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Cobb Campaigns in the South. |
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COBB/LaMARCHE 2004 October 13, 2004 Contact: Blair Bobier, Media Director 541.929.5755 or 414.364.1596 COBB CAMPAIGNS IN THE SOUTH David Cobb, the Green Party's presidential candidate today called on the League of Women Voters to let the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in South Carolina, Efia Nwangaza, participate in League sponsored debates. Cobb, who has participated in a series of debates with other third party presidential candidates, was arrested in St. Louis on Friday protesting his exclusion from the corporate-sponsored debates which are restricted to two-party candidates. He is currently in South Carolina as part of campaign swing through the South. "It is shameful that the League of Women Voters is excluding two women, including Efia, from the U.S. Senate debates which they sponsor. It is even more disconcerting, to say the least, that of five candidates, both African Americans, including Efia, are excluded. Without the participation of Efia Nwangaza and the other excluded candidates, I can guarantee you that the people of South Carolina won't hear a full airing of the issues important to them. Efia Nwangaza is against the death penalty and knows that it is racist in its application. You won't hear about the racist death penalty from the two-party candidates, both of whom happen to be Caucasian. We join with people from across South Carolina in saying: "Let Efia debate!'" In bringing his campaign to the South, Cobb is visiting a region of the country neglected by the Democratic presidential campaign except for the electoral battleground of Florida. The Green Party is growing throughout the South and is on the ballot in Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi and Florida. Green Party vice presidential candidate Pat LaMarche, the only woman on a major presidential ticket this year, said that she stands in solidarity with the women excluded from the South Carolina debates. "It's bad enough to silence voices but silencing women when we head 70% of households living in poverty is counterproductive to finding solutions for our problems. I've always had such respect for the League of Women Voters since for so long they have stood for the right thing to do. They need to reclaim their legacy of cutting edge activism," said LaMarche. To learn more about Efia Nwangaza's campaign and the effort to include this long-time activist and civil rights lawyer from Greenville, South Carolina in the debates, see http://peacecandidate.org. For more information: search: elct, elws, rgt |