7. How do you feel about the strategy to only campaign in non-swing states to help defeat Trump, also known as a “safe states” strategy?
*=GPUS recognized candidates
Howie Hawkins*
I believe the safe states strategy is political suicide. There are no solutions for the life-or-death issues we face coming from the Democrats and Republicans. Why should Greens run if we don’t believe we are the best alternative? If Greens don’t really believe in themselves, why should anyone else?
I have addressed this question in detail for years:
I edited and contributed to the book, Independent Politics: The Green Party Strategy Debate (Haymarket, 2006), which covers the safe states debate in 2004 and has several of my statements against safe states.
When Socialist Alternative called on Bernie Sanders to run an independent campaign using the safe states strategy in 2016, I criticized their approach in CounterPunch, “Safe States, Inside-Outside, and Other Liberal Illusions.”
When Michael Albert, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, and others issued an “Open Letter” addressed to me and urging the Greens to run a safe states campaign, I responded with my criticism of their approach in “Every State is a Battleground.”
When the Party for Socialism and Liberation said they would run a safe states presidential campaign if Bernie Sanders was the Democratic nominee, I criticized them in “You Didn’t Join the Peace and Freedom Party to Support Democrats.”
Dario Hunter*
I disagree with it totally. As a campaign, we plan to be a presence in every single state and every single part of this country. Because our party and our diverse campaign team speak to the wide range of issues Americans face, we are not going to miss any corner of the country in our comprehensive focus on the experiences of everyday Americans. This includes our struggling inner cities as well as our often forgotten rural heartland – from the East Coast to the West Coast and everything in between. Our nation as a whole is hungry for change and all Americans deserve the equal opportunity at success and strong safeguards for their human rights and dignity that our campaign and our party offer.
Susan Buchser-Lochocki
No, we can’t defeat Trump that way, we need to campaign on the internet to reach more people, but we need to do it in a different way… pointing fingers does not work. People want a civil dialog, not bickering, then we are part of the problem. Our strong suit is the Environment, we are Greens that is what people think when we say we are with the Green Party. Mass transit clean energy system connecting the continental US-wide. If we are for Peace then fighting and shouting are not peaceful, either. What we are in my opinion is a good 3rd party option for those who are tired of the 2 party gridlock “tit for tat” Washington style. We are the nice creamy part in the middle of the OREO cookie. We need to present ourselves that way.