Candidates of the female persuasion have been running for president as far back as 1872, so the idea of their participation in that arena is not exactly big news. This year, however, a woman secured the presidential nomination of a major political party, and that IS big news. But if 2016 is to be the year that women break through the glass ceiling at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then we should make sure that the right woman is doing the breaking. For me, that woman is Dr. Jill Stein, this year’s Green Party nominee.
Jill is a medical doctor and researcher. She is also a wife, and mother to two adult children. Stein and her husband live in Massachusetts, where she twice ran unsuccessfully for governor. Despite those political setbacks, Jill remained active and engaged, especially when it comes to health issues. In one instance, she led a successful campaign to reform the burning of waste at coal plants in order to protect women and children from mercury contamination. She also co-founded a state coalition for healthy communities.
Dr. Stein has also championed a number of environmental causes, such as renewable energy and the creation of green jobs, both of which she believes are inexorably linked. Speaking of which, in her 2012 run for the White House (also as the Green Party nominee), Jill proposed a “Green New Deal”, a plan inspired by FDR’s post-Depression program. Her goal was and still is to see that everyone who wants a job shall have one.
Stein’s platform also includes creating a “Medicare for All” system. And, she wants to eliminate student debt. “We found a way to bail out Wall Street, the guys who crashed our economy with their waste, fraud, and abuse… we need to bail out our younger generation who can be… the stimulus package of our dreams,” she said during a CNN Town Hall meeting.
Dr. Stein also wants to cut military spending by as much as 50%, mainly by closing most of our overseas bases, and bringing our soldiers home from all of the nations we have invaded, bombed, or otherwise interfered with. “Since 2001, we’ve spent three trillion dollars (on wars), and we’ve killed over a million Iraqi people. We’ve lost tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, and what do we have to show for this? Failed states, mass refugee migration, and repeated terrorist threats that get worse with each cycle,” said Stein. A reduction in military spending, she says, together with new taxes on Wall Street speculators, would pay for her proposed reforms.
Jill understands public policy, and her proposals are sound. Moreover, she is a breath of fresh air in a campaign that has been filled with vitriolic bombast between two major party candidates, both of whom seem to be lacking in the character department. Stein is thoughtful and articulate, and she projects a kind of genuine compassion for others that is as evident in her smile as it is by the words she speaks. She believes in what she says, and her message never changes, no matter which audience may be listening. In short, Dr. Jill Stein would make an excellent president.
Unfortunately that doesn’t count for much here in North Carolina, where her name won’t even appear on the ballot this fall. That’s because our state’s collusionary two-party system requires a third party candidate to collect approximately 90,000 signatures to gain a spot on the ballot. We can still write-in Jill’s name on election day, but Republicans in the General Assembly may soon regret not having changed the requirements for ballot access, which would have made it more convenient for us to mark our choice. If Jill was on the ballot, she would siphon even more votes away from Hillary, and that could hand the state over to Trump. Spilled milk. Meanwhile, Dr. Stein is polling at about 4% nationally, which means she will be excluded from the upcoming debates. Jill commented on that exclusion during the CNN Town Hall. Said Dr. Stein, “This is America, and we not only have the right to vote, we have the right to know who we can vote for.”
This may sound naive, but if more people would open their minds, and listen to what Jill has to say, then she could win the election. After all, who wouldn’t like to stop paying healthcare premiums? Who wouldn’t like to see us stop going to war, and instead use that money to improve our communities and create jobs?
And what student wouldn’t like to start life after college without the burden of a lifelong debt? These are not rhetorical questions. In fact, Stein believes that if the 43 million students who struggle with college loans would vote for her, she could win the Presidency.
Asked at a recent rally to describe her candidacy and the movement that she is leading, Jill said, “We are what democracy looks like.” I agree, but here in North Carolina, it looks like Democracy means I’ll be bringing a pencil with me to the polls on November 8th.
