I'm Back!

After the better part of an entire school year I have been, well, in school. But now that it is a better part of a month into summer I have the time to begin again blogging about politics! Much has changed in the past year and this post will be all about, you guessed it, the race for the White House.

I have openly supported Bill Richardson. He was a great choice with all his experience, at all levels of government and in many parts of government. But sadly star power has once again trumped real facts and basic common sense. Now with the field to McCain and Obama I will endorse neither for president. Moreover, I can say that I support Cynthia McKinney, who is running on the ticket for the Green Party.

Cynthia was a member of the Democratic party until her ouster in a primary, which can be highlighted in the documentary American Blackout. On her website, she touts reasons which why she makes a good candidate for President of the United States:

A former six-term Member of Congress from Georgia, Cynthia McKinney proved herself a courageous voice for the voiceless, unafraid to speak truth to power. Cynthia's Power to the People Committee is working to put Cynthia on fifty-one ballot lines!

Cynthia:
* Consistently opposed funding for bloated military and secret intelligence budgets;

* Introduced Articles of Impeachment for George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Condoleezza Rice;

* Introduced, championed, and passed in the U.S. House the Arms Trade Code of Conduct, prohibiting the sale of arms to known human rights abusers;

* Authored legislation to end the use of depleted uranium weapons;

* Passed legislation to extend health benefits for Vietnam War veterans still suffering the health effects from exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange;

* Challenged Pentagon Secretary Rumsfeld and Chairman Myers of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the $2.3 trillion missing Pentagon money and on U.S.-sponsored war games taking place on September 11, 2001;

* Currently serves on (a) International Tribunal on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, (b) Brussels Tribunal on Iraq, (c) is participating in War Crimes prosecutions in Spain, and (d) is working with the Malaysian Peace Organization to criminalize war;

* Introduced legislation to eliminate federal subsidies for corporations taking jobs overseas.

Quite a resume for support and more than the Democratic nominee can put fourth, as he is a new figure on national politics. Now arguing for a "Washington insider" as many times candidates are dubbed is not something that is preferred by most of anyone in American, but SOME experience should be had before gaining the power of the United States. The only reason that in the race that experience has not been a major issue is that the two top running in the Democratic party, Hillary and Obama, are HIGHLY inexperienced at the national level, and the Republican party has a candidate who is more experienced than anyone really wants.

So although I consider myself a Democrat (although I am registered independent), I will not be voting for the Democratic nominee and instead voting for Cynthia McKinney. I am proud to say that I have helped support her run for the White House, making Michigan one of the six states which have given enough to help qualify Cynthia for matching funds, the five others being California, New York, Oregon, Illinois and Texas. But 14 other states are needed with many other states on the way to achieving the needed $5000 mark. According to her website those are:

D.C. ($3.5k), Florida ($2.3k), Massachusetts ($1.8k), Maryland ($1.2k), Maine ($2.1k), Minnesota ($3.8k), New Jersey ($3.6k), Oklahoma ($1k), Washington ($2.7k) and Wisconsin ($1.8k). Arizona and Iowa are the next closest to entering the running at the $1k level. (Unaudited figures current through May 31st, 2008)