{news} Green Blitz! Help get the Green Party into the media, Nov. 17-19

Tue Nov 16 15:39:00 EST 2004

Folks,

Here is how you can help the Green Party!

Tom

> GREEN BLITZ
> Wednesday, Nov. 17 to Friday, Nov. 19
>
> Write letters to the editor, guest op-ed column
> submissions, articles, etc.!  (Sample letter
> below)
>
> Please forward this to all Greens and all Green
> e-mail lists!
>
>
> Dear Green Party members,
>
> We're launching an effort to make the most of the
> press we're getting this week in connection with
> the Ohio recount that the Cobb/LaMarche campaign
> has undertaken, as well as the Green Party ad
> placed in The New York Times on Tuesday, November
> 16 <http://www.gp.org/press/pr_11_15_04.html>.
> We've already gotten some good coverage from
> MSNBC.com and other media.
>
> We're inviting all members and friends of the
> Green Party to help us out with a Green media
> campaign from Wednesday, November 17 to Friday,
> November 19.  We're calling it 'Green Blitz' --
> we want to blitz the media with as many letters,
> column submissions, and articles as possible
> about the Ohio recount, the Green role in it, and
> our principled defense of democracy.
>
> Here's what we're asking you to do:
>
> ==> Between Wednesday and Friday, write a letter
> to the editor, a guest op-ed column, an article,
> or an essay about the Ohio recount.  Send it to
> your local daily newspaper, weekly community
> periodical, or monthly magazine.  See below for
> suggested 'talking points' about the Ohio
> recount, a sample letter, and advice about
> writing.
>
> ==> Post your letter, column, etc. on e-mail
> discussion lists for other Greens to read.
> Notify the Media Committee <mclarty at greens.org>
> if your submission gets published, so we can
> circulate and archive it.
>
> ==> We challenge any Green who doesn't write a
> letter, column, etc. during the Green Blitz to
> make a donation of $25 or more to the Green
> Party!  Donate on line at:
>
https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/shop/Greens/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=26
>
> Please join the Green Blitz, and help the Green
> Party, either through your creativity or your
> generosity!  The more letters, columns, and
> articles that get published, the more people will
> see the Green Party as the beacon of hope in the
> next four years.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Scott McLarty
> Media Committee co-chair
>
>
> //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
> TALKING POINTS
> Basic facts and suggestions for what to write
> about the Ohio recount, Green involvement, and
> Green dedication to democracy
>
> -- Two presidential candidates, David Cobb (Green
> Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian Party)
> will formally demand a recount of the
> presidential ballots in Ohio.  The Ohio Green
> Party and the Green Party of the United States
> are cooperating with Mr. Cobb.
>
> -- The Ohio recount is necessary because of
> documented voting irregularities: numerous press
> and independent reports of voter intimidation,
> mismarked and discarded ballots, problems with
> electronic voting machines, and the targeted
> disenfranchisement of African American voters.
>
> -- Cobb and Badnarik are demanding that Ohio
> Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a
> Republican who chaired the Ohio Bush campaign,
> recuse himself from the recount process.
>
> -- Greens are demanding auditable paper ballot
> trails to verify all votes cast on computer
> voting machines.  If the result of the Ohio
> recount movement is the implementation of
> auditable paper ballots, it will be a huge
> victory for democracy.
>
> -- Most of the malfunctions allegedly favored
> Bush; the exit polls gave accurate results for
> Senate candidates, but not for the presidential
> candidates.
>
> -- Greens aren't pushing for a recount because
> it'll change the outcome of the election.  (It
> probably won't.)  We're not fighting for John
> Kerry.  Greens are pursuing a recount because
> it's the best way to ensure fair elections and
> accurate vote counts now and in the future.  The
> integrity of the voting process is at stake: we
> won't know what other problems there might be
> with the election unless we recount.
>
> -- The Cobb and Badnarik campaigns have raised
> the required recount fee for the recount, and are
> now collecting money and volunteers for the
> monitoring effort.  To donate:
> http://web.greens.org/c/cobb/supporters.cgi or
> http://www.votecobb.org
>
> -- For the Democratic Party's leadership, the
> lesson of the 2000 Florida scandal was that
> controversy should be avoided, even if votes were
> obstructed or uncounted.  For the Green Party,
