A WOMAN GOES GREEN:
Why I Will Vote for Cynthia McKinney
http://walkingonthemoonpoetryandpolitics.wordpress.com/2008/08/02/hi-fol...

I do not want to choose between the lesser of two evils, especially since I am no longer sure who really is the lesser evil. I do not want to choose between a flip flopper and another flip flopper. I do not want to choose between someone who supports the war in Iraq and someone who supports the war in Afghanistan. I do not want to vote for anyone who supports nuclear energy. I do not want to choose between two candidates who have received millions of dollars from special interests including donations from executives in the nuclear industry. And, mostly I do not want to vote for any man when there is a qualified African American woman candidate whose views are more in line with mine. Barak Obama has made history but Cynthia McKinney has made herstory not only as the Green Party’s candidate for president but also by selecting a woman as her running mate. A ticket with two qualified women of color, now that really is change. I could vote for the promise of change when it really is the empty words of politics as usual or I can vote for real change.

You might think that I will be wasting my vote by voting for a third party candidate BUT our two-party system is broken in a very big way. It is all about the money. As the saying goes, “Follow the money.” The special interests own both major party candidates. Senator Obama often points out that 90% of the donations to his campaign have come from small donors. However, consider just how much money 10% of kazillions of dollars really is. It has to be many millions of dollars from special interests and probably more than that received by John McCain’s campaign. So, do you really think you know who the lesser evil is? I don’t know and I don’t care anymore. Neither of them has earned my vote so I will cast my vote for somone who deserves it.

And, yes, Cynthia McKinney does deserve my vote and yours. Unlike her predecessor, Ralph Nader, she is someone who actually has held elected office having served in Congress. So she really knows the system from the inside but, unlike Obama, she is no longer a part of that corrupt system. Do you really believe that Senator Obama will work to change a system he is a part of, a system that helped him to get the Democratic nomination even though he received less votes than Clinton? As the Green Party presidential candidate, Cynthia McKinney stands for real reform, real hope, real change, not empty promises. Her candidacy is backed, not by some brand new party without any real chance at all of success but by a party that has been growing by leaps and bounds as more and more people get disgusted with our two-party system. And, this could be the year, when the electorate surprises the hell out of the political analysts. Polls do not ask about third party candidates so the analysts really do not have any idea how many votes the Green Party will get, especially since so many Clinton supporters are dissatisfied with both major party candidates. Given that Clinton actually received more votes than Obama in the primaries, it is not at all far-fetched to think that large numbers of women will turn out to vote for a ticket with two women as an alternative to their corrupt male counterparts. So, I say not only will I not be wasting my vote by voting for Cynthia McKinney, I may, in fact, be voting for the next President of the United States. Remember, she does not need a majority of the votes. In a three-way race she only needs to get more than one-third of the votes to win. And, it really is possible if women and men get behind the only viable candidate who really cares what we think and not what the special interests think.

It is time to vote for real change. That is why I will vote for Cynthia McKinney. Real reform. Real hope. Real change. That is what this country needs. Cynthia Mckinney and the Green Party can do it. They are the only party with a viable candidate who is willing to do it.

TO THE YOUNG MAN WHO CAME TO MY DOOR

I said I wasn’t sure.

I did not tell you why.

It’s not that I would vote

for the other guy.

It’s that I am concerned

your candidate may not have learned

how important unity really is.

I know he says he is the uniter

but without a unity ticket

he would really be the divider.

The popular vote went to Clinton

and if he really wants to be winning

Obama needs to do like J.F.K.

and bring her supporters his way

with a UNITY TICKET.

I am unsure how I will vote

but I think it’s important to note

I could be very sure

if the second spot went to her.

I am reading one of Obama’s books

and plan to read the other.

I take elections seriously

and, though I’m more than old enough

to be your mother,

I’m probably more liberal than you.

And, maybe for the first time

in my life I will not worry about

wasting my vote on a third party candidate.

I guess you could say I’m holding my vote hostage.

Give me a reason to vote for Democrats

rather than a third party.

A UNITY TICKET, not hypocrisy,

a UNITY TICKET, real democracy,

a UNITY TICKET, that would make history.

It’s not likely to bring that much change

but at least it would bring the promise of change.

Give me a reason. I’m looking for one.

I’m tired of voting for Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dumb.

When you really look closely

behind the words and all the money

there really isn’t as much difference

as you seem to think.

Give me a reason.

Without a reason to do otherwise

I will go green

and vote for Cyntia McKinney.