This year, the West Virginia Secretary of State ruled that Cynthia McKinney must pay a $2,500 filing fee to be on the general election ballot, even though the Secretary of State is not telling Barack Obama or John McCain that they must pay any fee to be on the November ballot. All three candidates are similarly situated. They are all the presidential nominees of a qualified party in West Virginia. The Mountain Party, which nominated McKinney in West Virginia, is the Green Party affiliate in that state. It has been ballot-qualified since 2000.
The Secretary of State’s rationale is that Barack Obama and John McCain already paid a $2,500 fee to be on the state’s presidential primary ballot (the Mountain Party did not hold a presidential primary) and therefore her ruling is just. However, the presidential primary ballot fee is totally independent of a fee for the general election ballot. This conclusion is buttressed by the fact that in 1976, the Secretary of State did not charge Jimmy Carter the then-fee of $2,000 to be on the November 1976 ballot. Carter did not run in the West Virginia presidential primary, so he never paid any filing fee at all. The only candidates in the Democratic West Virginia primary were Senator Robert Byrd and George Wallace. All the other Democratic presidential contenders stayed out of the West Virginia primary so as not to split the anti-Wallace vote.
Also the West Virginia Secretary of State did not charge a filing fee to Richard Nixon or George McGovern in 1972. Neither of them had run in a West Virginia presidential primary either, so neither of them paid any fee at all, all year long.
Cynthia McKinney is the person who ought to be in White House. These jerks on the big party tickets are just stooges. I spent time with McKinney here in London and can attest to her character – I made notes of her stay at http://www.hempforvictory.blogspot.com if anyone cares to see this historical record.
The anti-Wallace vote was split and we got Carter. I wonder how many of the anti-Wallace people spent the next four years (and more) pounding their heads against the wall.
I thought Carter was a good president. He turned over the Panama Canal Zone to Panama, which was a very good move. If we had not done that, we would have had terrorism and lots of other problems from Panamanians. And Panama has done a good job of running the Canal.
Carter also made peace between Israel and Egypt, so that Egypt got the Sinai Peninsula back.
The McKinney campaign was advised that there was nothing in West Virginia statute that said that they needed to pay $2,500, but they went ahead and paid it without contesting it. I still think they should contest it.
“…(the Mountain Party did not hold a presidential primary)”
This statement is NOT TRUE. The Mountain Party DID participate in the WV Primary. See Jesse Johnson’s comment on a post here back in April…and no, contrary to the date, it’s no foolin’. The WVSOS is apparently censoring this info from it’s website. Therefore, the Mountain/Green Party ALREADY PAID it’s filing fee, albeit for Jesse Johnson:
http://www.ballot-access.org/2008/04/01/west-virginia-independent-voters-can-vote-in-either-major-party-primary/
McKinney should have to pay the money for the wasted space on the ballot (go ahead and call me ignorant).
Statistically, there is no possible way she can even win the presidential race. And God help us if she did. Even when she means well, she is downright nasty and confrontational for absolutely no reason. (Look at any of her YouTube clips.) Not to mention the whole attacking a police officer and then playing the race card. It destroyed her career, which is why she left the Democratic Party in the first place. She only accepted the Green Party’s nod because she has nothing else going for her politically.
Dear Morgan,
You are ignorant.
Sincerely,
Robb Black
Ditto Morgan you are ignorant!!!
In response to Morgan, have you ever met her? She is not at all nasty, or I would not have put her up in a posh house in Shepherds Bush last year and introduced her to the likes of Baroness Jenny Tonge. If you want to see nasty, look at James Whale, the UK talk show host who was so rude to her in Sept ’07 – this was videod by Dean Puckett and is on his “Elephant in the Room” DVD.
She can be confrontational, as when people steal $2.3 trillion from the US taxpayer. I pay taxes I want her to be confrontational in that case.
Otherwise, she is a matronly, diplomatic person who has been maligned.
BTW, I happen to be WASP, and usually conservative. Fiscally, she is conservative. I am also ex military, and she has more understanding about the armed forces than most – including McCain.
Do look at my notes from her London ’07 visit and see what I have to say from first hand experience.
America needs Cynthia Mckinney, not some GOP member, Hockey mom, or inexperienced senator.
The American Ruse &
when Black Friday comes.
Honesty or lies?
Compassion or greed?
Intelligence or narrow-minded?
Guts, or go along to get along?
Ralph Nader
Cynthia McKinney
Ron Paul
Mike Gravel
Dennis Kucinich
Jesse Ventura
H. Ross Perot
President Carter
JFK RFK MLK Malcolm