FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, June 14, 2004

CONTACT:      Earl Gerhard:  713-532-3003

     www.txgreens.org

Texas Greens back Cobb, ‘safe-states’ strategy

Texas Greens overwhelmingly endorsed favorite son David Cobb’s quest for the Green Party’s presidential nomination, backing his “safe-states” campaign and party-building strategy over proposals to endorse Ralph Nader or sit out the November election.

Cobb, a former Houston activist and attorney, won 71 percent of the state party’s presidential delegates after outlining a campaign that combines fierce criticism of pro-war, pro-Patriot Act Democrats with the imperative of removing the Republicans from the White House.

“George W. Bush is a problem, and we must and will deal with that problem,” Cobb told delegates to the Green Party’s state convention over the weekend in Bastrop. “But Bush is not THE problem. The real problem is a corporately controlled two-party system that’s hijacked our democracy. And the solution is to build a strong progressive movement that stands for social and racial justice, for peace, for a living wage, for universal health care, for real democracy. That’s what this campaign is about.”

Cobb, who has campaigned in 40 states on a budget of $35,000, extended his lead for the nomination by claiming 25 of Texas’ 35 delegates to the party’s national convention June 24-28 in Milwaukee. Most of the remaining 10 delegates will support running no candidate for president, a move that would leave the door open to a Green Party endorsement of Nader’s candidacy as an independent.

Cobb’s “safe-states” campaign will work aggressively in about 40 states where either Kerry or Bush is considered a sure winner while urging supporters in “swing states” to help ensure Bush’s defeat. Voters in Bush’s home state are free to express their dissatisfaction with Kerry’s poor record on progressive issues, Cobb said, including support for the war in Iraq and the Patriot Act and opposition to a living wage and universal health care. The Green Party does not have a ballot line in Texas but expects to qualify its presidential nominee as a write-in candidate.

“In Texas, I say, Don’t waste your vote. Your vote for John Kerry cannot help unelect Bush,” said Cobb, who hopes to be on the ballot in Texas as a write-in candidate. “Don’t waste your vote on a corporatist, militarist Democratic Party. Invest it in the long-term building of a progressive movement.”

Party growth at the state and local levels is the main point of his campaign, Cobb said. Since 1996, the Green Party has grown from 10 state parties to 44, from five ballot lines to 23, and from 40 elected officials to 206.

In other business, Texas convention delegates passed platform planks calling for verifiable voting equipment, the legalization of medical marijuana, the removal of restrictions blocking stem-cell research, and an end to physical punishment of children. They also elected a new state executive committee headed by co-chair Alfred Molison of Houston, who shared Cobb’s assessment of the Green Party as prepared to navigate difficult waters while continuing to grow.

“So many people are concerned about getting rid of Bush, I simply can’t fault them for not being more involved with the Green Party right now,” Molison said. “But the minute Kerry gets elected, a tremendous proportion of his support will disappear, because they’ll realize that the Democrats drink from the same mega-corporate money pit as the Republicans.”

For more on Cobb’s campaign, please visit www.votecobb.org.

# # #