Sam Smith - Attended the Maine Independent Green convention
which ended with an hour plus debate over whether Greens should be
backing Bernie Sanders. To some it's disloyal or futile, to others a
rational form of fusion politics. Ben Meiklejohn called it "a very
constructive discussion ... where Greens who support a Green nominee,
Greens who support no
nominee and Greens who support Mr. Sanders all had dialogue with each
other in a respectful manner where nobody was made to feel like they
should leave the party." . . . Some Maine Greens have started a Greens for Sanders Facebook page which
caused some controversy as did what some saw as censorship of debate on
the state party's Facebook page. Nothing was settled at the convention
but it was another reminder of the impact that Sanders is having.
My
own view has been that the Greens have spent too much effort on
unsuccessful presidential campaigns that mainly show the party as
politically weak. Others believe these campaigns bring in money that can
be useful to state and local candidates as well as the presidential
one. But the last thing the Green Party needs - especially in a state
like Maine where it has a significant impact - is to be torn apart over
the issue.
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