Peter Camejo, Socialist Activist and Third Party Warrior Memorialized

Peter Camejo Memorial - Ralph Nader's Speech from Polidoc on Vimeo.
Hundreds gathered in Berkeley to celebrate the life of political activist and unabashed Socialist Peter Camejo. Renown for his consistency of purpose in the battle to reform politics as usual, Camejo succumbed to a cancer, but not before he had finished his last book, an autobiography.

And while autobiographies have become a little more common place, Camejo was anything but common. He was a fiercely dedicated advocate for civil rights, a committed friend to many, and a relentlessly hopeful socialist. He fought tirelessly on behalf of third parties and made three gubernatorial runs in California. Ronald Reagan had called him the most dangerous man in politics. Laughable and true.

People attending the memorial where the event was held were alight with laughter as they listened to delightful stories of Camejo's past and his vision for the future. He will be missed and condolences go to his family. Others speaking at the memorial included Camejo's wife Morella, and brother Antonio Camejo; friend and former running mate, Ralph Nader; Cindy Sheehan; Matt Gonzalez; Gayle McLaughlin; Dr. Agha Saeed.

California Presidential Ballot Demonstrates Wide Field of Choices

Open the Debates: Clever Response from Nader Campaign on VP Debates

Here's an achingly funny romp through the CPD's Vice-Presidential Debate juxstaposed to responses from Ralph Nader's Independent running mate candidate, Matt Gonzalez.


While this rendering is a comical redux of the responses from candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, it does offer an opportunity for another voice to be considered during these debates. Matt Gonzalez, Vice Presidential running mate to Independent Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader, provides his own responses to questions posed at the VP debate.

Independent VP Candidate Gonzalez Responds to Dem-Rep Debate

Independent Vice Presidential Running Mate to Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez responds to Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. Joe Biden's debate. Gonzalez emphasizes that the two war vested candidates do not offer the American people a pro-peace choice and that both parties are complicit in the economic crisis due to their failure to properly regulate the systems with which they were entrusted.

Open the Debates - Guest Editorial

by Kevin Gosztola

At the Democratic National Convention, I marched down to the Pepsi Center with Rage Against the Machine, The Coup and Flobots in support of Iraq Veterans Against the War and their demands for Sen. Barack Obama to support immediate withdrawal from Iraq, reparations for Iraqis and benefits to veterans returning home. Our presence forced Obama to accept a letter from IVAW.

At the Republican National Convention, I witnessed what government at all levels will do to silence people who feel compelled to use their First Amendment rights. On Sept. 4, the city deployed more than 100 police with gas masks to trap about 250 people intent on marching. Bicycles, horses, batons, dump trucks and bulldozers were used in a standoff that ended with police deploying chemical weapons and arresting and detaining press and protesters who had been trapped.

Both showed how Republicans and Democrats will fund the suppression of free speech.

Both gave me the chance to go to Nader Super Rallies to support the opening of the presidential debates.

Closed debates, excluding Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin and Ralph Nader, are scheduled to begin Sept. 27. I’m tired of Coke and Pepsi and was thrilled when Rep. Ron Paul called on people to vote third party weeks ago. The four third-party options being whitewashed by the media in this election united behind four issues are foreign policy, civil liberties, national debt and the Federal Reserve.

After more than seven years of Bush, I refuse to do some mathematical equation to come up with who I have to vote for in order for such and such to not happen and will not vote for a candidate who calls upon the people to compromise with corporatists on the “war on terror,” Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, offshore drilling and, now, solutions to our broken economy.

Do a Google search. Since 2000, Nader has been predicting this Wall Street disaster. Sen. John McCain and Obama have been silent, and worse, they are now allowing Bush to swindle the American people by bailing out the corporations responsible. Do you really want to bail out gamblers who created this mess?

When 81 percent think this country is heading in the wrong direction and 60 percent think the two parties are failing us, that signifies the need for a certain agenda-one which involves the people inventing a new way forward instead of being cynical about the future.

Nader HIts Bailout Plan Hard in San Francisco

Earlier today, Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader spoke in front of the San Francsico Federal Reserve Building, protesting the bailout.


Later, Nader spoke at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club in an interview with Tabitha Soren, Former Political Reporter, MTV and NBC.

Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney has also come out with comments and video which we will post soon.

