Over at Green Party Watch, they have published a very detailed report on the final leg of the race for the Green Party presidential nomination. Ronald Hardy clears up some of the numbers and highlights which states will actually be participating and where Barr’s strengths could be.
Given that Jill Stein has a 100 delegate lead in a contest that has a maximum of 400 delegates, is she now the presumptive nominee? That would depend on who you ask. On the one hand, there are a number of states and territories that have been assigned delegates that have no active Green Party chapters, and will likely not be sending Delegates. I would include in this list Alaska, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Marianas, and the US Virgin Islands – for 24 total. There are another group of states that are wild cards – we know there are Greens there, but we can’t find any indication of when and how they will select their delegates. Those states hold an additional 48 Delegates that may not be allocated. If those states and territories fail to allocate Delegates, then the total number may drop to as low as 330. However, there could be surprises, there is word out that a Green Party will be meeting in North Dakota soon, a state that has been difficult to organize in the past.
California’s primary is the most delegate-rich contest and probably Barr’s best chance to turn the race around.
PS – I have heard that Barr may go down to Georgia to help McKinney overcome the onerous ballot access requirements there – which would be a noble and productive use of her money, time, energy and prestige.
Barr got a late start, not officially declaring until sometime in February, by which time Stein already had an impressive campaign organization, and had led the charge to get several states on the ballot.
Even if Barr wins the CA primary, it’s a proportional vote for delegates, so she’d have to win a landslide to cut into Stein’s lead, which I seriously doubt happens.
If Stein continues to rack up wins as she;s been doing (22 of 22, but at least 2/3rd of the delegates in something like 20 of those states incl. DC), she can afford to lose CA and still be the presumptive nominee heading into the convention.
“The thing that concerns me about Barr is that she referred to the Green Party as the “Green Tea” party. If you are going to run for office, you need to know the party you are running with.”
How long ago? Haven’t seen her do that lately.
Willie Nelson is even flakier than Roseanne Barr. Unfortunately.
The Greens have their Barr, we Libertarians have ours.
Run Green Party Willie!
Run Willie! Run Willie!
Green Party!
Thanks for the Green Party discussion here. Some excellent ideas, and suggestions.
1. Rosanne Barr is has run a clever, serious, intelligent race. Read her application to the Green Party. Watch the debate with Dr. Stein. You see what a gifted writer, businesswoman, and leader Rosanne Barr remains. Rosanne is turning out to be and impressive Green Party politician.
2. Rosanne Barr keeps talking about building the Green Party. Rosanne repeats that she is in this for the long haul. In her Current interview she says, “This may be a 30 year project”
3. The big Green Party tent. Rosanne echoes Green Party founder Petra Kelly’s message: The Greens are not left, not right, but out in front. Growing the Green Party means inclusion.
4. Willie Nelson as Green Party VP. Rosie & Willie on the Green Party 2012 ticket is a winner. The potential Rosie & Willie ticket has already broken the media blackout/blacklist of Greens. Willie Nelson reaches a demographic and southern and western voter where Greens cold grow most.
5. Dr. Jill Stein has been picture perfect for the Green Party. Dr. Stein has run a “friendly, collaborative, intelligent” race. Dr. Stein has stayed in positive communication with Rosanne, and even the former Salt Lake City mayor you mention here.
6. I too encourage the former Mayor to bring his small group into the Green Party. He should run for congress as a Green Party candidate, like Cynthia McKinney is doing.
7. Rosanne Barr and Willie Nelson are easily the Green Party’s strongest ticket. Rosie and Willie have the best chance, and the best professional skills for attract the media.
Know one knows now. But there is a very good chance – especially after Rosanne wins the California primary with 69 delegates – the nomination will only be decided at the convention.
That suspense is GREAT for the Green Party. It will attract the media.
The Greens are easily having their best year ever. All the Green Party candidates for local, state, and federal office are to be applauded. As are the Green Party petition gathers. Without those Green petitioners – nobody gets on the ballot.
I vote Rosie & Willie
The thing that concerns me about Barr is that she referred to the Green Party as the “Green Tea” party. If you are going to run for office, you need to know the party you are running with.
Yes.
Didn’t know that. That bolsters her case, but it would still be nice to see a preview of what she would do as the VP pick.
Didn’t Barr say at one point that she was going to run in the Green primaries to get some media attention but that she expected Stein to win? Because I seem to remember that for some reason. Also, Barr has had a big change in her professional life recently. The sitcom she was developing for ABC didn’t get picked up, so she now has a lot more free time than she presumably did a few months ago or expected to a few months from now.
