2008 Green National Convention
2008 presidential election![]() | |
![]() ![]() Nominees McKinney and Clemente | |
Convention | |
---|---|
Date(s) | July 10–14, 2008 |
City | Chicago, Illinois |
Venue | Palmer House Hilton (July 10, 11 and 13) Symphony Center (July 12) |
Candidates | |
Presidential nominee | Cynthia McKinney of Georgia |
Vice presidential nominee | Rosa Clemente of New York |
Other candidates | Chm. Kat Swift (TX) |
![]() | |
---|---|
Democratic Party | |
Republican Party | |
Minor parties | |
Related races | |
| |
The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10–14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center.[1] This served as both the venue for the National Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States.
Venues
[edit]The convention was headquartered at the historic Palmer House Hilton, while the nomination event itself took place at the nearby Symphony Center on July 12.[2]
Theme
[edit]The theme of the convention was, "Live Green, Vote Green".[2]
Events
[edit]July 10
[edit]- Main Events
- Introductory news conference and a reception for international Greens.[2]
- Welcome Reception with International Greens[3]
- Additional Events
- Credentialing Committee meeting[3]
- Accreditation Committee meeting[3]
- Diversity Caucus meeting[3]
- Platform Committee meeting[3]
- Lavender Caucus meeting[3]
- International Committee Meeting[3]
- Ballot Access Committee Meeting[3]
- National Women's Caucus[3]
- New York State Caucus[3]
- Bylaws, Rules, Policies & Procedures (BRPP) Committee Meeting[3]
- California State Caucus[3]
- Workshops:[3][4]
- GPUS Budget & Finances in General: Input, Q&A, and more (presented by Jody Grage and Jim Coplen)
- Selling Yourself Without Selling Out (hosted by Scott McLarty)
- A Clear Path Towards Dismantling and Ending All "ism" (Racism, sexism, classism and white privilege) within the Green Party by 2012 (facilitated by Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry)
- Viral Campaign Marketing (presented by Jim Carr)
- What Every Candidate Should Know (presented Brent McMillan)
- What is Local Democracy? Building from the Bottom Up for Political Power (led by Juscha E. M. Robinson, Brenda Konkel, Pete Karas)
July 11
[edit]- Main events
- National Committee Meeting
- News conferences for elected Greens, Green presidential candidates, and candidates for other offices[2]
- Presidential Candidates Forum.[2] moderated by Rich Whitney[2][5][citation needed]
- Evening reception with John Nichols[3]
- Other Events
- Morning Yoga[3]
- Eco-Action Committee meeting[3]
- Presidential Candidate Support Committee meeting[3]
- Outreach Committee meeting[3]
- Black Caucus meeting[3]
- Dispute Resolution Committee meeting[3]
- Disability Caucus meeting[3]
- Youth Caucus meeting[3]
- Maine State Caucus meeting[3]
- Latino Caucus meeting[3]
- Workshops[3][4]
- Fundraising 101 (featuring panelists LaVerne Butler, Angel Torres, George Martin, David Cobb, Jody Grange, Emily Citkowski, Tamar Yager)
- The Role of Peace Movement in an Election Year (presented by Bruce Gagnon, Steve Shafarman and moderated by Ann Wilcox)
- What is Central to the Green Message: Ecology? Democracy? Social Justice? (presented Gloria Mattera, Ben Manski and John Rensenbrink, moderated by Mary Beth Sullivan)
- Sustainable Activism (presented by Alison Duncan)
- The 60th Anniversaries of the Palestinian Catastrophe (Nakba) and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Green Party's Response
- The Constitutional MAP for Voter Disenfranchisement
- Update on NAFTA and the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)
- The Law of Diminishing Returns as a Principle for Deciding How to Deal with the Need to Reduce Consumption to Restore the Environment
- Organizing Online for Everyone
- Campaign Fundraising
- Candidate Messaging
- Making Green Food Choices – How our diet affects animals and the environment
- Democratizing the Electoral College
- Endless War and the Military-Industrial- Governmental Complex
- Red, Black, Brown and 'Green': Positive Solutions to the Issues of Poverty, Immigration and Environment Destruction
- A Democracy Movement for the U.S.A.
