Green Party

Greens Plan Response to Bush's State of the Union Address.

Friday, January 24, 2003

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, scottmclarty@yahoo.com 
Dean Myerson, National Political Coordinator, 202-319-7191, GPHQ--at--gp.org
Adam Eidinger, Shirts Off Coalition, 202-744-2671, enrages@bellatlantic.net 
Natalie Johnson Lee, Ward 5 member of Minneapolis City Council, 612-673-2205

GREENS PLAN A RESPONSE TO BUSH'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
Minneapolis Council member Natalie Johnson Lee will speak on behalf of the party during 'The Real State of the Union' Rally and Concert on January 28.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Minneapolis City Council member Natalie Johnson Lee will deliver the response from the Green Party of the United States to President Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 28.

Ms. Johnson Lee will speak at 'The Real State of the Union' (also called 'The Sorry State of the Union') Rally and Concert to take place on the west side of the Capitol, near the Reflecting Pool at 3rd Street NW. The event, organized by the Shirts Off Coalition and scheduled from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., will also feature live music, DJs, dance and spoken word performances, heaters, and a giant video screen.

President Bush's address and the Democratic Party's response will air between 9 and 10 p.m., after which Ms. Johnson Lee will begin her speech.

NOTE TO REPORTERS:
Natalie Johnson Lee will be available for interviews during the day on Tuesday. A photograph of Ms. Johnson Lee can be found at her web site http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward5/

Green Party Steering Committee member Anita Rios and secretary Nathalie Paravicini will also be available for interviews during the same time. To arrange an interview, call the party office at (202) 296-7755.

"America is in the midst of being threatened from many directions, but not the directions that some would have us believe", said Johnson Lee, a Green Party member who was elected in November, 2001 to represent Ward 5 on the Minneapolis City Council. "Our greatest threat is not Iraq, North Korea, or Iran. Our greatest threat lies in our sense of hope eroding, our civil rights stripped, our economy toppling, our seniors starving, our children not cared for, and our collective talents remaining untapped."

"The American people deserve to hear the Green Party response to President Bush's State of the Union Address," continued Johnson Lee. "While the president will address our hopelessness with a march toward war, we will spread a message of peace throughout the world. While the president will tackle the racial tension in our nation by rolling back affirmative action, the Green Party will advocate inviting all to the table who have been left behind. While the president proposes to heal our financial woes with tax cuts for the rich, our message will be to invest in the untapped workforce in our midst. The Republicrat's tired message of yesterday must be replaced with the Green Party's reinvigorated message of today. We are on a new mission with a new vigor and we mean business!"

"President Bush will be the first President of the United States to face significant protest when he makes his second State of the Union address," said event organizer Adam Eidinger. "The Shirts Off Coalition is named for the fact that President Bush is taking the 'Shirts Off Our Backs' to pay for his war."

MORE INFORMATION

The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org 
National office: 1314 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN

Natalie Johnson Lee, Ward 5 member of Minneapolis City Council
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward5/ 

The Real State of the Union http://www.thecriticalmoment.org/union 

search: cmp

 

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