Why Is Green Party Candidate Ben Manski Using Democratic President Obama In His Campaign Literature?
I was truly amused when a college student thrust into my hand a piece of literature Tuesday at the President Obama rally. The face-up side to the half-page thick-stock flyer had a picture of Obama and two quotations he recently gave at a political event.
But then the flyer turned into a Ben Manski for State Assembly piece, and when flipped over featured more on his race along with a photo of the candidate.
Wow!
Seems not too long ago Ben Manski was doing all he could to undermine the Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore to make sure Ralph Nader would be elected to the White House. Seems the only thing America got was an election decided by the Supreme Court, and an invasion of Iraq. Someone made a bad decision on who to back for the White House. But now Manski is using Democratic President Obama for his political advantage!
Was President Ralph Nader not available for an endorsement?
The piece of political literature is an attempt to make voters think that Manski somehow has the backing of this president or more broad support among Democrats than he actually has. There is NO mention that Manski is not a Democrat, nor that he is running on the Green Party ticket.
This type of politics cheapens the credibility of Ben Manski. Worse, this is not good for the political process that Manski claims needs fixing.
.gif)
Actually, you care about getting your man Hulsey elected. To move to the 77th at the age of 8 and attend Randall, Van Hise and West High School over the next ten years or so qualifies as “native” enough for most of us.
Let’s see, I was born at Saint Mary’s, lived on a farm in Vermont township until I was four, went to kindergarten and first grade at Bret Harte school on the South Side of Chicago, then moved to Monona where I continued grade school and subsequently graduated from Monona Grove High School.
Where am I from? It doesn’t matter. If I told you I was a native of Monona and you called me a liar and said I was from Black Earth, I guess I’d just smile.
Quibble. Not when we’re talking about honesty.
Manski was being dishonest when he claimed he was a “native” of the 77th.
I don’t care where either Ben or Brett were born. I care about being honest.
Ed Blume
Hulsey campaign volunteer
This comment is so incoherent it is hard to find a point of entry. Still, the Manski video (from 2006, posted in 2007, not from May 5, 2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2YcVCBCp5M ) speaks for itself, it speaks for Ben, and it speaks to me. Things are broken in American politics. A revitalization is required. That revitalization isn’t going to come from a candidate who carries a briquet of switchgrass around like a talisman while working hard to see that new power plants are built that will fire up burning 90% coal and 10% “renewables” while still belching out 100% of the CO2 and the CO of the old technology.
Quibble. Manski grew up here. Where did your man Hulsey grow up?
Ben Manski represents an opportunity for reform that Brett Hulsey does not. Hulsey is all about compromise. Witness his promotion of switchgrass as a combustible fuel alternative. The challenge lies in moving from combustibles (all of which produce greenhouse gases) to alternative sources like wind, solar, and water/gravity.
Ben Manski is all about leadership. He represents the future of a revitalized progressive movement, a big tent that includes progressive Democrats, Greens, and Independents. Brett Hulsey represents more of the same. Not more of the same excellent representation that the 77th has had for the last fifty years, but more of the same kind of corporate compromise that has eroded the Wisconsin Idea and diluted the human values of the state’s Democratic party.
In 2000 I was as angry as any other Democrat about the Florida outcome and the travesty of a Supreme Court intervention. I was convinced that Ralph Nader was both unqualified and not a viable candidate politically. Ben Manski and I disagreed about that.
This year though, we agree. The 77th is a bellwether of progressive representation. Ben Manski is a hard working man, an organizer and a leader. I understand why Democrat Spencer Black must remain quiet about his choice of whom to support. I was gratified to see the Capital Times whole hearted endorsement of Ben. I can’t channel Midge Miller, but if she were alive, I think I know who she would support.