Progressive Politics Needs to Build Beyond Obama's Platform

Open the Debates

Peter Camejo Moves on to Greener Pastures

Peter Camejo, Ralph Nader's running mate in 2004, succumbed to cancer after years of battle. He is fondly remembered for his fearless activism and prescription of Socialism.



Mr. Camejo described himself as a watermelon - red on the inside, green on the outside. In this video taken in August 2008 at the Peace and Freedom Convention, Camejo passionately endorses Ralph Nader and inspires a doubting Socialist audience to embrace Nader as their candidate.

3rd Party Bookends: McKinney(G) & Barr(L) Share Georgia Root

What these two Presidential candidates share in common, aside from a desire to reform Washington D.C. is a history of Georgia politics. Opposite on social issues, their coincidental time in office says a lot about the districts and times they represented. Now, they carry these differences into the Presidential arena.

At a recent press conference called by Libertarian-leaning Republican Ron Paul, McKinney appeared along with Independent candidate Ralph Nader and Constitutionalist Party Chuck Baldwin. Bob Barr chose to not share the stage despite agreement on the four principles agreed upon by the third party candidates. According the Atlantic Constitution, Barr's campaign spokesperson Andrew Davis said “Bob had a press conference right after that one,” and “He didn’t want to dilute his message by being on the same stage as people like Cynthia McKinney, who is completely opposite of what a Libertarian is.”

Yet, Ron Paul and the other three candidates understood the need for a unity of the smaller parties in order to break the stranglehold of the two major parties on the substantive content of the political debates, without which voters do not have an opportunity to critically evaluate platforms outside of the corporate influenced parties.

Here's the link to the CSPAN recorded Press Conference:http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=281024-1

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Slice of Green Ontario

Neighbors north of the US have less of a challenge when it comes to alternative parties, while in the US, members of such parties are often cast as unreasonable extremists, if seen at all.

This grassroots media campaign from Ontario, Canada by YouTube user "b1withme", offers a glimpse at just how neighborly and non-extreme a Green Party person can be.

Nader Calls a Super Rally in Denver for Eve of Democrats' "Big" Night

Currently shut out of the Presidential debates by the requirement thresholds set by the non-profit "Non-Partisan" corporation Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), veteran Presidential campaigner Ralph Nader has called for a Super Rally to be held on the Eve of presumptive candidate Barack Obama's big night.

The CPD requires that candidates poll at least 15% nationally, as measured by the average of five corporate media polls. In contrast, the League of Women Voters (LWV), who sponsored the debates of three Presidential cycles (1976, 1980, 1984) employed a 5% rule as measured by independent polls.

The LWV ceased to sponsor the debates in 1988, after the George Bush and Michael Dukakis campaigns drafted the first secret debate contract, a "Memorandum of Understanding" that dictated who got to participate and who would ask the questions. On October 3, The LWV 14 trustees voted unanimously to drop out of the debates, and issued a press release:

The League of Women Voters is withdrawing sponsorship of the presidential debates ... because the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter. It has become clear to us that the candidates' organizations aim to add debates to their list of campaign-trail charades devoid of substance, spontaneity and answers to tough questions. The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.

The organization Open Debates has criticized the CPD for awarding control of the debates to Democratic and Republican campaigns. It notes that the CPD's Executive Directors are gaming lobbyist Frank Fahrenkopf and pharmaceutical lobbyist Paul Kirk. The debates are sponsored by multi-national corporations and their presence is quite visible during the televised debates.

Strict control of the poll threshold, particularly in conjunction with ballot access regulations, also instituted by the two major parties, assures that the Democrats and Republicans need not fear the invasion of dissident voices on the debate stage. However, disident voices do resonate with the public when provided the opportunity. Consider Governor Jesse Ventura who explains his surprising win thusly, "I was allowed to debate. I proved that you could go from 10 percent to 37 percent and win if you're allowed to debate. Rest assured these two parties don't want to ever see that happen again."

Earlier this year, an organization called Science Debate 2008 had tried to convene a debate between then Democratic contenders Clinton and Obama and Republican McCain. No takers. Science Debate orgnizers then hoped that they might get to host an event in the fall. Obama has agreed to just three debates as controlled by the CPD. Perhaps the Science Debate 2008, Google and Open debates could get together and present a debate which allows for the 5 per cent threshold candidates. If Obama and McCain choose not to come, they must have their reasons, but at least we'd hear from the likes of Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin - maybe we can have some spontaneous dialogue that way. A novel approach to debate, spontaneity.

