The greater the risks

In a presidential campaign, some states are proportional, and some states are winner-take-all. Some states have caucuses, and some states have primaries. Some states have early contests, and some have late ones. The government plays a role, but the first loyalty should be to the party. Candidates need to know the rules and abide by the outcome. Lately one of the corporate parties has had some controversy over Michigan and Florida.

Like Bill Clinton said in his 1992 convention speech, "For too long those who play by the rules and keep the faith have gotten the shaft."

If I were Obama, I would just talk about abiding by the party’s rules, whatever they may be, as long as they are fair and all are given ample notice ahead of time.

In the Green Party, we are doing our best to notify the candidates of the rules in each state:

http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/index.shtml

After Super Tuesday, in the delegate count, Nader was ahead of McKinney about 125 to 85. However, McKinney won in DC and I expect she will win in Maine, Florida, and Wisconsin. With the possibility of Nader announcing soon, we may see close contests this Spring in RI, OH, SC, WA, MD, MS, NC, GA, AZ, and NM. Minnesota caucuses are March 4, and IL, WI and NJ have conventions at the end of March.

I serve on the Presidential Campaign Support Committee, and would like to stay relatively neutral. For full disclosure purposes, I have given the following amounts to the candidates:

$250 Jesse Johnson
$250 Cynthia McKinney
$250 Ralph Nader
$250 Kat Swift
$50 Kent Mesplay
$50 Jared Ball

Most of what I gave to Kat Swift and Jesse Johnson were in-kind contributions when they visited Minnesota. I also gave $30 each to Nader and McKinney to help them pay off previous campaign debts, and $70 to help the AZGP with their ballot access drive. Kent Mesplay is a good candidate but I haven’t seen him in person since the last time he ran four years ago.

As is the case every four years, the stakes are high. We have to live with our decisions. I sure hope we can all unite courageously against the corporatists. The greater the prize, the greater the risks.