McCourt, New York Greens Announce Plan to Bring National Guard Home from Iraq

Green Party of New York State
www.gpnys.org

The Green Party of NY 2006 Peace Slate:
Malachy McCourt for Governor -  www. votemalachymccourt.org  
Alison Duncan for Lt Governor ­ www. alisonduncan.org 
Rachel Treichler for Attorney General ­ www. voterachel.org 
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller ­ www. gpnys.org 
Howie Hawkins for US Senate ­ www. hawkinsforsenate.org 

October 10, 2006

Green Gubernatorial Candidate McCourt to Announce Plan To Bring National Guard Home from Iraq

• WHO: Malachy McCourt, Julia Willebrand and Rachel Treichler, Green Party Candidates for Governor, Comptroller and Attorney General 

• WHAT: Press conference to announce McCourt's plan to bring New York State's National Guard troops home from Iraq

• WHERE: Bath Veterans Administration Medical Center in the Village of Bath, Steuben County, New York

• WHEN: Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 4:00 PM

• WHY: To make the public aware of the Green Party as the only major party in New York to demand an immediate withdrawal of United States forces from Iraq.

• BACKGROUND: It is widely assumed that the Iraq War is a national issue with no relevance to state politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. The huge cost of the war has already had, and will continue to have, an immensely negative impact on the services that New York State is able to provide its citizens, and our state's National Guard continues to be deployed in Iraq. Of all the troops stationed in that country, various estimates have put the percentage of National Guard troops at 40 percent of the total, and they have endured a heavier price in soldiers killed and wounded than they have for any previous conflict. Each state branch of the National Guard is ultimately under the authority of the governor of that state, not the president. Mr. McCourt will announce that, if elected governor of New York, he will use his veto power (as authorized by the Supreme Court) to bring New York State's Guard troops home as soon as possible.

• ORGANIZATION: The Green Party of New York State is part of the Green Party of the United States, the only party that consistently advocates for the principles embodied by our Four Pillars: ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy and nonviolence. The Party opposes both sides of the Republican - Democratic duopoly -- really a single party with two heads -- that stands for militarism and corporate greed and against universal healthcare, affordable education and a sustainable environment.

Malachy McCourt, the Green Party candidate for governor of New York, will speak at a Bring Home the Troops Rally in Bath at 4:00 pm, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2006. The rally will be held at the entrance to the Veterans Administration facilities in Bath. At the rally, McCourt will discuss his plan as governor to bring home New York's national guard troops. As the Governor of  New York State, it is McCourt who will be commander-in-chief of New York's Army and Air National Guard. McCourt will also address the huge cost of the war to New York State. 

McCourt will be joined at the rally by two other Green Party candidates, Julia Willebrand, running for Comptroller and Rachel Treichler, running for Attorney General. Willebrand will talk about how, as Comptroller, she will divest New York's pension funds from defense contractors. Treichler will discuss why the governor's status as commander gives him the right to veto the use of State National Guard units by the federal government if the causes for which the guard is called up do not meet constitutional requirements.

The Green Party candidates will also address their exclusion from the League of Women Voters debates and how their exclusion is stifling public discussion about the war. The final gubernatorial debate sponsored by the League is occurring October 12, 2006, in Buffalo. The Green Party candidates will attend the congressional debate sponsored by the Steuben League of Women Voters at 7:00 pm at St. Thomas Church in Bath.

Green Party supporters are invited to have dinner with the candidates at 5:00 pm at Sonoras Restaurant, 300 West Morris St. in Bath.

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