Tax Checkoff Finances Green Party Candidate's Presidential Bid

[Pterodactyl]

From BuzzFeed:

The Federal Election Commission announced Friday night that $260,389 in federal matching funds was awarded to Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

The announcement makes Stein, a physician and former Massachusetts gubernatorial contender, one of three candidates to rely heavily on public funding dollars in their bids for the presidency.

Buddy Roemer, the former congressman and governor who suspended his presidential campaign in May, received over $351,000 from the FEC, and Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson — still in the race — has received over $303,000 in federal funds.

The presidential public funding program is financed by a $3 check-off option that appears on personal income tax returns. Neither Mitt Romney nor President Obama accepted federal funding — to become eligible for the program, the candidate must agree to an overall spending limit.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/rubycramer/tax-checkoff-finances-green-party-candidates-pres

Note from the rules: Members are allowed to discuss and post news, articles, blog posts, videos about those third party campaigns, as long as the poster is not advocating for that third party candidate. Also, please do not post replies that advocate a third party or third party candidate. For sure, the post will be alerted on and hidden by a jury.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/109062

So, none of you responders may support Jill Stein.

I for one think this is a travesty. Why are WE paying for such a wacknoodle's campaign?

[tama]

1. Idea of public funding

of political parties and electorial campaigns is to prevent corruption. To keep money out of politics and allow equal voice and participation also to those without huge amounts of cash.

[Pterodactyl]

3. I know what you mean!

Sadly, it seems there is no way to avoid having to finance campaigns for people who would wreck the country if they were elected. She's totally gaming the system and the American taxpayers are the victims.

[tama]

4. How would Stein and Honkala

wreck the country, if elected, and how are they victimizing American taxpayers?

[Tarheel_Dem]

5. Who the hell in Congress would work with them? Neither party would be obliged to....

help her, and if you think the president has been knee capped the past couple of years, you ain't seen nothing. She would quickly thrown under the bus by her supporters, because of her inability to deliver on her promises. There's not a single green in Congress, and the only one I could imagine really having her back would be Bernie Sanders. And let's face it, Bernie has his own challenges in the chamber.

The president stands at nearly 90% approval within his own party. Jill Stein is the head of a party of a ragtag bunch of misfits (and that's being kind), who only pop up every four years to create mischief because they don't like the two major political parties. That's not a platform from which to launch a national campaign, nor be taken seriously by the average American voter.

[tama]

6. You are not answering the question

about pterodactyls claim. How would Stein and Honkala wreck the country if elected. As we are speaking purely hypothetically, we can also assume that also a Green Congress was elected.

How would that totally hypothetical situation wreck the country?

[Tarheel_Dem]

7. False assumption. We can't "assume" a Green Congress because most Dems despise them.

Count me among them. Stein is at 1% in the national polls, while Gary Johnson is around 6% or 7%. Johnson will find out, if he ever attempts it again, that people don't like spoilers. The Greens have seemingly deliberately set out to piss off the folks who would likely be allies, by making ridiculous false equivalency arguments. If a national poll were taken among Dems, I bet you'd find that Ralph Nader is the single most despised man on the planet, only second to Dick Cheney.

[tama]

10. Hypothetical questions and situations

by definition allow assuming the hypothetical parameters. Again, as you jumped onto my question, please answer it: how Would Green administration and Congress wreck the country?

[Tarheel_Dem]

11. I don't know, nor do I care. Ask the person who made the claim.

[tama]

12. Did so.

What was your point, then? Just to express how much you hate Greens? Is the level of hating Greens - or more generally hating everybody who is not a Democrat the measure of how good and loyal Democrat one is?

When I was kid, I heard a lot of talk from my patriotic right wing uncles how the measure of Finnish patriotism is how much one hates Russians. All my cousins went to Army (we have obligatory draft) and became officers of reserve, I was the only one who chose conscious objection. So I may be handicapped in my failure to understand what good partisan, national etc. hate is supposed to do. Can you enlighten me on the subject?

[Pterodactyl]

8. Take a look at her web site. It's a bunch of unattainable pipedream pie in the sky stuff.

Also, if people voted Green, they would stop voting for Democrats and that's not an America I would want to live in. And the vitimization is that WE'RE PAYING for her nonsense. Think how many school lunches could have been bought with that money, or how many crumbling roads and bridges could have been repaired.

