Jill Stein

Jill Stein         (medical doctor, politician)
Born	Jill Ellen Stein 14 May 1950 Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater	Harvard University
Religion	Reform Judaism
Children	Ben Noah
Spouse	Richard Rohrer
Party	US/Green Party
Member of the Lexington Town Meeting from the 2nd district In office 2005 - 2011

Dr Jill Stein was announced as standing as the US/Green Party candidate in the US/2024 Presidential election in November of 2023. She previously stood in the 2012 and 2016 US presidential election campaigns.

In 2023, it was announced that Jill Stein would help run Cornel West's 2024 US/Green Party campaign for president. After West withdrew from the Green Party to continue his campaign as an independent, Stein launched her campaign for the Green Party's 2024 presidential nomination.

2024 election campaign

Pro-Palestine protests

Jill Stein arrested during pro-Palestine protest evening on WashU campus

In April 2024, US presidential candidate Jill Stein said students were being “brutalised” at pro-Palestine protests in universities across the country by American police officers who are trained in crowd control techniques by the Israeli military, in an act she said that is an “assault on democracy”.

On 27 April 2024, after locking arms with pro-Palestine student protesters and exercising their First Amendment rights at Washington University in St Louis, Jill Stein was arrested and kept in jail for six hours. She was released in the early hours of Sunday, April 28th.

Anti-genocide party

Dr Jill Stein: "The American people are in rebellion."

On 22 May 2024, Jill Stein was interviewed on MOATS by George Galloway MP:

GG: Dr Jill Stein is running to be President of the United States of America and seriously running at that. She's no fringe candidate, she's imposing herself in the political system of the United States in a way that no Third Party candidate for a very long time has managed to do and we're glad to welcome her on to the Mother Of All Talk Shows. Dr Jill thank you for joining us, kindly start by saying how you're doing in the campaign so far.

JS: We are rising up angry and strong and the American people are in rebellion. They're facing crisis in virtually every dimension of their lives and that is reflected in incredible grassroots energy coming into our campaign. We are the only anti-genocide, anti-war, pro-worker campaign on track to be on the ballot across the country to challenge Empire and oligarchy in this election. There are other voices out there but they really don't have a shot at being on the ballot in a substantial number of states for a substantial number of voters. And if you're going to challenge Empire you really need to be on the ballot across the entire country. We are fighting on an incredibly tilted playing field as you can imagine but we are going strong right now we're finishing up a ballot fight in New York which is the Empire's last stand where they have pulled out all the stops to shut down independent grassroots challenges. You know the major parties are grandfathered in. Basically RFK has deep pockets with his super PAC and his Zionist supporters. He has very deep pockets so he's not a grassroots candidate. And he can buy his way onto the ballot so that that's where the fight is right now. We are the one grassroots anti-war, anti-genocide campaign. If we get on the ballot in New York, and it's looking very likely – we're trying to get a margin of safety – right now. The Democrats have announced they've hired an army of lawyers in order to try to throw grassroots campaigns like ours off the ballot. But if we pull this off, and it looks like we will, it's going to be 'off to the races' because the American people are in Rebellion right now. They are not happy about either Joe Biden or Donald Trump, and they are appalled by Joe Biden's genocidal policies in Gaza. Donald Trump will be no better. He's just not as closely seen committing that genocide right now but his comments you know clearly show he's in the same place if not more. He thinks Biden is not genocidal enough so the American people are fighting angry. And I'll just mention one thing we're not a fringe challenge here as the one anti-war pro-worker campaign that will be on the ballot across the country. It's going to be a four-way race and three out of four are pro-war and pro-genocide. They could very well be splitting the pro-war vote among themselves and in the case of a four-way race it can be won with as little as 26% of the vote. That is not an unachievable goal. It is possible not only to have a profound influence in this election and to really solidify for the long haul a political realignment that is pro-worker and anti-war. We can really achieve that but we could also in fact win the White House in this race.