September 6, 2016 @ 1:23 pm
Jill Stein for President
Candidates of the female persuasion have been running for president as far back as 1872, so the idea of their participation in that arena is not exactly big news. This year, however, a woman secured the presidential nomination of a major political party, and that IS big news. But if 2016 is to be the year that women break through the glass ceiling at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then we should make sure that the right woman is doing the breaking. For me, that woman is Dr. Jill Stein, this year’s Green Party nominee.
Jill is a medical doctor and researcher. She is also a wife, and mother to two adult children. Stein and her husband live in Massachusetts, where she twice ran unsuccessfully for governor. Despite those political setbacks, Jill remained active and engaged, especially when it comes to health issues. In one instance, she led a successful campaign to reform the burning of waste at coal plants in order to protect women and children from mercury contamination. She also co-founded a state coalition for healthy communities.
Dr. Stein has also championed a number of environmental causes, such as renewable energy and the creation of green jobs, both of which she believes are inexorably linked. Speaking of which, in her 2012 run for the White House (also as the Green Party nominee), Jill proposed a “Green New Deal”, a plan inspired by FDR’s post-Depression program. Her goal was and still is to see that everyone who wants a job shall have one.
Stein’s platform also includes creating a “Medicare for All” system. And, she wants to eliminate student debt. “We found a way to bail out Wall Street, the guys who crashed our economy with their waste, fraud, and abuse… we need to bail out our younger generation who can be… the stimulus package of our dreams,” she said during a CNN Town Hall meeting.
Dr. Stein also wants to cut military spending by as much as 50%, mainly by closing most of our overseas bases, and bringing our soldiers home from all of the nations we have invaded, bombed, or otherwise interfered with. “Since 2001, we’ve spent three trillion dollars (on wars), and we’ve killed over a million Iraqi people. We’ve lost tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, and what do we have to show for this? Failed states, mass refugee migration, and repeated terrorist threats that get worse with each cycle,” said Stein. A reduction in military spending, she says, together with new taxes on Wall Street speculators, would pay for her proposed reforms.
Jill understands public policy, and her proposals are sound. Moreover, she is a breath of fresh air in a campaign that has been filled with vitriolic bombast between two major party candidates, both of whom seem to be lacking in the character department. Stein is thoughtful and articulate, and she projects a kind of genuine compassion for others that is as evident in her smile as it is by the words she speaks. She believes in what she says, and her message never changes, no matter which audience may be listening. In short, Dr. Jill Stein would make an excellent president.
Unfortunately that doesn’t count for much here in North Carolina, where her name won’t even appear on the ballot this fall. That’s because our state’s collusionary two-party system requires a third party candidate to collect approximately 90,000 signatures to gain a spot on the ballot. We can still write-in Jill’s name on election day, but Republicans in the General Assembly may soon regret not having changed the requirements for ballot access, which would have made it more convenient for us to mark our choice. If Jill was on the ballot, she would siphon even more votes away from Hillary, and that could hand the state over to Trump. Spilled milk. Meanwhile, Dr. Stein is polling at about 4% nationally, which means she will be excluded from the upcoming debates. Jill commented on that exclusion during the CNN Town Hall. Said Dr. Stein, “This is America, and we not only have the right to vote, we have the right to know who we can vote for.”
This may sound naive, but if more people would open their minds, and listen to what Jill has to say, then she could win the election. After all, who wouldn’t like to stop paying healthcare premiums? Who wouldn’t like to see us stop going to war, and instead use that money to improve our communities and create jobs?
And what student wouldn’t like to start life after college without the burden of a lifelong debt? These are not rhetorical questions. In fact, Stein believes that if the 43 million students who struggle with college loans would vote for her, she could win the Presidency.
Asked at a recent rally to describe her candidacy and the movement that she is leading, Jill said, “We are what democracy looks like.” I agree, but here in North Carolina, it looks like Democracy means I’ll be bringing a pencil with me to the polls on November 8th.