> the lesson of 2000 is that we need to fight for
> fair elections, the right to vote, accurate vote
> counts, and the future of our democracy.
>
> -- The Green Party has consistently spoken out
> for the right to vote and the right of every vote
> to be counted, for investigation of obstructed
> votes, and for auditable paper ballot trails to
> verify all votes cast on computer voting
> machines.  Greens are also campaigning for clean
> election options, Instant Runoff Voting,
> abolition of the Electoral College, enforcement
> of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of voting
> rights.
>
> -- YOUR IDEA HERE
>
>
> //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
> Letters to the Editor
> The Daily Newspaper
> Tuesday, November 16, 2004
>
> To the Editor,
>
> George W. Bush's reelection might not be in
> doubt, but the votes cast by many voters in Ohio
> and other states are, according to thousands of
> complaints about obstructed votes, legitimate
> voters who were disqualified, malfunctioning
> computer voting machines, and other
> irregularities in the 2004 election.
>
> The efforts of presidential candidates David Cobb
> (Green Party) and Michael Badnarik (Libertarian)
> to effect a recount in Ohio probably won't alter
> the outcome of the 2004 election.  But the
> recount deserves support because it's the best
> way to test and begin repairing the integrity of
> our elections, and to ensure that every vote is
> counted.
>
> If one result of the recount is auditable paper
> ballot trails for all computer voting machines in
> Ohio, it'll be a victory for all voters.
>
> For the Democratic Party's leadership, which
> refuses to press for a recount, the lesson of
> Florida in 2000 seems to be that controversy must
> be avoided at all costs.  For those of us in the
> Green Party, the lesson is that we need to fight
> for the right to vote, for accurate vote counts,
> and for the future of our democracy.
>
> Joe/Jane Green
> Mudville, USA
>
>
> //\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//
>
>
> ADVICE on writing a letter to the editor, column,
> or article:
>
> -- The talking points are suggestions -- use as
> many or as few of them as you like.  Rewrite them
> using your own words if you prefer.
>
> -- Be concise!  Newspaper editors usually have a
> 500 to 750 word limit on columns, and a 250 word
> limit on letters.  (Look it up on line before you
> start writing, and make sure you follow all the
> requirements.)  A letter to the editor that's
> four sentences long is a lot more likely to get
> printed than one that's four paragraphs.
>
> -- Don't incorporate all the recommended talking
> points.  In a letter to the editor, it's best to
> make one or two strong points.  A column can
> include a lot more information, but should still
> focus on one or two points.  Delete all
> unnecessary words, especially phrases like "In my
> opinion..." and "I think that...."  Don't repeat
> yourself.
>
> -- Be extremely clear and punchy in the way you
> express yourself.  Also, a letter or column that
> includes a little humor or irony or says
> something in a novel way is more likely to get
> published.
>
> -- If you can personalize the letter or column
> ("My nephew was sent to Iraq..."; "I'm one of 45
> million Americans without health insurance..."),
> you'll increase your chances of getting
> published.
>
> -- It often helps to reference an already
> published article in the newspaper to which your
> letter is addressed.
>
> -- Be specific; avoid abstractions.  For
> instance, "Greens support working people" and
> "Greens support economic justice" are meaningless
> -- Dems & Repubs say the same thing.  Instead say
> something like "Greens support living wages and
> repeal of Taft-Hartley restrictions on workplace
> organizing" or "Greens support the efforts of UAW
> Local 27 to win better wages etc..."
>
> -- Be sure to mention the Green Party somewhere
> in your letter or column, or mention that you're
> a Green Party member, or mention a Green
> candidate or officeholder.
>
>
> MORE INFORMATION
>
> Cobb/LaMarche campaign http://www.votecobb.org
> Ohio Green Party http://www.ohiogreens.org
> Article on Ohio vote manipulation
> http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2004/810
> Disparity between exit polls and vote counts
> http://www.ilcaonline.org/freeman.pdf
> Voting irregularities throughout the US
> http://www.demos-usa.org/page196.cfm
> Center for Voting and Democracy
> http://www.fairvote.org
> Beyond Voting Campaign
> http://www.beyondvoting.org
> November 3rd Democracy Movement
> http://www.nov3.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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