GG: Well these are sweet, this is sweet music to the ears of this audience. I have no doubt it is ironic, is it not, that the Democrats keep saying that democracy is on the ballot but they're actually hiring lawyers to keep you off the ballot. This kind of rigged democracy is what they really mean isn't it? It's not democracy as the rest of us would understand it.

JS: Absolutely, you know it's not only hiring an army of lawyers which they announce shamelessly, they don't even have a clue that this is horrific as far as the American public is concerned. The American public is clamouring for other choices outside this box of war and Wall Street, and the Democrats are so clueless that they proudly announce that their army of corporate lawyers is going to decide this race and prevent the American people from having the choices they want. That's outrageous but you know in terms of rigging elections, the Democrats were also unapologetic about rigging the elections where Bernie Sanders was actually a contender and basically rigging their primaries which they claimed in court was their right to do as a political party and in terms of the emergency in democracy. Just look at what's happening on the campuses across the country and out in the streets as well where the Democrats you know are leading the charge to basically violently shut down our rights of free speech and our right to protest for redress of grievances. So we don't have to wait for Donald Trump to see fascism erupting in this country, we have it right here and now not to mention that the hallmark of fascism is genocide. And the Democrats have been leading the charge on that score as well.

GG: Yes, I mean they are a uni-party aren't they? I mean one side is uglier and more vulgar than the other. There are more University degrees on the Democratic side no doubt, but they essentially stand for exactly the same thing. They do the same thing, they are for the few and not the many, they are for murdering large numbers of people overseas and filling the pockets of the military industrial complex as they do so. So there's really no point in choosing one cheek over the other, when these two cheeks are on the same ass!

JS: Yes exactly. And you know the Democrats always talk about how third parties and candidates like myself you know we're so powerful that we have spoiled their election. Well it's really important to look at the most spoiled election ever for the Democrats which was 2010, when they lost 1,000 seats in state legislatures across the country, they lost 64 seats in Congress, 13 seats in the Senate and 13 governorships as well. This was a wipe out and there were no third parties on the horizon in that race which were midterm elections. So you know the point here is that the Democrats have spoiled the election for themselves by systematically betraying their base especially working people who've been thrown under the bus by Bill Clinton and NAFTA, by the proposals for the transpacific partnership, and especially by the Wall Street bailouts in 2008. After the crooks on Wall Street had crashed the economy and the American people were screaming don't bail them out, it took Congress and Obama all of one week to bail out the crooks on Wall Street to the tune of trillions of dollars while throwing out millions of homeowners. This has not gone lightly with the American people who then punished the Democrats especially in the 2010 election. But this simply represents the dynamic that has been longstanding here certainly since the era of Bill Clinton where the working people have been systematically thrown under the bus by the Democrats. The Republicans do this as well but the Democrats promise to do something about it and they don't. They break their promises, so you know we have elections here in the US where people do not vote for the candidate they support. They vote against the candidate they hate the most because they have been essentially propagandised and fear-campaigned into thinking that they need to vote for the lesser evil. But the bottom line is good luck deciding which one is the lesser evil in an era when when it's Democrats leading the charge on genocide and the assault on free speech and our First Amendment rights. So the bottom line is forget the lesser evil, fight for the greater good like our lives depend on it because in fact they do.

GG: Very good slogan. The lesser evil is very difficult to discern in this contest. As indeed it is in the British election which began just an hour or so ago. And it's that cycle that we have to break isn't it because even if you could decide which genuinely was the lesser evil, you're guaranteeing the evil always wins. It's time to break that mould isn't it?

