Greens Nominate McKinney at National Convention in Chicago

The Green Party of the United States held its 2008 National Convention July 11-12 in Chicago with the goal of channeling the city's history of political action and its more recent environmental revival into Green Party progress.

In several ways, the party's choice of Chicago to host its convention is significant. The city has hosted some of the most notable nominations in American presidential history, including Abraham Lincoln of the previously minor Republican Party in 1860, Warren Harding's 1920 nomination in a smoke-filled room, and the Democratic Convention in 1968 that chose Hubert Humphrey and incited mass protest.

In the 2006 gubernatorial election, 361,000 Illinoisans, or 10.3 percent of voters, cast their ballots for Rich Whitney, establishing the Greens as a major party in the state. As the city and state have become more open to Green candidates, they have also become literally greener themselves. Since the 1990s, Chicago has become increasingly environmentally conscious, as the government has encouraged sustainable development, green roofs, park improvements, bicycle paths, wetlands preservation, and the planting of thousands of trees.

The Green Party convention, though sharing much of the basic format of the major parties' conventions, was markedly different. Upon entering the Palmer House Hilton and Chicago Symphony Center where the events were held, guests were greeted not with the elaborate security checks one might expect, but with open doors and easily accessible candidates. Though held in two of the city's more ornate facilities, the atmosphere was much more informal and collegial than contentious and competitive. In the lobbies between events, supporters, candidates, and passersby conversed openly, sometimes even engaging in song. Though some wore business attire, others had homemade t-shirts, overalls, sneakers, message pins, gray ponytails, or dreadlocks, making for a rather diverse group.

On Friday, the four primary candidates for the Green Party nomination participated in a forum moderated by Whitney where they each had a few minutes to speak about their candidacy before taking questions, all of which were submitted by audience members. Although much has been said in the media regarding the unique backgrounds of the presumptive Democratic and Republican candidates -- Barrack Obama as a biracial and enigmatic younger man and John McCain as a military hero and "maverick" -- the Green candidates are rather unique personalities themselves.

West Virginian Jesse Johnson is a farmer, writer, filmmaker, and actor, in addition to a political activist for the environment in his home state. Cynthia McKinney is a former Democratic Congresswoman from Georgia who spent 12 years in the U.S. Congress before becoming a Green last year. Dr. Kent Mesplay was raised in a rainforest and is an environmental activist in San Diego. Kat Swift is a Texas Green who, if she were to win the presidential election, would be mere days older than the minimum age for the job.

In the forum, the candidates spoke about a variety of topics, most of which related to the party's "four pillars" (ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence) and "ten key values."

McKinney, who entered the convention as the presumptive nominee, and Johnson, had the most complete answers at the forum at the Hilton and seemed to get the most enthusiastic responses from the audience. Swift also received significant support from the audience, though her answers tended to be significantly shorter than the time allotted.

On Saturday, the convention attendees convened at the Chicago Symphony Center for the state roll call and candidate nomination. Each state was called alphabetically and a delegate had about a minute to say something about their state, how many delegates they had, and how the delegates were allotted to the candidates. The majority of delegates went to McKinney, as expected, but there were a few exceptions along the way.

For instance, Texas gave Swift 10 of its 12 delegates, moving its homespun nominee to an eventual third-place finish with 38.5 delegates. Support for Ralph Nader, the Green nominee in 1996 and 2000, remained strong, with several states committing delegates to the Independent candidate who did not pursue the Green nomination this year. Most significantly, California allotted a majority of its delegates to Nader, boosting him to a second-place finish with 78.5 delegates. This was greeted with a combination of booing and impassioned cheering, as the crowd was clearly divided over the former Green nominee.

With 313 delegates, McKinney was the clear winner, as had been expected for several months. Upon the announcement of the official tally, the lights in the symphony hall were dimmed and a video screen began to display images of protests, demonstrations, and John Lennon, as the speakers blared McKinney's campaign theme, Lennon's "Power to the People."

2004 Green vice presidential candidate Pat LaMarche announced that McKinney had chosen her running mate, Rosa Clemente, a "hip-hop activist" who was raised in the South Bronx. Clemente came on stage to a rap song that she asked the sound engineers to "let play" for several minutes before she gave a speech that explained her background and ideology.

As Clemente closed her speech, the crowd grew louder for McKinney and "Power to the People" and "TRUTH" signs waved in the air. In her acceptance speech, McKinney thanked her parents and son, who were present, and noted that her son was "the first McKinney to join the Green Party" and that her parents were the "newest members."

In her acceptance speech, McKinney noted that in the Democratic primaries, a "real discussion on race and gender was studiously avoided." Building on this, she promised a campaign that would emphasize the rights of women and minorities in particular.

Though she has a difficult road ahead of her, judging by her enthusiasm and the energy of the crowd, McKinney has positioned herself for a serious run for the presidency this fall.