McKinney says democracy doesn't exist

Cynthia McKinney's article "Hear and Read ALL of This If Nothing Else - Libya, Cote d'Ivoire, We Must Respond!" is long, and I didn't give it the most thorough reading, but this caught my attention. She asks rhetorically if the U.S. and its allies are more democratic than Libya, then writes:

"The answer in fact is a resounding NO, for the plain and simple reason that democracy doesn't exist. This isn't a personal opinion, but a quote from someone whose native town Geneva, hosts the bulk of UN institutions. The quote is from Jean Jacques Rousseau, born in Geneva in 1712 and who writes in chapter four of the third book of the famous 'Social Contract' that 'there never was a true democracy and there never will be.'"

Call me an idealist, but the last time I checked, the first Key Value of the Green Party was Grassroots DEMOCRACY. Our current government may be corrupt, but our Green Party mission is not to give up on the electoral process. To the contrary, our mission is to use the electoral process to get Green majorities and reform our government, all-the-while adhering to the fourth Key Value, NONVIOLENCE.

Now, if electoral fraud in the U.S. becomes so egregious that it justifies violent overthrow, that's one thing. But it seems McKinney here is saying in her own words that democracy doesn't even exist, therefore Gaddafi's system is acceptable, even preferable. To me that sounds like a position that is simply untenable in the Green Party.

Maybe somebody should ask Cynthia McKinney why Gaddafi shut down Facebook, and while they're at it, ask her if she would take away our right to vote.