Working the field, part XVII - More Greens

Continuing the field of Green candidates …

Kent Mesplay

Dr. Mesplay has pursued the Presidential nomination before, in 2004. In the final voting, he came in third, behind nominee David Cobb and “No Nominee.”

He’s an air quality inspector in San Diego, with his Ph. D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University. (If the Greens nominate Mesplay and he’s allowed in debates, and the GOP nominates Dr. Ron Paul, wouldn’t it be fun to watch them talk medicine over the head of the Democratic nominee?)

In a Lifted Magazine interview, he lists his Myers Briggs profile as one of the reasons he’s qualified for President. He talks on his site about the need for ballot access in order to promote change in the US. He certainly has a point, there.

My favorite endorsement from his site is “Someone from Oregon.” I’m not sure whether he knows he has a supporter in Oregon, or is just guessing … or maybe he’s daring us to prove him wrong by asking every potential voter in the state.

Jesse C. Johnson, Jr.

A former stand up comedian, country line dance instructor, and flower designer from West Virginia, he used to design flower arrangements for “As the World Turns,” and played a pirate in the movie “Hook.”

He’s a perennial also-ran in the West Virginia gubernatorial election for the Mountain Party, now apparently running for the Green Party’s Presidential nomination.

Katherine Lynette Swift

The former head of the Texas Green Party, Kat Swift appears to have been the first official candidate for the Green nomination for 2008. She’s very young (actually, three months older than I) and will only be 35 in time for the election.

Her positions focus mainly on more-direct democracy and directly-proportional representation.

Her “20 views from Kat” (which I can only find on Wikipedia) are pretty clear and interesting, if the writing leaves something to be desired (capitalization and punctuation rules do exist). My personal favorite is:

7.Cuba i’ve always wanted to go

With insightful comments like that, I’m sure that she’s a shoe-in.

Her gun control comments could have used more depth, but were certainly more interesting than most of what you read from “minor” candidates:

18.Gun Control the purpose of the bill of rights article was to prevent the government from being able to establish military might over the citizenry in order to overthrow a duly elected government. Now the government has nukes and what all else, there is not much we citizens can do in this regard any longer. we can stop providing guns to dictators and governments. and i still don’t think someone needs a semi-automatic to hunt with - come on, what kind of hunting are you doing? not the kind to get sustenance for your family with regard to the life you are taking. Be a man, use a bow! (or a rifle)

I think that I picture her walking into a meeting of world leaders in conflict and saying, “Come on, get over it!” as her solution to, say, the Palestinian conflict.

On the other hand, her blog refers to her run as an insane step, under the headline “ru18 w/@least a GED?” Sigh … Presidential candidates who write in text-message language.

This might be a sign that it’s time for US civilization to collapse.

Paul Kangas

When I first saw the name, I was shocked. Paul Kangas is running as a Green? No, not that Paul Kangas.  This one.

Kind of a radical, he wants to lock of George H. W. Bush for the murder of President Kennedy, and asserts that the Watergate coverup was all about hiding Bush’s involvement in the assassination.

Uh-huh …

His rambling, largely incoherent home page wanders from stopping the war in Vietnam to the need for selenium to cure cancer, and then the two badly-written paragraph/sentences:

As soon as the 2008 election is over, whomever wins, is going to bomb Iran.

There is no balance of power in the US. Congress does not operate as a check on the Presidency.

I usually commend people for the use of “whom” … but the use of it as a subject is pretty bad.

This private investigator asserts that the Supreme Court was acting in a Fascist fashion when it installed George Bush as President in 2004. I assume he means 2000.

Before you hire him to find out if your spouse is having an affair, you might want to make sure he gets the name and dates right …

Glenda (”Gail”) Parker

Accused of being the spoiler in the US Senate race between Jim Webb and George Allen, no one knows whose campaign she spoiled. Maybe, just maybe, she was her own candidate and shouldn’t be judged by the Democrats and Republican perspective …

Gail Parker is the most prominent candidate of the Independent Green Party of Virginia, which runs largely on a platform related to expanded rail service in the interest of reducing traffic (and thus pollution).

I don’t see her fitting with the majority Green Party very well, given that she’s a retired Air Force officer (her site doesn’t list her rank, but the picture shows her with gold leaves, so she was at least a major … possibly higher if the picture is old) and holds to Christian values.

It seems wrong to have Gail Parker positioned directly after Paul Kangas … he’s kind of a nut, and she seems so reasonable and intelligent. If you’re reading this, Ms. Parker, you have my apology.

Rebecca Rotzler

One of the seven co-chairs of the Green Party, Rotzler was also deputy mayor of New Paltz, New York.

Although she’s apparently expressed some interest in being the Green nominee, she wasn’t present for the July 13 candidates’ forum, nor has she officially filed as such.

Daniel Imperato

No, I’m not going to write about him again. He already got his own entry in this series. But he was at the Green forum, which is probably a better match for him than the Libertarian Party.

Michael Paul Jingozian

“Jingo” Jingozian is listed as a Libertarian candidate and also as a Green. Actually, I’m interested enough in what he’s saying to give him his own post.

Joseph Charles Schriner

“Average Joe” Schriner is one of those guys you just have to love … Traveling the country to run as an independent, participating in the Green forum, and really just trying to say what he has to say.

Joe started his first run in 2000 as a Republican candidate, but ran as a write-in when he failed to get the nomination.

Joe is running because he has things that he believes are best, and he wants to see them enacted. I don’t want to put him down, to be honest with you. If every candidate had his kind of heart, the country would be a lot better off.

The former leader of an independent Catholic Ministry and former substance abuse counselor, Joe is deeply committed to social justice. He wants amnesty for illegal aliens, a guest worker program, family reunification, living wages, and a North American Union.

He’s a fan of disarmament, he’s pro-life, and he’s for cleaning up the environment.

I disagree with him on a number of particular issues, but I can’t help but like this guy. He’s a true believer, and deeply committed.