- The Basic Income Guarantee - and the Power of Green Economics
July 12
[edit]- Main events
- Platform vote
- Keynote speeches by Cliff Thornton, Kathy Kelly, Malik Rahim, Jill Stein, Omar López[3]
- Speeches by Green Party presidential candidates[3]
- Presidential nomination vote[2]
- Vice presidential nomination and speech[2]
- Presidential speech[2]
- Press conference[2]
- Post-convention reception at Palmer House[2]
July 13
[edit]- Main events
- National Committee meeting with the new presidential nominee[3]
- Other events
- Morning meditation led by Lewie Pell of the Network for Spiritual Progressives[3]
- Green Alliance Meeting[3]
- Workshops:[3]
- Agrarian Revival at the End of Cheap Oil
- What to say when you're called a spoiler: instant runoff voting & proportional representation
- LGBT Activism: Recent Victories and Future Goals
- History of US-Iranian Relations and Its Impact on Current Tensions Regarding Iranian Nuclear Power
- Strategic Thinking for Campaigns
- Elections for Radicals
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/MalikRahimSkylineEditorB_%28cropped%29.jpg/150px-MalikRahimSkylineEditorB_%28cropped%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Lasallian_Youth_2008.jpg/150px-Lasallian_Youth_2008.jpg)
Speakers
[edit]Notable speakers included:
- David Cobb[4][6] activist and 2004 Green Party presidential nominee
- Pat LaMarche,[6] activist and 2004 Green Party vice presidential nominee
- Rich Whitney,[3] Green candidate for Governor of Illinois
- John Nichols,[3] journalist
- Malik Rahim, activist, former Black Panther and Green Party candidate for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district[2]
- Kathy Kelly, activist[2]
- Cliff Thornton, Jr., activist and Green Party politician[2]
- Omar López, Green candidate for Illinois's 4th congressional district[7]
- Jill Stein, physician and Green candidate in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election[7]
- Brent McMillan[4]
- Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry[4]
- Jim Carr[4]
- Ben Manski[4]
- John Rensenbrink[4]
Presidential nomination
[edit]The presidential nomination took place July 12 at Chicago's Symphony Center.[2]
Candidates
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Green-2008-chicago.jpg/300px-Green-2008-chicago.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Illinois_delegation_to_Green_Party_Nat%27l_Convention_2008_%282674556872%29.jpg/300px-Illinois_delegation_to_Green_Party_Nat%27l_Convention_2008_%282674556872%29.jpg)
- Withdrew
Jared Ball of Maryland, college professor and journalist - Jesse Johnson[2] of West Virginia, former Mountain Party candidate for US Senate and Governor of West Virginia
- Cynthia McKinney[2] of Georgia, former Congresswoman from Georgia's 4th district[8][9]
(Campaign • Website) - Kent Mesplay[2] of California, California Delegate to the Green National Committee
Balloting
[edit]Candidate | Green National Convention Presidential roll call vote | Percentage | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cynthia McKinney | 324 | 59.89% | ||
Ralph Nader3 | 85½ | 15.80% | ||
Kat Swift | 38½ | 7.12% | ||
Kent Mesplay | 35 | 6.47% | ||
Jesse Johnson | 32½ | 6.01% | ||
Elaine Brown | 9 | 1.66% | ||
Jared Ball4 | 8 | 1.48% | ||
No candidate | 6½ | 1.20% | ||
Uncommitted | 2 | 0.37% | ||
Total | 541 | 100% | ||
Notes: 1 "2008 Green Party Presidential Nomination Delegate Count". GPUS. July 3, 2008. 2 "2008 Presidential Convention Ballot Results". GPUS. July 2008. 3 Nader did not seek the Green Party nomination. His total includes 8 delegates from Illinois where Howie Hawkins stood on the ballot in his place. 4 Endorsed Cynthia McKinney. |
Delegation | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Black Caucus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 23 | 52 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
![]() | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
![]() | 11 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 25 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
![]() | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Lavender Caucus | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 13 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 28.5 | 2.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 10 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
![]() | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
![]() | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | 19 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Women's Caucus | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total delegates | 324 | 85.5 | 38.5 | 35 | 32.5 | 9 | 8 | 8.5 |
Running mate
[edit]After McKinney's nomination, the convention delegates selected her stated choice of running mate, Rosa Clemente, for the vice-presidential nomination through a voice vote of delegates.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Venue Options - Green Party National Convention 2008 - Chicago, Illinois Archived November 9, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Green Party LogoInformation for media covering the Green Party's 2008 National Nominating Convention in Chicago, July 10-13". gpus.org. Green Party of the United States. May 14, 2008. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Green Party 2008 National Convention". www.gwu.edu. George Washington University. 2008. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Green Party 2008 National Convention". www.gwu.edu. George Washington University. 2008. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
- ^ Hardy, Ronald (July 11, 2008). "GP Convention – candidate forum". www.greenpartywatch.com. Green Party Watch. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
- ^ a b "Green Party Presidential Convention | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. C-SPAN. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "2008 Green National Convention: Live Green, Vote Green". www.usmlo.org. U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organizarion. 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- ^ Scott, Jeffry (April 23, 2012). "Cynthia McKinney back and running for her old congressional seat". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
- ^ "Statement of candidacy - McKinney, Cynthia". Federal Election Commission. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
- ^ "Dem Convention Day 2 redacted tweets ... DAY 2 of the 2016 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION met in the Wells Fargo Center: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". Thegreenpapers.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
- ^ "2008 Green Convention".
- ^ Daily Greens: Green Party VP Rosa Clemente - Vote and Acceptance. Video.google.com. July 12, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2008.
Video of Convention
[edit]- State Delegate voting part 1
- State Delegate voting part 2
- Cynthia McKinney Acceptance Speech
- Vote and Rosa Clemente Acceptance Speech
- David Cobb Convention Speech
- Malik Rahim Keynote Speech
- Omar López Keynote Speech
- Malik Rahim congressional candidate Louisiana
- Jesse Johnson addresses Convention Delegates