If you are interested in opening up the debates, you can e-sign this petition. If not for this election, than for the next.

League Of Women Voters Wikipedia Page
Open Debates
Science Debate 2008

CPD has had it with Google, Goes for Withering MySpace Instead

Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader Calls for an Open Debate, posted: August 6, 2008

The vibe for a quality third party debate has never been more prime, but who would air it? How would it be paid for?

Google recently offered to include Nader in a debate with the Republican and Democratic nominees if he reached 10 per cent in the polls. Now, up to 28 ballot lines, the veteran candidate-activist may well succeed in attaining the goal of 45 state ballot lines which could improve his poll numbers. However, Barack Obama has announced that he has agreed upon 3 debates only, as set forth by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a "non-profit" "non-partisan" group controlled by the Republicans and Democrats which requires a 15 per cent showing in the polls. MMMM. Obama has not agreed to an earlier consideration of townhall meeting appearances as proposed by the McCain campaign.

Obama's declaration implies that he will not engage in a Google YouTube debate. The debate was to be held in September in New Orleans, a seat of controversy since the Katrina Federal Response debacle. Instead, the commission announced a partnership with social website MySpace, through a MyDebates.org social networking portal.

“For the first time in American history, viewers of the debates will be empowered to watch the event in real time online and review candidate responses on demand," said company CEO Chris DeWolfe in a statement Wednesday morning. For the first time? Really? MMMMMMM.

MySpace has good reason to vie for the privilege. Media mogul Rupert Murdock paid $580 million for MySpace in 2005 and advertising on the website has fallen. To attract new advertising dollars, the social networking site is now offering larger ad spaces.

Murdoch recently said Facebook was a "flavor of the month," according to a British tech news site.

Now is the time Google. The CPD has had enough of you and your open democracy style. Put on that third party and independent candidate debate. Set a threshold for qualification that is reached based on ballot access and/or poll numbers. Provide the opportunity for conversation that the Commission, Obama, McCain denies you, the other candidates and the voters. Play your part in prying open this juggernaut.

Comedy Central Interviews Green Party VP & She Slaps em Back

Comedy Central's Third Party Thirdspolosion tries a bit of their satire with Green Party Vice-Presidential Candidate Rosa Clemente, but Rosa is down with it. She unabashedly faces their humor in her own inemicalbe style, which is right in your face.

With this kind of attitude, I think she might be ready for Colbert and how could resist the temptation to get down with some hip-hop; he is, afterall a musician himself. The lady knows how to play her cards, though her irony was clearly lost on some who commented on the article.


Here's a peak at how she responds to Comedy Central's Second Stringers:

Indecision2008: Do you think a Green Party candidate can win the presidency?
Rosa Clemente: YES

INDY: No, seriously. Do you actually think a Green Party candidate can win the presidency.
RC: AS LONG AS IT'S A DARK GREEN

INDY: What's the 3rd party convention scene like?
RC: WHITE FOLKS THOUGHT WE WERE THE HELP

INDY: Tell us about your first 100 days.
RC: ARREST BUSH AND COMPANY, MAKE ANGELINA AND BRAD'S CHILRDREN MY CABINET AND NO MORE TAXES

INDY: Who's your favorite president. Ever. From any country. Or TV Show?
RC: PRESIDENT PALMER FROM THE SHOW 24

INDY: Describe your leadership style in one word. Don't say green.
RC: HIP-HOP.

INDY: Who will you be voting for?
RC: WHO WILL YOU BE VOTING FOR?


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Ralph Nader Expands Ballot Access to 23 States - More on the Way

Ralph Nader’s capture of the Peace and Freedom Party’s (PFP) California Ballot line provides a major step in his Presidential campaign this year, affording him the opportunity of appearing on the ballot in the state that gave him a 3.9 per cent margin in 2000. This brings his overall state ballot access to 23 with a hope of securing another 22 by September 20. It also greatly legitimizes his media worthiness, thereby adding to his campaign strength.


Nader won the California Green Party primary with a substantial lead, despite his not being a declared candidate. However, when he announced at the end of February that he was running as an Independent, he also prepared his Green constituents that he would cede his grasp of the California State Green Party ballot line to former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and focus instead on attaining the PFP line, a small Socialist party that has had ballot access off and on since its 1966 inception.

