The U.S. Green Party platform has appealed to me, and I joined them as a member when I was still in the States, though more as a GP Democrat.  After Obama´s lack of independence from corporate influence became apparent in the mortgage derivatives financial crisis of 2008, I even stopped referring to myself as a Democrat.  What is the use, since the real issues of corporate influence were not being addressed by the Dems, and no less than the GOP?  Here are some selections from their response to Obama´s SOU in January.  Go GP.

Green Party leaders respond to Obama's State of the Union speech
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Greens on solving the deficit: end the wars, cut the military budget, tax the rich. Greens on solving the health care crisis: enact Medicare For All. Greens on jobs: a 'Green New Deal' with massive public investment in green jobs and clean energy.


WASHINGTON, DC -- The Green Party leaders offered comments on President Obama's 2011 State of the Union speech to Congress and the nation, scheduled for Tuesday, January 25. The Green response covers major issues the President will discuss in his speech, as well as topics he won't address.

The Green Party will air an online livestream with party members discussing the State of the Union, beginning at 9 pm ET, 6 pm PT, and running concurrently with the speech. Viewers can watch and participate on the Green Party Livestream channel (http://www.livestream.com/greenpartyus). Call-in comments will be accepted on Skype after the speech ends.

"There’s a lot of talk about Democrats and Republicans 'reaching across the aisle' during the State of the Union. What about the gap between Washington and the rest of the country, much wider than the aisle between the two Titanic parties?" said Carl Romanelli, 2006 Green candidate for the US Senate in Pennsylvania.

HEALTH CARE

Should the Democratic health care reform bill be repealed? Yes, say Greens, and replaced with a Medicare For All plan -- legislation for single-payer national health care, covering everyone regardless of ability to pay, age, or prior medical condition, while allowing freedom to choose one's physician and hospital. Medicare For All reduces costs dramatically by enabling price controls and because Medicare's overhead is only about 3%, while the for-profit health insurance bureaucracy -- the real "death panels" -- pad costs by up to 30% for administrative overhead, executive bonuses, and profits for investors. Medicare For All would help business and stimulate the economy by relieving employers of the burden of providing health benefits. ...


THE ECONOMY

There are millions of jobs waiting to be created in alternative energy, retrofitting of buildings and other forms of conservation, and expansion of public transportation to reduce car traffic, say Greens, but this can only happen with a 'Green New Deal' with public investment in these ideas at national, state, and local levels. All of the Green New Deal proposals have become vitally necessary in the century of global warming. See "Fast Forward to Renewable Energy" by Cecile Lawrence (http://www.greenpapers.net/?p=58).

...

CORPORATE 'PERSONHOOD'

On the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision upholding the legal status of corporations as person under the US Constitution, Green Party leader Sarah 'echo' Steiner announced that she intends to take the Supreme Court at its word and honor her marriage when she finds a suitable candidate. See "First Ever Marriage to a Corporation Contemplated by Single, Female, 39" (Jan. 18 press release, http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=384), as well as an interview and other links on the Green Party's home page (http://www.gp.org)....

http://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=386