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Rocky Anderson coming to Olympia

by Chris Stegman

Rocky Anderson, presidential candidate and co-founder of the Justice Party USA, will be coming to Olympia May 5 with a 5 pm speech at Traditions Café. Come early at 4:30 to meet and talk to Rocky beforehand. A catered meal will follow at a separate location at 6:30 pm for those who wish to contribute to the campaign after the talk and have a more intimate conversation with Rocky about his candidacy and the Justice Party.

Rocky Anderson, two term mayor of Salt Lake City and founder of High Road to Human Rights, has been called the ‘Greenest Mayor’ of any major US city and was the only US mayor (of a major city) to call for and campaign for impeaching George W. Bush for war crimes.

As Obama put it after his inauguration “We need to move forward, not backwards.” Thus absolving the war criminals in the Bush Administration who remain untouched for mass murder and deceptively taking us to war in both countries. Of course, Obama and (most of) the Democrats in Congress have continued funding and fighting both of Bush’s illegal and immoral wars/occupations) and, thus, are in the same league as Bush in that regards, in spite of the drawdown in Iraq and plans for drawdown in Afghanistan.

Rocky is dedicated to building a viable third party. He chose not to run as a Green Party (GP) candidate because he doesn’t consider the GPUS a viable third party. Whether the Justice Party becomes viable will depend on a number of factors, many of which the GP has had to deal with over the last 12-20 years, primarily two party domination of the political arena and efforts to block any competition from a third party, whether left or right, labeling all efforts as ‘spoilers’ as a means of playing the fear card to voters who, as planned, have nowhere else to go.

Due to complicated and restrictive ballot access laws in the US — each state has different laws, some easy, most hard to comply with—third parties have always had a hard time getting on the ballot in all states. Nader and the GP came closest in 2000, getting on the ballot in 43 states. He got on the ballot in fewer states in 2004 and 2008 running as an independent—a sure road to failure for the radical or progressive independent left, especially at the national level.

That’s what makes Rocky different than Nader. He’s not only running on a party ticket but he helped create the party and is dedicated to building it as the party of the progressive left in this country. Plus he was an elected public official and outspoken human rights advocate.

Will those who consider themselves progressive and independent get involved and make this their own party? Or will they sit on the sidelines and loose another golden opportunity to forge a truly progressive national party that represents their interests and values? Time will tell. American progressives largely remain tethered to the Democratic Party because of a lack of a viable choice which, when the opportunity presents itself, most refuse to support!

Over 30,000 people have signed on as supporters of Rocky Anderson’s campaign to date and we’re just getting organized as a party. Rocky supporters are seeking ballot access in at least 30 states, including some so-called ‘swing states’ that will be important for Obama to win the election to a second term.

Obama’s dismal record: Here’s a really good site to go to for the full picture: www.stpetesforpeace.org

I include samples from the site: Obama’s Offshore Oil Plan a disaster for wildlife. New Obama Foreclosure Plan helps banks at taxpayers’ expense. In same week that $30 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia is finalized, Pentagon reaches 3.5 billion weapons deal with United Arab Emirates. Palestine wins UNESCO membership … and Obama withdraws. As troops pull out of Iraq, Obama plans more combat forces elsewhere in the Middle East. US troop deaths in Afghan War under Obama now twice that under Bush. U.S. Obama pushes NAFTA style Trade Policy despite 2008 promise. There are 13 pages single spaced of such policies over the last 3 years. Check them out to get the full picture. Still inclined to support Obama and the Democrats neo-liberal imperialist foreign policies?

Come hear Rocky Anderson’s scathing critique of Obama and the Democrats and explanations of why we radical independent progressives need to forge our own political party. You don’t wanna miss this!

To get involved in the ballot access signature drive May 5 and May 12 in Olympia or to reserve invitation for dinner with Rocky after the talk contact Chris Stegman at cstegman007@gmail.com

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