The Carbondale Southern of Illinois reports Green Party gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney “said Thursday that, while he had a strong showing in 2006 when he captured 10 percent of the vote, he’s not looking to repeat — he’s looking to win. And with the wind of a faltering state legislature at his back, Whitney said his chances are good.” Whitney said if the Green Party “gains some seats in the General Assembly, legislative gridlock is eroded and the consensus building necessary to pass such proposals becomes more likely.”
Whitney, a civil rights attorney and former Socialist Labor Party activist, received 361,163 votes in the 2006 election.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Susan Hogarth // Jul 18, 2009 at 1:13 am
“with the wind of a faltering state legislature at his back”
Nice phrasing. A bit rich, but still, nice.
2 Danny S // Jul 18, 2009 at 1:39 am
The key here is that even if Whitney can’t win, if he runs a strong race he could pull down-ballot support to other Greens.
3 NewFederalist // Jul 18, 2009 at 9:49 am
When was he active in the SLP? His bio makes no mention of it.
4 Donald Raymond Lake // Jul 18, 2009 at 10:05 am
Hey, hey, hey, guys, so broad spectrum endorsements of grass roots organizations would not hurt. PR for you group, support for a viable candidate! Win – win!
5 B. Bortnick // Jul 18, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Mr. Whiteney should know from his tenure in the SLP that the only way “Green” is going to get any traction is by the abolition of capitalism, the end of commodity production and the wages system, and the establishment of socialism based upon democratically elected Industrial Unionism. Indeed, as he knows, such a program once grasped and popularly supported would scare the wits out of the capitalist class such that they would hastily install all sorts of green measures to try and overcome the popularity of socialism.
6 paulie // Jul 18, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Au contraire
http://aaeblog.com/?s=greensleeves
7 Catholic Trotskyist // Jul 18, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Bortnik, you’re on the right track, but such program will never attract popular support, just like libertarianism will never attract mass popular support. What liberty means is different for each person.
8 Robert Milnes // Jul 18, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Rich Whitney, sorry but the Winds of the Fear of Revolution are in your face. You will almost certainly lose.
9 Robert Milnes // Jul 18, 2009 at 9:15 pm
OK, this is a hijack. My request to speak along with Richard Winger et al At Green Party Annual National Convention has been denied by Green Party Secretary. I have written an Open Letter suggesting a non GP alternative to speak nearby & in the Convention time frame-july 23-26. Anybody interested in helping arrange this?
10 Peter Orvetti // Jul 18, 2009 at 9:59 pm
In a letter to an Illinois newspaper during the 2006 campaign, Socialist Labor Party National Secretary Robert Bills said Whitney “belonged to the Socialist Labor Party for 18 years, from 1975 until 1993.”
http://www.illinoistimes.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A5890
11 upstartgreen // Jul 19, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Why would anyone care if Whitney was active with the SLP in the past. Many Greens have formerly been active with other parties including the Democratic and Republican parties.. It shows Whitney’s decision to join the Greens was an informed one.
12 Dave Schwab // Jul 20, 2009 at 2:55 am
“Why would anyone care if Whitney was active with the SLP in the past. ”
Ahh, I can taste the mud of a smear campaign already. Ooooh, socialism! Scary! Rich Whitney wants you to live in a Scandinavian hell!
13 paulie // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:54 am
LOL. The SLP is in favor of a Scandinavian model?
14 Dave Schwab // Jul 20, 2009 at 11:59 am
I don’t know about the SLP, but I recently spent some time in Norway, and we could learn a lot from them. One of the freest countries in the world, outstanding healthcare and education, pristine environment, highest living standard in the world, a bastion of human rights. Gives you an idea of what Eugene Debs had in mind when he said that the American people could have anything they wanted, if only they wanted to.
15 guest // Jul 21, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Whitney’s campaign website’s contact/get involved section simply links to the IL Greens site. There should be a separate contact for non-card-carrying Greens who wish to get involved.
16 Third Party Revolution // Aug 9, 2009 at 12:36 pm
We here at Third Party Revolution endorse Rich Whitney in his campaign for Governor of Illinois, along with many other third party and independent candidates seeking public offices nation-wide, ranging from local to federal levels.
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