Nader's repeated declaration was a boon to the McKinney campaign, assuring her the lead in the national Green Party nomination. However, doubts loomed in the McKinney camp and amongst some Greens as to whether or not Nader would honor his repeated assurances of releasing claim to the Green Party line. Similarly, the Nader camp was concerned that McKinney would not relinquish her grasp on the PFP line of which she had won 21.4% in the primaries, falling behind Nader at 41 per cent. The third place candidate, Gloria LaRiva of the PFP and the Socialist and Liberation Party took 21 per cent. Brian Moore, Socialist Party, sat at 5.4 per cent.

The PFP convention did not share the happy veil of “coopetition’ that had filled the Green Party Convention a few weeks earlier. The Green Party candidates had worked in large part together throughout their campaigns, assisting one another with moral and strategic support and in the case of Kat Swift and Kent Mesplay, even shared a campaign manager. The PFP convention, however, was contentious, with factionalism spurring infinite definitions of socialism ranging from anti-corporate to pro-Marxist perspectives.

When McKinney appeared at the PFP convention this past weekend sharing a hospitality room with fellow candidate Gloria LaRiva, a palpable tension emerged within the Nader camp. Both female candidates share similiar goals of bridging and building a political movement that joins the black and brown communities. They reflect this intention in their vice-Presidential choices: LaRiva had selected a young black male student as her running mate and McKinney selected hip-hop political activist Rosa Clemente who is of Puerto Rican descent. Would McKinney throw her delegates to LaRiva? If so, that could have lost Nader the nomination and cost his campaign dearly as there was not enough time to collect the required number of 158,372+ *signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate for President in California.

However, McKinney did not spend a lot of time campaigning and she was traveling without an entourage. Instead, she was using her time to explore the PFP of which she had had little experience. In the hospitality room she was sharing with LaRiva, McKinney compared her home state of Georgia to the sunshine state with a warm smile, “In California, you sure have a lot of choices!” She spoke to the 20 people stuffed into the room about her recent trip to Stockton, California, a center of migrant farm laborers. In the tightly packed convention room, her literature was sparsely displayed and parlay with her delegates was minimal. Anxiety amongst those devoted to Nader relaxed the next day with news that McKinney had left the convention before the vote for a previous speaking engagement in San Jose, CA at the Muslim Legal Defense Fund.

The delegates were not bound to the primary results so speeches made at the convention held great power to persuade. Betweeen the first and second day of the convention, Nader addressed the concerns of those who thought he was not far enough left for the PFP. And Peter Camejo, Nader's 2004 running mate and a respected member within Socialist circles, fired up the crowd, a feat which demonstrated remarkable strength, given he is once again undergoing cancer treatments and had just undergone a blood transfusion the previous day. Then there was Matt Gonzalez, Nader's running mate this year, whose articulation of his capabilities and goals sealed the Nader campaign's intentions and its value to the PFP. It was clear, in the first round of voting that Nader had taken the nomination. The Naderites cheered jubilantly and the previously tense faces relaxed into deep relief.

Just as Nader helped to grow the Green Party in 1996 and 2000, the PFP stands a good chance of growing its ballot line along with its number of registered voters. The test for the small party is how it will take advantage of the jumpstart which Nader's organization can provide once the election is over and Nader returns to his life as a non-party activist.

The Green Party saw a 100 per cent jump in its registered members, due in large part to the enthusiasm generated with the 2000 Nader campaign. However, according to one Green Party founding member Ross Mirkarimi, the party was never able to capitalize on the kind of organization Nader had around him. Building a party was not Nader's goal. Rather, he wants to attack the vehicles blocking the path of all third parties and independents - ballot access. He was interested in toiling the soil in which the seeds could be planted, in which any progressive party could better flourish. While not enough for those seeking a Socialist revolution, it was clearly a welcome opportunity for the majority of delegates at the PFP convention.

* California State Candidate Qualifications and Requirements

Nader Sweeps Up Peace and Freedom Party Nomination

Ralph Nader handily won California's Peace & Freedom Party's Presidential Candidate nomination in the first round On Saturday, August 2 in Sacramento where about a hundred delegates gathered to listen to the candidates and select from among them.

The candidates vying for the nomination were long time Party for Socialism and Liberation activist Gloria LaRiva who came in second, Socialist Party's Brian Moore, and the Green Party's Presidential Candidate, Cynthia McKinney.

