Dr. Jill Stein is running for president… again.
Maybe the third time is the charm for Stein, who also ran in 2012 and 2016.
Stein is a medical doctor but got into politics in 2002 when she ran for governor in Massachusetts. In that election, she received 3.4% of the vote, losing to Republican Mitt Romney who got 49.2%.
“I saw that we have the best democracy money can buy, and it’s virtually impossible to improve the conditions of our health without addressing the mother of all illnesses – our sick political system,” she said. “So, I basically moved from clinical medicine into political medicine.”
Stein calls herself an “anti-politician,” but wants to see her party take the highest office in the land.
However, you won’t see her on the national debate stage this year.
That’s because to qualify for it, candidates must:
- Be constitutionally eligible to hold the office of President
- Appear on enough state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College
- And have at least 15% national support based on the average of five national polling organizations
So far, Stein is on over half of the state’s ballots, according to a Facebook post.
But that still likely isn’t enough to get Stein to the White House.
Project FiveThirtyEight shows Vice President Kamala Harris polling at 47.1%, former President Donald Trump at 43.8%, and Stein around 1%.
In her last run for president, Stein got nearly 1.7 million votes, or 1.1%.
But low numbers aren’t stopping Stein.
“Even while we have not won large numbers, we have very much won the day and we have transformed the public agenda,” she said. “It’s really true throughout our history that it has fallen to independent third parties to drive everything from the labor agenda, to the environmental agenda, and the women’s rights agenda.”
“While we haven’t won the highest office in the land, we have completely transformed what people are talking about and what people demand,” Stein added.
This campaign cycle, Stein is running on a platform of “anti-genocide, anti-war, pro-worker, (and) climate emergency.” Some core tenants are:
- Providing healthcare to the public through Medicare for all.
- Cutting the military’s budget and putting an “end to the genocide” in the Israel and Gaza conflict.
- Fixing the housing crisis by creating a national program of rent control, stopping private equity from purchasing housing supply, and building public housing.
- Stopping the migration crisis, which Stein said is caused by the United States’ role in overturning other democracies and forcing regime changes.
- Calling for a climate emergency and creating a Green New Deal.
Stein’s running mate is Prof. Butch Ware, who is a professor of history and empires. She met him in his role as a journalist and social media commentator and said she found they had a lot in common.
“As a Jewish white woman and a Muslim Black man, we found that we had really interesting perspectives that were very complementary and felt that was a conversation that the American people are really ready for right now,” Stein said.
Stein spoke with WMNF’s Meghan Bowman about her policies and the party:
Stein: I saw that, we have the best democracy money can buy, and it’s virtually impossible to improve the conditions of our health without addressing the mother of all illnesses are sick political system.
Bowman: Historically, at least here in the U.S., the Green Party has tried to put candidates in more municipal and local positions to kind of introduce the party to the people. Is that still the case? And if not, what’s changed?
Stein: Oh, very much. We remain very much a locally centered party, a grassroots bottom-up party. So we’ve had approximately, well, well over a thousand local officeholders over the last couple of decades. We currently have about 150, elected office holders. So we’ve been very much, locally focused and, really starting with the campaign of Ralph Nader, we began to also take positions in the national elections as well, largely because there was very much a need for a people-powered choice in our elections. And that remains true to this day.
Bowman: I’m glad you brought up Ralph Nader. So in ’96, I researched that he got just 1% of the vote nationally. How do you think it will fare this year?
Stein: So, even while we have not won large numbers, we have very much won the day and we have transformed the public agenda. You know, it’s really true throughout our history that it has fallen to independent third parties to drive, you know, to drive everything from, the labor agenda, to the environmental agenda and the women’s rights agenda.
So, while we haven’t won the, you know, the highest office in the land, we have completely transformed the, you know, what people are talking about and what people demand.
Bowman: The two-party system is not perfect, but it is here for the foreseeable future. What would you say to those folks who say voting outside the main parties of Democrat and Republican is like throwing your vote away?
Stein: You know, I would answer (that) it’s throwing your vote away if you don’t actually stand up for what it is that you need and what it is that you want. And let me just say that the answer to this corrupt sold-out two-party system. You know, the American people don’t need to be persuaded that the system is really toxic and has really thrown working people under the bus.
I would say to people, you know, who think that they need, you know, that their vote is owned by Democrats, that nobody owns your vote. Politicians have to earn your vote. And if you simply caved to this propaganda that someone else owns your vote, you completely lose your power in a democracy. And unless you have, billions of dollars in your pockets, you know, then you really rely on being able to stand up and be heard in an election.
If you silence yourself by voting for the lesser evil, then there’s no trace. This is not a system which is solving our problems. Things are continuing to get worse, and the American people are really at the breaking point.
Bowman: Let me ask you this. While there are significant differences, it does seem that there are significant similarities between the values of the Green Party and the Democratic Party. Why not roll those voters into that party to ensure a win?
Stein: Well, you know, that was the rationale for the Bernie Sanders campaign, for example. And we saw where that went, you know, basically to a dead end within the Democratic Party. You know, we’ve been there, done that. For a long time, most Greens were former Democrats that just got tired of being, abused and beat up by and misled, by the party.
So unfortunately, that strategy does not work. And, you know, the American people, I think, have had enough of the, lesser evil. And it’s time to fight for the greater good like our lives depend on it.
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