Growing The Greens
Fascists live in fear of people-powered movements. Let’s flood statehouses & Congress with as many Greens as we can and watch the fascists melt down. It will be a beautiful sight to see!
Growing The Greens
words and photos by C. A. Matthews
My apologies in advance for the brevity and possible incoherence of this week’s post. I returned home Sunday evening from four days in Chicago at the Green Party Annual National Meeting. Early Monday morning I had a scheduled dental appointment to fix a broken tooth. So, I’m composing this blog article to publish at its usual Tuesday morning time while suffering from the twin effects of exhaustion and painkillers. Here goes nothin’!
My first thought is to post more photos than words about the convention. Yeah, that’s the safest way to go… I took a lot of photos and pages and pages of notes at the various workshops. My bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived brain is still trying to make sense of it all.
I attended workshops on organizing for peace; Uniting for Peace 2.0 (the UNGA resolution for Palestine); AI data centers and how they’re impacting our communities and the environment; Latin America under attack (by the usual suspects); the AI war machine (Or how Peter Thiel’s Palantir, Aduril and Erebor have effectively taken over the US military. It’s very scary as well as they’re bent on destroying our environment.); and the independent media and its role in the resistance (yeah!). You could say that Greens attract some very intelligent and very informative people.
Greens also have friends in “high places”--and you can interpret that anyway you like! We had video appearances by revolutionary socialist Kshama Sawant, Ali Abunimah from the Electronic Intifada, comedian/journo Lee Camp, and all-around lovely human being Roger Waters (formerly of Pink Floyd).
I got to meet some of my favorite podcasters from Revolutionary Blackout Network in person—Nick Cruse and “Unholy” Rome Bethea. And I can honestly say Briahna Joy Gray from the Bad Faith podcast is as nice in person as she is on the screen.
Of course there were some big names in the fields of politics and the resistance there. Medea Benjamin of CodePink took my suggestion to follow my Congress member Marcy Kaptur around the Capitol and get some straight answers as to why she supports Israel, loves war and nukes so much. (Go get her, Medea!) Sam Husseini, the founder of VotePact.org and possible candidate for Congress, was there along with former United Nations human rights official and human rights lawyer Craig Mokhiber.
It really was a pleasure hearing them speak on the situation in Palestine and how we can get the UN to act.
In my fuzzy mind, I’m sure to leave out a lot of other famous Greens who were in attendance, but of course 2024 presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein was there along with her dynamic V.P. Butch Ware. Together they ran a very successful fundraiser on Saturday night. (They make a great team.) Cheri Honkala and many representatives of the Poor People’s Army/Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign also attended, inspiring us to take on the corrupt system and establish justice for all. I want to start up a local chapter of the PPA/PPEHRC to deal with homeless issues now.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear former Minneapolis city council member Cam Gordon speak on what it’s like to run and serve in office as a Green. With sixteen years experience, Cam really gave some great tips. His wisdom is profound: “Get to know your constituents. Knock on doors, talk to them, learn their names and their concerns. Be there for them.” You can’t beat plain ol’ compassion and common sense, can you?
It was great talking with Eyde Arndell and Scott Free of The Green Livestream who interviewed me a few months back. Eyde is running for lt. governor of Illinois alongside Griselda Romero as governor. I was amazed at all the young candidates and the candidates of color running for office in upcoming elections. It gives me great hope that once all the “white hairs” are gone, the younger folks will keep running and fighting for Green Party ballot access and, of course, for people, planet and peace.
In 2026, the Green Party is going strong and growing ever more diverse, but it could grow more, in my opinion. A new steering committee has been elected, and it’s time they had some help with a full-time communications director. A legal counsel on retainer is also necessary in this day and age of endless lawsuits for ballot access, protecting ballot lines, and other dirty tricks, mostly perpetuated upon Green candidates by the DNC in their fear of losing young and more progressive voters. With professional help to carry the inspirational Green message and to fight off the nasty naysayers, I see Green Party rapid growth as not only possible but probable.
The statistics demonstrate why the dirty Dems have such fear of the Green Party—Green incumbents have a 90% re-election rate. Greens have proven time and time again that they have good ideas and that they can govern. Add to these facts that GP candidates don’t take Super PAC/PAC money and are strongly pro-Palestine and anti-war, and you get candidates that voters can trust to put the people first before the profits of the billionaires and the war machine.