[tama]

9. Telling me

to look at Green propaganda is not a TOS violation you warned about? Don't worry, I won't alert, I may just do as you advice out of curiosity, as I'm not American and not allowed to vote there anyway, so no vote to the America you want to live in would be put in danger if I exposed myself to Green Propaganda. OK, I took a very quick look. Some pipedream pie stuff about New Deal and Roosevelt ideals.

Does your American Dream consist of anything else besides people voting for Democrats? Any ideas about what Democrats should do when they hold the power?

[Pterodactyl]

13. No. Everyone should vote Democratic.

This country would be a lot better off if we all voted the same. For Barack Obama!

If only he could run for a third term!

[tama]

14. Hmm

In that case, why not vote Barack Obama for life long dictator and Democratic Party the only Party? To save tax payer money and corporate money for more important uses than election campaigns - for the good of America!?

[Pterodactyl]

15. We have to respect the constitution. And of course we don't want a dictator as you suggest.

I was just daydreaming. Wouldn't it be awesome if everyone abandoned partisanship, racism and hate and came together?

[tama]

16. Actually, we don't have to respect the constitution.

Especially if it has become not means for but obstacle against "Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness.

World changes and words written for social contract hundreds of years ago may not be the best way to adapt to the changes. As community and communities of peoples. As friends. As form of life on this beautiful planet. Home.

[Pterodactyl]

17. Gotta disagree with you. Our amendable constitution is the best setup on the planet.

[tama]

18. And how much of the planet you have seen and experienced

to know that US constitution is the best setup there can be?

[Pterodactyl]

19. I've experienced enough, and met people from all over.

And I didn't say it is the best that can be, just that it is the best there is. If we could go back in time and advise the framers, maybe we could make changes for the better.

So, what do YOU think is better than the US Constitution?

[tama]

20. Glad you asked

Putting Declaration of Independence over the current constitution, calling General Assembly to discuss drafting a new constitution, see if the process takes wind and enough support to get a consensus on document that can be put to referendum. You can do the whole thing without restrictions of current document, totally at grass roots level by means of horizontal democracy. There are no guarantees that the process would be succesfull but can't tell if you don't try.

Iceland already utilized crowd sourcing in drafting their new constitution. US - and any other place - could do even better and do the whole thing at grass roots level by means of horizontal democracy and general assemblies.

[Pterodactyl]

21. Iceland?!? Really?!?

Let's give them 200 years and see if that works out.

Also, has Iceland ever done anything great other than exporting Bjork? Have they defeated Fascism? (Although I think they served as an airbase and fueling station in WWII.) Are millions of people crossing a blazing hot desert to climb over a wall to get into Iceland? Has Iceland ever explored space or put a probe on Mars? Has Iceland ever educated millions of inner city kids? Has Iceland ever had a non-white president?

No, of course not! The USA and its constitution are an unstoppable machine that produces all these things - and produces amazing people that will save the world. People like Elizabeth Warren and and Janet Napolitano. People like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. People like Al Gore. And of course people like Joe Biden and Barack Obama!!!

[tama]

22. Defeated Fascism?

Your posts speak otherwise.

[Pterodactyl]

23. So supporting Democrats is fascism? That's rich!

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. Eff Jill Stein!

That is all.

[TheNaimSadik]

24. Spam deleted by NRaleighLiberal (MIR Team)

[ghjkbknl]

25. Spam deleted by OKNancy (MIR Team)

[rablrouzer]

26. Thanks! Last time I check that box on my return

I'm for campaign finance sanity, which the Supreme Court isn't.

But while I'm happy to be sending money to the Libertarians to undermine Repigs, I'm not happy to be undermining Democrats by sending money to the Naderites.

Still in mourning for the lost Gore Presidency, I'll never check that box again.

[cvsgracht]

27. Taxpayer-funded campaigns

I'd really like some way of evening out the current campaign finance system, but I always get squeamish about taxpayer dollars funding politicians. There's just something unpleasant about it (yes, big corporations financing campaigns is also unpleasant).