Jill Stein’s strange choice for Green VP

What was Jill Stein thinking when she picked Ajamu Baraka as the Green Party’s vice presidential candidate?

• Baraka’s early life is a mystery.  Neither his Wikipedia page nor his own web log nor the Green Party’s web page contain such elementary information as his date of birth, his place of birth, his schooling, his first job or whether Ajamu Baraka is his birth name.  Does he have something to hide?
• He has called Bernie Sanders a sheepdog for the Democratic Party and a supporter of American imperialism—which seems to run counter to Stein’s goal of seeking the votes Sanders supporters.

I don’t entirely disagree with Baraka.  It is true that Sanders isn’t as eager for war as Clinton, but he does not challenge the basic assumptions behind U.S. war policies.

The problem is that mere denunciation will not change anybody’s mind.  Baraka’s rhetoric will appeal only to those who already agree with him.

I do not regard Baraka’s nomination as a deal-breaker.   Unlike the Greens, the Democratic and Republican leaders are still committed to perpetual war.  Candidates of the Green, Libertarian and Constitution parties, while very different from each other, would not wage undeclared wars.  The Green Party, moreover, is the only party that takes the global warming crisis seriously.  As of now, I still intend to vote for Stein.

LINKS

Jill Stein’s VP choice thinks Bernie Sanders is a capitalist-imperialist by John Aravosis for AMERICAblog.

5 Ways Jill Stein’s VP Pick Will Shake US Politics Beyond 2016 by Elliott Gabriel for teleSUR.   The case for Baraka.

Ajamu Baraka: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know by Ricky Campbell for Heavy.

Is the Green Party’s  vice presidential candidate Ajamu Baraka ineligible for office? by law professor Derek T. Muller on his Excess of Democracy web log.

Tags: Ajamu Baraka, Bernie Sanders, Election 2016, Green Party, Jill Stein