I am very pleased to hear of Ms. McKinney switch to the green party and her candidacy for the presidency. I look forward to her inclusion in the debates with the democrats and republicans. It is about time there is input from the American people rather than just from the rich and their representatives. It is time to address our needs rather than the needs of the corporations and their insatiable greed.

For the Green Party, APN endorses former US Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA). From Hurricane Katrina, to electronic voting, to impeachment of President Bush, McKinney provided strong leadership in the US House.

Her decision to leave the Democratic Party is principled and inspires our imaginations. McKinney’s leadership in the Green Party will certainly help build the Party nationwide, leading to a broader, more representative array of choices on more states’ ballots in the future.

Unfortunately, the Green Party is not on Primary ballot for President in Georgia. Therefore, voters interested in supporting McKinney, or any other candidate, for the Green Party nomination, may contact the Green Party of Georgia to participate in their statewide convention.

These are just some of the principal reasons why I support Cynthia McKinney for President of the United States. But more than her stance on any issue is the fact that when you look at her overall record, her writings, her speeches and statements (what she has actually said, and not what the corporate media and the Right attribute to her) and her activism, it becomes clear that Cynthia McKinney is the real deal, a real fighter for the public good, a person of integrity and principle.

She may not have known it until fairly recently, but she belonged in the Green Party all along. I can't count the number of times when my wife and I would be watching some more bad news coming out of our nation's Capitol and watching the disappointing performance of many of our so-called representatives in Congress and saying to ourselves, "Well at least Cynthia McKinney is in there fighting the good fight." And I can't count the number of times when I've sighed, and said, "Boy I sure wish Cynthia McKinney would join the Green Party!"

Now she has come to do that - and in doing so, she has found her true political home, a place where she and her politics will be appreciated. I am gratified and elated that she has seen fit to join us. For so many years, she has been fighting for us. Now I am ready to fight for her - and I appeal to Illinois Greens and the voters of Illinois to join me in the fight to get her elected as our next President of the United States.

Bruce Gagnon, coordinator for the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, yesterday afternoon posted in a piece called "Cynthia Turns Me Green", his endorsement of Ms McKinney to his blog, Organizing Notes. Cynthia has long relied on the research from the Global Network for informing her work on this threat to life on this planet. In his post immediately following her departure, Bruce wrote:

. . .

McKinney will be focusing on jobs in a green society in her campaign. She told us today about having just visited with the Austria Green Party where they are turning their country into a model green society in order to deal with global warming. Cynthia talked about how people could be put to work learning to build green structures, repairing America's declining infrastructure and creating sustainable technologies instead of bombs.

That is just what we need to be hearing from someone running for president.

Cynthia defined winning as helping to build the Green Party into a viable alternative party in the U.S. that gives the future generations some place to go for political expression and change. Her ability to attract women, people of color, and disaffected Democrats and Republicans will surely provide the Greens the kind of boost they have long needed. How many times have I heard activists ask how do we develop connections to the black community so we can work together? Now is our chance.

For me the whole campaign makes total sense. Mary Beth and I gave Cynthia a $100 donation, which for us is alot of money. We see it as a good investment in the future.