JS: It absolutely is and in fact we're out of time you know and it's really critical to seize the moment, seize this perfect storm for a political realignment. Because we are not making progress you know under the incrementalism of the neoliberal Democrats and the neoconservative Republicans as well. We are not moving forward we are moving backwards by leaps and bounds and while the Democrats may appear, they may give lip service to a progressive agenda, every plank of which by the way was launched by the Greens beginning with health care as a human right in the 2000 election, promoted by Ralph Nader. But the rest of the agenda was really launched by our campaign in 2012. The Democrats adopt it but they don't actually do it and we are you know, we are facing allout existential crises whether you're looking at the economy which is close to collapse, which is booming for the top five to 10%, the stock market is off the charts but for everyday working people it is a struggle. Over half of working people right now are substantially stressed economically, spending over a third of their income – in New York City it's more like over 50% of their income – just trying to keep a roof over their heads. Over 60% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck so economically this is not working, and it continues to get worse. It's not like it's getting better, it continues to get worse. You know the climate crisis is going off the charts. We are you know, we are in a state of war the Middle East. The US and Israel are bombing some five countries. This is on the verge of exploding. It's like a pre-World War I situation with nuclear weapons thrown into the mix. We're also you know, the US is also fomenting potentially nuclear conflict in this proxy war, in Ukraine, a proxy war with Russia which was ginned up by NATO and the US and likewise the US is really egging a conflict on with China as well. All of these can go nuclear and our absolutely clueless criminal misleaders both in the White House and in Congress seem to be absolutely clueless that these wars are impoverishing us here in the United States spending over half of our Congressional Budget on this endless war machine which is making the world more dangerous not safer whatsoever. While it impoverishes us and endangers not just the rest of the world, this also endangers people here in the United States because when wars go nuclear they are effectively everywhere. One single nuclear armed submarine – and the US has 14 of them – one single nuclear armed submarine carries the equivalent of 5,000 Hiroshima bombs which is more than enough to put us into substantial nuclear winter which basically depresses agricultural production because of all the debris that gets kicked up into the upper atmosphere. It doesn't come down with the rain and the weather, it's up there for years or decades and we basically starve to death. We go the way of the dinosaurs, so you know we should be in the business of eliminating or banning nuclear weapons along with the rest of the world. You know save for the the nuclear countries and our allies, the majority of the world's nations would now have banned nuclear weapons. And we need to step up to the plate there, there are solutions to all of these crises. You will not see them put on the table by the candidates of Wall Street and the war machine. That's why we're in this race and that's why we are fighting to be on the ballot in every state. And I just mentioned for those who have contacts, relatives etc in the US, you know encourage them to get involved and to go to our website: Jill Stein 2024. People who are in New York or near New York can all carry petitions, we're trying to go out with a bang here. And make sure that they can't nitpick us off the ballot with their army of lawyers. But people can contribute you know who are US citizens or green card holders. They can contribute and help us fight this battle and ensure that there is a winning campaign on the ballot, that will stop genocide and endless war and lift up a an aggressive policy for working people to make their lives actually livable in this country which they are not.

GG: I can see why they're trying to ban you Dr Jill Stein. More power to your elbow. Is there a website that our audience can register their support for you, and keep track of the campaign?

JS: Absolutely. So if you go to https://www.jillstein2024.com/ you can do everything from there. You can simply follow the campaign, get on our newsletter, if you are a US citizen or green card holder you can contribute to the campaign, you can volunteer for the campaign those who are you know here in this country. There are many ways you can volunteer, be part of our phone banking efforts, canvassing, turnouts, tabling and all that. It's a regular you know grassroots politics 101 and the more the merrier! Together we are absolutely unstoppable so many you know in so many dimensions we are all rising up and unstoppable together so join the team and thank you all so much.

GG: Fantastic, well the very best of luck Dr Jill Stein US/Green Party candidate to be President of the United States of America. Thank you for joining us.

JS: George, you're welcome: wonderful to see you again!

Ballot access

On 28 May 2024, Jill Stein posted on X:

"Today we turned in signatures for ballot access in New York - a victory for grassroots democracy against political repression. Thank you to everyone who supported this Herculean effort!"

Two days' later she reported:

"Despite collecting 10 times more signatures than all other grassroots contenders, we appear to have fallen just shy of New York's oppressive ballot access requirements. We will continue the fight for democracy and voter choice in court.

End support for Israel and Saudi Arabia

In a June 2016 statement, Jill Stein called on the United States to end its support for Israel and Saudi Arabia, accusing the countries of war crimes and human rights abuses:

"This includes the Israeli government and the rulers of Saudi Arabia," in reference to Israeli actions in Palestine and Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Yemeni conflict.

