GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
 http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Thursday, October 14, 2004

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
cell 202-487-0693,  mclarty@greens.org
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576,
 nallen@acadia.net


GREENS LIST THE TOP 12 ISSUES CENSORED FROM THE
BUSH-KERRY DEBATES


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party leaders and
candidates charged that the presidential debates,
limited to the candidates George W. Bush and John
Kerry, have effectively censored numerous issues
important to Americans.

"This is what Green presidential nominee David
Cobb was protesting when he was arrested for
trying to enter the second presidential debate,"
said Gray Newman, co-chair of the Green Party of
the United States. "When the Commission on
Presidential Debates limited the participants to
Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry and barred third party
candidates, it forced major issues into tiny
Democratic vs. Republican pigeon holes."

"Voters deserve to learn about all the candidates
on the ballot, and they deserve to hear a wide
range of political opinion and options for U.S.
policy -- not just those sanctioned by the two
establishment parties and their corporate
benefactors," Newman added.

Mr. Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael
Badnarik were arrested on October 1 after
attempting to enter the Washington Universirty
auditorium in St. Louis where the second
presidential debate took place.

Greens listed the top twelve issues censored from
the Bush-Kerry debates:

(1) When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, it
violated international laws against "preemptive"
and "preventive" war (enacted after Hitler used
these excuses to justify invading Czechoslovakia,
Poland, and France); and violated the U.S.
Constitution's limit on the deployment of armed
forces to immediate protection of U.S. borders
(Article I, Section 8), and requirement that the
U.S. adhere to international treaties (Article
VI).

(2) When Sen. John Kerry and a majority of
Congress voted in October, 2002 to surrender
Congress's power to declare war over to President
Bush, they violated the constitutional separation
of powers (Article I, Section 8) and set the
scenario for President Bush's abuse of power when
he ordered the invasion of Iraq.

(3) When the Bush Administration deceived the
American people about the need to invade Iraq
(Mr. Bush's January 28, 2003 State of the Union
address; Secretary of State Powell's address to
the U.N. on February 5, 2003), it was already
known that Saddam Hussein probably didn't possess
WMDs, there was no plausible link between Saddam
and the 9/11 attacks, allegations over aluminum
rods and nuclear weapons materials from Africa
were fraudulent, and Iraq's own neighbors claimed
Saddam had no capacity to invade other nations.

(4) When Iraq administrator Bremer decreed in
2003 that Iraqi business could be owned up to
100% by foreign companies, the resulting mass
loss of jobs and small business drove thousands
of Iraqis to join the anti-U.S. insurgency.
Bremer's mandate violated international laws
against pillage; the Bush Administration's
reckless plan to use Iraq as a lab experiment for
its corporate-friendly 'free-trade' ideology
placed U.S. troops in Iraq at great risk.

(5) Whether Mr. Kerry or Mr. Bush wins, it will
probably be necessary to institute a draft in
order to maintain the occupation of Iraq.

(6) The USA Patriot Act violates numerous rights
afforded by the U.S. Constitution, especially
freedom of speech, freedom from search and
seizure without a warrant, and guarantee of due
process. Whether Mr. Kerry or Mr. Bush is
elected, if another terrorist attack occurs there
are already plans to extend the USA Patriot Act
even further, effectively nullifying the
Constitution.

(7) If we intend to avert catastrophic global
climate change, the U.S. must rejoin the Kyoto
agreement, strengthen and adhere to its
provisions, and make conversion to nonfossil and
nonnuclear energy the great project of the 21st
century. (Mr. Bush withdrew the U.S. from Kyoto,
Mr. Kerry is silent about rejoining the accord.)

(8) Republicans and Democrats have abandoned
working people, while coddling CEOs and major
shareholders with a $137 billion tax break
package for corporations. Neither Mr. Bush nor
Mr. Kerry mentioned a national guarantee of
livable wages, repeal of Taft-Hartley limits on
workplace organizing, or the Million Worker
March, planned for October 17 in Washington, D.C.
.

(9) Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry rejected
"government-run" coverage, but Congress's General
Accounting Office has determined that the only
health care reform that will save money is
single-payer national health insurance. Under
single-payer, all Americans would be guaranteed
quality treatment and medicine regardless of
income, employment, age, or prior medical
condition, and patients will enjoy choice of
physician. Middle and lower income Americans
will pay far less for single-payer coverage than
they do now for private coverage through
profit-driven HMOs and insurance firms.

(10) The 'War on Drugs' has not only failed to
stem drug abuse, it has resulted in the highest
number ever of Americans incarcerated (over 5.6
million have served time, the highest percentage
in the world) -- especially young people, poor
people, African Americans, and Latinos.

(11) Thanks to the 1996 Telecommunications Act
and other deregulation measures, fewer and fewer
corporations own more and more of the media and
regulate our news and entertainment. Democrats
who voted for the Telecommunications Act have
only themselves to blame for the Sinclair
Broadcast Group's plan to air an anti-Kerry
documentary on 62 TV stations.

(12) At-large winner-take-all elections have
allowed two parties corrupted by corporate lobby
money to dominate our political system. We can
restore our democracy through various reforms:
Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional
Representation, "clean election" options that
enable candidates to run without taking corporate
money, free time for candidates on our publicly
owned airwaves, and auditable paper ballots.
More information on election reforms:
 http://www.fairvote.org


MORE INFORMATION

The Green Party of the United States
 http://www.gp.org
1700 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 404
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193

Cobb/LaMarche 2004  http://www.votecobb.org

2004 Green candidates and elections
 http://www.greens.org/elections/


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Paid for by the Green Party of the United States.