[statecom-discuss] San Francisco Jan 13 event

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Green Party holds presidential debate in San Francisco

Monday, January 14, 2008
(01-13) 20:01 PST San Francisco -- Withdraw from Iraq immediately. 
Eliminate the No Child Left Behind law. Legalize marijuana.

Those were just some of the goals stated by candidates at the Green 
Party presidential debate Sunday in San Francisco.

About 800 people of varying ages, economic backgrounds and political 
parties attended the "Presidential Debate that Matters" at the Herbst 
Theatre, where the five Green presidential hopefuls spent more time 
agreeing with one another than actually debating.

"We're not so much against each other as we are for each other," said 
one of the candidates, Kent Mesplay, an environmental engineer who also 
ran for the Green Party nomination in 2004. "We have to be because by 
no means is (the two-party system) a level playing field."

The nearly three-hour event was co-moderated by "Peace Mom" Cindy 
Sheehan and KPFA radio host Aimee Allison, who allowed the candidates 
timed answers to questions about the war in Iraq, illegal immigration, 
the farm bill and health care, among other subjects.

Nearly every answer was greeted with nods of agreement from the other 
candidates waiting their turns and by roars of applause from the 
audience, giving the forum a pep rally feeling.

Bay Area elected officials who are Green Party members - including 
Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, San Francisco Supervisor Ross 
Mirkarimi and San Francisco Board of Education member Mark Sanchez - 
also took the lecturn, urging the crowd to see the Green Party as the 
most progressive political option and not as a wasted vote.

"Please. This is serious. This is not a joke. This is about starting a 
real movement in this country," said candidate Cynthia McKinney to a 
standing ovation.

The former Democratic congresswoman from Georgia who converted to the 
Green Party last year was, at one point during the debate, acknowledged 
as the front-runner. The party's presidential nominee will be selected 
in July in Chicago.

The other three candidates included Jared Ball, a hip-hop scholar and 
assistant professor of communications at Morgan State University in 
Baltimore; Kat Swift, a 34-year-old dread-locked activist from San 
Antonio who said she will "be just old enough to be president by the 
time of the next election"; and actor and filmmaker Jesse Johnson from 
West Virginia.

Getting the Green Party candidate on the ballot in every state is the 
priority, according to the candidates, who repeatedly urged the 
audience to register Green after the debate.

"Can the Green Party get beyond being blamed for Bush coming into 
power?" asked Mesplay, sarcastically referring to the argument that the 
Green Party takes votes away from Democrats. "We're not the ones who 
spoiled the American vote. Bush is."

The candidates' answers ranged from dramatic sound bites to simple 
solutions.

When asked about the farm bill, Swift's answer was not that of a 
typical politician:

"I'm not familiar with the details of the farm bill. From what I've 
heard from farmers is that it doesn't work. I would get farmers 
together and ask them for the answers."

Ralph Nader, the 2000 Green Party presidential nominee who has yet to 
announce his intentions for 2008, was scheduled to participate in 
Sunday's debate, but he did not. Nader showed up late for the event and 
addressed the crowd for about 10 minutes.

Former San Francisco mayoral candidate and Green Party member Matt 
Gonzalez was scheduled to co-moderate the event but could not make it 
due to illness, according to event spokesman Cress Vellucci. Gonzalez 
received the loudest applause when his name was announced as one of 
several elected officials from the Green Party.

At least three hecklers who interrupted the forum also received a few 
claps of approval.

The event was organized in the past month by several Bay Area Green 
Party activists who spread the word through advertisements in local 
weekly newspapers and on Air America Radio. About 760 paid the $10 to 
$20 suggested donation to attend the forum, while an additional 50 to 
100 got in free, according to Vellucci.

Mini Kahlon, a 38-year-old San Francisco resident, came to the event at 
the suggestion of a friend.

"I had hoped for a higher caliber of interaction on the issues," said 
Kahlon. "There was a lot more cheerleading than I had expected. But I 
like the idea of a debate that doesn't only include Democrats and 
Republicans."

E-mail Delfin Vigil at dvigil at sfchronicle.com .

This article appeared on page A - 8 of the San Francisco Chronicle