"With regard to Israel, the United States has encouraged the worst tendencies of the Israeli government as it pursues policies of occupation, apartheid, assassination, illegal settlements, demolitions, blockades, building of nuclear bombs, indefinite detention, collective punishment, and defiance of international law.

"Instead of allying with the courageous proponents of peace and human rights within Palestine and Israel, our government has rewarded consistent abusers of human rights. Therefore, the Stein campaign calls for ending military and economic support for the Israeli government while it is committing war crimes and defying international law."

"In addition, the Stein campaign supports actions of nonviolent resistance to the policies of the occupation and of the Israeli apartheid regime, including those of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which was endorsed by the Green Party of the United States in 2005 and is supported by thousands of civil society peace activists and organisations."

Venezuela

In a series of tweets in January 2019 following Donald Trump's recognition of Juan Guaidó as interim President of Venezuela and calling for the overthrow of legitimate President Nicolás Maduro, Jill Stein tweeted:

1. "US has backed right-wing coups up and down Latin America for 100+ years. Not one was about democracy. All have been to enrich the global elite. But we’re supposed to believe this time in Venezuela - which has the world’s largest oil reserves - is different?"

2. "What does Donald Trump want with Venezuela? He said it clearly in 2011 when asked how he'd deal with Libya & Iraq: the US should topple their governments & reward ourselves by taking their oil. Asked how that would affect those countries, Trump said: 'Who cares?'"

3. "The Democrats are backing Trump on regime change in Venezuela, just like they backed disasters in Afghanistan, Iraq, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Ukraine & Yemen. When it comes to regime change, the two parties of War & Wall Street are still marching in lockstep."

4. "The same blowhard politicians talking about 'bringing democracy' to Venezuela have aided & abetted the Saudi dictators executing dissidents, murdering journalists & starving millions of kids in Yemen. They don't give a damn about democracy or poor people's lives. It's about OIL."

5. "Most of the politicians now calling for humanitarian aid to the people of Venezuela have voted for crippling sanctions on Venezuela, knowing full well they'd make people suffer by depriving them of food & medicine. If they really wanted to help, they'd start by lifting sanctions."

6. "Trump's Venezuela point man Elliott Abrams:

"Backed death squads in Latin America that murdered 1000s for right-wing dictators;

"Lied to Congress to cover up treasonous Iran-Contra affair;

"Led 2002 US coup attempt in Venezuela;

"Still think this is about democracy & human rights?"

7. "Want to help the people of Venezuela? Support Mexico & Uruguay's proposal to de-escalate crisis in #Venezuela: a 'new process of inclusive and credible negotiations with full respect for the rule of law and human rights' to resolve the dispute peacefully."

It's in Our Hands!

"We are being battered by unemployment, inequality, poverty, injustice, endless war, impending climate catastrophe, and a broken, corrupt political system.

"There are solutions for all these problems, but they're being blocked by political parties that serve the corporate elite, not the people.

"We need a new way forward that puts people, planet and peace over profit.

"My campaign is dedicated to empowering the American people to make real the promise of democracy, and set our own course toward a brighter future.

"If not now, when? For our families, our communities, and our Earth, let's come together to create the better America we know is possible. It’s in Our Hands!"

Assassination not the answer

In an interview with the Des Moines Register on the 15th anniversary of September 11, Jill Stein told reporters the 9/11 attacks “provided a pretext for the wrong wars, which have only gotten us into more trouble” and said she would not have ordered the assassination of the Al-Qaeda leader:

“I think assassinations … they’re against international law to start with and to that effect, I think I would not have assassinated Osama bin Laden but would have captured him and brought him to trial. I think all evidence certainly points to bin Laden, but the 9/11 attackers had assistance and funding and bin Laden had assistance and funding.

"What we should have done is declare a crime against humanity and pursued it, pursued the attackers and gotten the intelligence about who was behind this."

 

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