This is a must. We live in a day and age of open fascism. The US military is merging with the genocidal Israeli Defense Force while instituting AI surveillance tactics with the help of its own Gestapo (ICE). It’s not just immigrants whose lives are in danger—it’s every American’s life on the line. Now more than ever, we need honest and moral leadership. Green candidates fulfill this need.
I know some of you will say there’s no use in wasting energy in electoral politics, and I see your point. Working within a corrupt system is a slow way of bringing it down or reforming it into a fair and just institution, but we must use all the weapons we currently have at our disposal. The duopoly/uniparty lives in fear of progressive and people-powered movements such as the Green Party. I say let’s flood the ballots and the statehouses and the governors’ mansions and the Congress with as many “scary” Greens as we can and watch the fascists melt down. It will be a beautiful sight to see!
It’s this melt down of the current regime I see as our opening to true Revolution and an overhaul of the fascist agenda hardwired into the Constitution since 1787. We are the enslaved fighting the fascists, tearing the evil down, building the truth up, planting trees, cleaning our air, land and water all at the same time we disarm those who provoke Armageddon.
If it sounds chaotic, it is—and it will be. But this chaos will someday build that much desired and righteous world of “People Planet Peace” as the Greens’ t-shirts say. I hope I’ll live to see it come to fruition, but if not, I hope you will.
To quote Lee Camp: “Keep fighting!”
Conscientious Objectors: Call the G.I. Rights Hotline at 1-877-447-4487 or the Center for Conscience & War at 1-800-379-2679.
Grow your mind by reading independent media…
The Data Center Fight Is Going Global https://popularresistance.org/the-data-center-fight-is-going-global/
America’s Climate Free Fall https://popularresistance.org/americas-climate-free-fall/
An Appeal to the Consciences of Those Who Are Bombing Iran https://codepink.substack.com/p/an-appeal-to-the-consciences-of-those
Is Iran Becoming Another ‘Forever War’? (w/ John Mearsheimer) | The Chris Hedges Report https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/is-iran-becoming-another-forever
A forensic reconstruction of a school the Pentagon had watched for decades — and still chose to hit. https://mandissent.com/p/uncovering-the-killing-of-168-children
Pentagon Hiding U.S. Troops Death Toll (video with Jeffrey Sachs) https://mandissent.com/p/pentagon-hiding-us-troops-death-toll
The Fuse is Lit: From the “Yellow Line” to the West Bank, This Is How an Intifada Ignites https://mandissent.com/p/the-fuse-is-lit-from-the-yellow-line
After “Political Terrorism” Summit, U.S. Names 43 Americans + Groups https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/after-political-terrorism-event-us
US Gov Accuses Cuba of Creating All Progressivism In The US Over Past 50 Years https://realleecamp.substack.com/p/state-depts-new-cuba-report-proves
Hours after they celebrated their son’s Qur’an memorisation, Israel wiped out this Gaza family https://palestinewillbefree.substack.com/p/israel-wiped-out-gaza-family-hours-after-sons-quran-memorisation
Why Lebanon is so Important https://euroyankee.substack.com/p/why-lebanon-is-so-important
India’s Cockroach Protests End as Modi Government Bows to Demands https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/india-cockroach-protests-end-modi-education-minister-resigns
ICE Quietly Arresting More People Than Ever According to Latest Data https://austinkocher.substack.com/p/ice-quietly-arresting-more-people
Flock ‘Objects to Our Removing Their Equipment’: Emails Reveal Why a Town Put Bags Over Its Flock Cameras https://www.404media.co/flock-objects-to-our-removing-their-equipment-emails-reveal-why-a-town-put-bags-over-its-flock-cameras/
Trump slaps 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion in Canadian goods https://www.nationofchange.org/2026/07/21/trump-slaps-50-percent-tariffs-on-20-billion-in-canadian-goods/
‘Earth’s Greatest Enemy’ Delivers A Penetrating Insight Into The Heart Of Our Dystopia https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/earths-greatest-enemy-delivers-a
This Open-Source AI Incident Should Worry Every Developer https://medium.com/@sovannaro/this-open-source-ai-incident-should-worry-every-developer-f88b167bdd03
The Green Party in the USA seems like a great option. I would have voted for Jill Stein in the last election if I was American.
hope you recover swiftly from your procedure CA. These greens and their support are really encouraging, let's continue to build momentum against fascism and authoritarianism