Ballot lines are so valuable to third party and independent candidates that even a smaller party, like Peace and Freedom with its 80,000 registered voters in California have become an attractive ticket over the course of this election cycle. With Nader's win, the P&F party are assured ballot access in Utah as well as California and add the promise of growing the number of registered voters.

While the meeting was not without some contention, many delegates expressed a deep appreciation and delight that four powerful progressive activists presented themselves for consideration and offered motivation and clarity to their platforms.

More on this story later.

Peace and Freedom Convention this Weekend - Four Candidates, including McKinney and Nader stand-off

The State Convention for Peace and Freedom Party will convene on Saturday, August 2 and 3 at the Hawthorn Suites, 321 Bercut Drive, Sacramento California. At the convention Brian Moore, Gloria La Riva, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney will be seeking the Peace and Freedom Party’s presidential nomination. A debate among the four presidential candidates will be at the same location on Friday, August 1 at 7 p.m.

McKinney Joins Sheehan in Campaign for California's 8th District

Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney has joined on as honorary co-chair of Cindy Sheehan's Congressional campaign. Sheehan is challenging incumbent Congresswoman and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi for the California's 8th District seat. Sheehan's and McKinney's shared dedication to end war and drill this administration has pulled them together as friends and candidates.

“Having Cynthia on board is a significant gain for my campaign. She has experience in tough campaigns and brings a wealth of knowledge. I am running to win, we have already raised close to $200,000 and everyday we get more and more support as people get more fed up with Pelosi’s mis-leadership,” says Sheehan.

McKinney has just about sewn up the Green Party nomination, which will be finalized at the Green Party Convention on Saturday, July 12 in Chicago, IL.

Green Party Convention Offers Opportunity to Assess Tactics

The Greens were hoisted into a fast growth plan in 2000 which they were not prepared to maintain after the election. That said, there has been remarkable organizational development in some states, Illinois, NY and Maine, chief amongst them; but these have grown out of local or state campaigns, not the Presidential.

I had a chance to film David Sirota the other week and in his new book,”the Uprising” he contends that progressive parties need to be looking to fusion as a way of building a third party – that historically, it’s impossible to simply create a party at the national level. He also suggests that we focus on economic issues as a fundamental link between diverse communities.

Fusion is a tough tact for Greens to take. Many of them wanted to have a “Green” candidate represent them in this election so that the party can stand out. However, the reality of the young organization and its fundraising mechanics is that they might still need to consider such choices because no rich, articulate and electorally ready angel that is a true green has adopted the Green Party and said, “I’ll run for President.”

At last year's convention, there were a couple of Libertarians seeking the Green Party endorsement who promised that their fat coffers would carry them to the Presidency. One had even offered to fund our documentary - if we gave him control of it (LOL) ! Since then, their candidacies have shriveled on the Libertarian vine.

And if you doubt that a single rich person couldn't organize and finance a national campaign, look at the well-backed Unity ‘08 effort. It smoldered away in 2007, despite money, media attention and organization. Even that coordination of ideas was too complicated a story for a soundbite addicted media to tell. Why write a thesis when the supermarket romance novella sells just as well.

The Green Party Convention begins in just two weeks. All of the Green Candidates will be feeding back lessons learned from this, the party’s second primary (first one in 2004 which was its own slice of party history). Don’t be mistaken, these candidates, will be looking at their own political futures with a new awareness of the demands of campaigning and the ability to raise funds. Some may return in 2012. Some might be much too busy/effective in their local and state politics to run a national campaign. I, for one hope the latter is the case because they are each wonderful humans with a passion for grassroots politics and we need people like that in our local and state offices NOW fighting for sustainable causes.

Whomever your candidate in this next election is, don't hand her a Green towel - give her a real flag - with your insignia - to carry.

David Sirota Envies Californians, and Not for its Sun

Why does author and political analyst David Sirota envy Californians? Well, it's not the good weather. Instead, the author of the new book "The Uprising" cites California citizens' ability to create leading legislation that can force the nation to change as cause for inspiration and passion.

Here's a thirty minute video of his presentation at Cody's Bookstore in Berkeley, California, made on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

David Sirota Envys Californians Opportunity to Lead "The Uprising", 6/12/08 from Polidoc on Vimeo.