That’s not to say either Anderson or Barr would necessarily be a bad VP pick. It would just give me pause, if it were my party, that had they wanted the P nom they could have had it by doing the very things we would hope they would do with the VP nom, and didn’t.
It just seems to me that if R. Barr wants to spend the money/time it would to take to grow her party as a VP pick, she could have just as easily done it as a candidate for the P nomination and got that nomination as a result. Since she didn’t, there is no reason to assume she would use her money and fame as a VP candidate on behalf of the party either. The fact that she has these things alone is insufficient to make that assumption.
Paulie: would Stein want to be overshadowed by a VP pick in publicity terms?
Me: Jill Stein obviously wants what is best for the party, and media attention for either of the candidates for Pres or VP will help the green party. Barr does seem confused and unstable, so that would be a reason for Stein not to pick Barr.
I’ve said this here before but I’ll say it again. Rocky Anderson’s creation of the Justice Party rather than just bringing his own organization into the already existing Green Party apparatus is a head scratcher to me It would be one thing if the Justice Party platform contained a contentious difference with the Green one – but I really don’t see where there is one besides a passing brush of rhetoric in the Justice Party one for wanting a balanced budget (where as the big down side of the Greens to me is that they seem to nearly never have any concern for deficit spending at all) – something that I’d say is at odds with the level of stimulus spending he seems to advocate for. The creation of the Justice Party did allow him to bypass a nomination race – but if ballot access ends up seriously limited, and if the Justice Party doesn’t become more than a vehicle for just Rocky Anderson’s run in 2012 – was this the best path to take for him?
Anyway – got to say I really love listening to Rocky’s calls for protecting civil liberties, non-interventionist foreign policy, and campaign finance and electoral reform (as well as Jill Stein’s call for the same) – if I disagree with both of them on economic policy and the size and role that government should have. In the best of worlds there would be room for them both on the debate stage – but as it is I think Green and Justice Party’s might just split up the same contingent of progressive/left/enviro voting block ending with both parties weaker in the end for it.
Not officially yet, but she’s 22 for 22. I’d say that’s a pretty clear trend.
In some ways yes, but if she was willing to spend money why wouldn’t she have spent it earlier and got the nomination as a result?
Also, would Stein want to be overshadowed by a VP pick in publicity terms?
Maybe so, but why didn’t he run for the P nomination as a Green? He would have had a good shot. Probably an inside track.
What race? It’s over. Stein won. Plus, doesn’t Roseanne have a history of mental health issues? I can’t imagine the Greens would be terrifically thrilled to have her at the top of the ticket.
Nobody has mentioned it, but in 2004 I read that Jill Stein urged Ralph Nader not to run, and she thought the Green Party should not run an active campaign for the Presidency.
In that election, Ms Stein was running for a seat in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and was getting support from people who wanted to defeat George Bush and were willing to back John Kerry to do it.
It’s still unclear exactly what RoseAnn’s intentions are. Is it more than speculation that she is in it for the long haul? That business with Nader actually ended badly for them, particularly with his refusal to join the party and help lead it (leaving them with a motley crew of… well, pikers).
Stein/Barr would be the wise choice on the GP’s part (assuming they can’t get Anderson), since Barr has money and would likely be willing to invest in order to be the 2016 nominee.
Jill Stein is super smart, incredibly articulate and definitely charismatic – the Green Party has a great candidate in her – the only downside is that she has no resume of actual elected public office experience.
I think she should go into discussions with Rocky Anderson about him tossing in his hat for VP on the Green ticket. Since Americans Elect is toast and he was not likely to gain that nomination anyway – and since Justice Party is looking to have very limited ballot access at this point – seems to me they could combine forces for best ballot access and vote totals. I have a feeling that Anderson’s wanting to be at the head of the ticket and his mixed feelings about the Green “brand” will keep him from doing this – as will possibly some ill will to him from some GP delegates for him creating a 2nd progressive/left/enviro/campaign finance reform based party. But I think a Stein/Anderson ticket would be the best one the GP could come with. I have a feeling it will likely go to Stein/Barr or a longer shot to Stein/Mesplay.
22 for 22 sounds pretty tough to beat. Better focus on VP at this point to stir up interest.
Frankly, I think Stein has it wrapped up. But I do think Barr will win California, handily.