the-debates-is-illegal

Contacts for corporate debate sponsors, CPD staff and online petitions follow:

The Green New Deal – Stein/Honkala for America

The Green New Deal is a four part program for moving America quickly out of crisis into a secure, sustainable future. Inspired by the New Deal programs that helped us out of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Green New Deal will provide similar relief and create an economy that makes our communities sustainable, healthy and just.