By David McCorquodale, Green Party of Delaware
Is there anyone to voice opposition and alternative strategy to the dysfunctional government in Washington D.C.? Yes —the Green Shadow Cabinet! After the 2012 presidential campaign, people associated with the Jill Stein / Cheri Honkala ticket wanted to continue to speak on the pressing issues of the country and the world. Out of that campaign developed the cabinet, a group composed of nearly 100 prominent scientists, community and labor leaders, physicians, cultural workers, veterans, and more.
While the Green Shadow Cabinet (GSC) is not part of the Green Party of the United States, many people in the cabinet are Greens and its statements generally reflect the Key Values of the Green Party. Its purpose is to respond to developments in Washington, as well as around the nation and world, and to demonstrate that another type of government is possible.
The GSC provides alternative responses to current events and policies. From calls to action against another war back in Iraq to a Green counter proposal on federal approaches to education, the GSC shows what a Green government would be like. It is constructed much more broadly than the actual president’s cabinet. For instance, the GSC has positions, which have no corollaries in the actual cabinet: Secretaries of Culture, Peace, Racial Justice, Immigration and Sustainability and other positions, such as Ambassador of Peace, Assistant Secretary of Holistic Health, Director of Global Democracy Programs, and Administrators for Workers Rights and Workers Power.
With so many thoughtful participants, the GSC generates about 30 statements each month, on issues ranging from the war on drugs, to building a new economy.
With so many issues that concern Greens, the GSC helps provide succinct views on current problems and what can be done for change from a true grassroots perspective.