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.
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) |
Denver
Saint Paul
Kansas City
Chicago
Sites of the 2008 national presidential nominating conventions
Venues
editThe 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
editThe theme of the convention was, "Live Green, Vote Green".[2]
Events
editJuly 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
Speakers
editNotable 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
editThe presidential nomination took place July 12 at Chicago's Symphony Center.[2]
Candidates
edit-
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
editAfter 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