[Iowa-dx] FW: Greening democracy [editorital on Jesse Johnson - Bangor Daily News (Maine]

[Hart, Holly J]

http://bangornews.com/news/t/viewpoints.aspx?articleid=3D162836&zoneid=3D34

Editorial: Greening democracy
By BDN Staff
Friday, April 11, 2008 - Bangor Daily News


If American democracy were to submit to a checkup - blood pressure, cholest=
erol, weight - some troubling symptoms would be recorded on its chart. Topp=
ing the list is low voter participation. Barely 50 percent vote in national=
 elections, and even fewer in local and off year elections. That's like som=
eone who brushes his teeth every other day - not good for his health, and n=
ot good for those around him.

There are other alarming symptoms: Millions of Americans are not members of=
 a political party (one-third here in Maine), yet federal and state governm=
ents are dominated by Republicans and Democrats. And even though the concep=
t of political parties is not addressed in the U.S. Constitution, candidate=
s who are neither Ds nor Rs must jump over some pretty high hurdles to get =
on the ballot (in Maine, those hurdles are lower).

Also worrisome: 21st century Americans may be the most poorly informed in t=
he country's history about decisions affecting their tax dollars, military,=
 privacy and other Constitutionally guaranteed rights, in part because many=
 get their news through the colored lenses of talk radio, the bickering par=
tisan feuds of pundit TV, or "fake news" shows like Comedy Central's The Da=
ily Show.

Jesse Johnson, a stage, TV and film actor and director, is a candidate for =
the Green Party's presidential nomination, vying with three other candidate=
s for the party's nod. He's visited Maine in recent weeks, courting the sta=
te's 44 delegates to the Green's national convention (the second largest nu=
mber in the U.S.). While Mr. Johnson is no doctor - though he may have play=
ed one on TV - he is able to accurately diagnose what's ailing America.

A registered Republican for 26 years, Mr. Johnson, 49, returned to his nati=
ve West Virginia a few years ago to care for his grandmother and was horrif=
ied to see the devastation that mountaintop removal coal mining had wrought=
 on Appalachia. He helped move the state's Mountain Party under the Green P=
arty umbrella, ran for governor in 2004 garnering 3 percent of the vote, an=
d ran for U.S. Senate in 2006, winning 2 percent of the vote.

Greens are not the only ones on the outside looking in. Whether Libertarian=
, Constitution, Taxpayers, or other, lesser known parties, their concerns w=
ere remarkably consistent, Mr. Johnson said, wanting transparency, access, =
responsiveness, accountability to individuals over corporations and Constit=
utional purity returned to government.

The often-heard refrain from voters justifying their choice of a candidate =
as "the lesser of two evils" may be the most life-threatening symptom of al=
l, Mr. Johnson says. America deserves a more healthy democracy.