Fiasco

"The Greens/Green Party USA" Congress, Chicago, June 21-22, 2004


GPUSA no longer exists as anything more than an authoritarian shell. The organization that came into being with so much hope and struggled to hold onto its beliefs in a sea of Green capitulation to the Democratic Party has destroyed itself, imploding in an authoritarian frenzy hoping to hold onto the illusory levers of power.


"Where is the organization that unites these movements, that reveals the many ways in which each aspect of domination is a nuanced reflection of the totality of Domination in general, and that consequently each act of resistance is made to light the way for the Resistance of all? We believe that the Green movement has that crucial unifying role to play, and that in its attempts to enact its vision of an ecologically sustainable and healing world lie the potential for achieving human freedom, restoring the global commons, and saving the planet.

"That is why we, the undersigned members of the Greens/Green Party USA, are deeply troubled ...."
Silent Terror, June 21, 2004
Silent Terror.rtf [download formatted rtf file]

"What should an organization do when a grouplet uses its democratic rights to intimidate others by continuously calling for people to be thrown off of committees and expelled from the organization? Though the Green Party allowed it to go on, it was incredibly demoralizing, and basically allowed a few to bully others out of the group. It becomes very difficult to grow, as not many people want to join a group in which a few vocal individuals dominate electronic communication and do not let others speak at meetings."
G/GPUSA RISING UP GREEN e-Newsletter July 19, 2004

"What happened at the Chicago Congress that I attended? The Green Party USA (GPUSA) was destroyed by a self-appointed ruling vanguard in two contentious days that confirmed my long-held suspicion that GPUSA had been hijacked by those who think like capitalists while talking like Stalinists. This vanguard totally disregarded consensus-based decision-making, transparency and people’s feelings, instead using secrecy and a fixed majority-rule voting process to pass every one of their own proposals."
Short Report from the 2004 Green Party USA Congress (Mainly for Greens in Missouri)
[June 23, 2004 by Michael Allen]


"We are saddened that the internal struggle over the political direction of the Greens/Green Party USA has degenerated into an all out personal attack against long-term Green activists from New York -- Mitchel Cohen, Robert Gold and Paul Gilman. The current management of GPUSA, Inc. has published these lies, misrepresentations and personal attacks in its national newsletter which is being widely distributed in the Green community."
A Message to the Grassroots Greens, July 26, 2004
Message to the Grassroots.rtf [download formatted rtf file]

Attendance and minutes of the Congress [partial -- in preparation]
Notes from the Green Party USA Congress (June 21-22, 2004, Chicago)
[by Michael Allen]

"Since GGA leaders continue their destructive tactics we are now faced with a total impasse and an unavoidable severing of ties. With deepest regret, we hereby end the conflict by tendering our resignations from the Gateway Green Alliance. We no longer wish to associate ourselves with an organization that conducts "politics as usual". We feel the GGA is not fully committed to democracy, feminism, compassion and consensus-based decision-making."
Letter to The Gateway Green Alliance (St. Louis), June 14, 2004

"Please consider this letter a formal request to the Missouri Green Party to examine these abuses and manipulations, which have led to what I believe to be the intentional destruction of the Greens/Green Party USA by Don Fitz, in collaboration with several others, rather than allow it to become more democratic and possibly make decisions not to Don’s liking."
Letter to the Missouri Green Party, July 9, 2004

"A number of Greens have been talking about networking and supporting each other around non-electoral issues campaigns... as foreshadowed in the Ten Key Values -- whatever your local is working on. This would be a non-hierarchal mutual aid network of Green locals -- not a caucus, not a new organization, just creating ways through which we can assist each others' efforts, develop a collective of alternative health care providers, lawyers, bail-funds, and the like.
NEEDED: Network of Green locals (Milwaukee, June 25)




Contact (email link): Mitch Cohen (mitchelcohen@mindspring.com)





Reader note: "The Greens/Green Party USA" is not the same organization as the Green Party of the U.S.

This URL: http://greens.org/~jsutter/ggpusa/ (put up 24 july 2004 by Jeff Sutter)