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The Greens: Hawkins runs against the war
by Sean Kirst
Syracuse Post-Standard |
I caught up with Howie Hawkins Sunday for a much-needed blast of last-second fresh air. As always, Hawkins - from the day he began passing its petitions to the eve of the election itself - has run his longshot campaign with a kind of relentless, optimistic faith.
He had yet to actrually shake hands with John Spencer, the Republican candidate for Senate, who would disagree with Hawkins on just about everything - but would undoubtedly argue with him until they both wore out.
Yet Hawkins told me he had one chance encounter during this campaign with incumbent Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Hawkins is running against Clinton and Spencer, for the Senate seat - but he was not allowed to participate in either one of their debates.
Hawkins took offense to that for a multitude of reasons, most powerfully because he describes himself as a clear anti-war alternative to Clinton (who voted in favor of sending troops into Iraq) and Spencer (a passionate supporter of the Bush doctrine in Iraq). But Hawkins never got close to Clinton until he showed up at an energy conference she attended in Rochester.
They happened to be going out a side door at the same time, and Hawkins quickly stepped forward, stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for senator."
A flustered Clinton responded: "That's OK," and then kept going.
That's OK? The story brings a soft laugh from Hawkins. He is still working nights loading boxes for United Parcel Service. He drives rental cars because his beloved GeoMetro got totaled on Route 17 when he hit a deer while driving between campaign events. He has used up every last day of vacation time, sick time and personal time to focus on this race.
He is "a true American," in the words of the noted writer - and Green Party gubernatorial candidate - Malachy McCourt. That echoes the praise of Ralph Nader, the two-time Green Party candidate for president, who has called Hawkins, a Marine Corps veteran, "the most unwavering progressive" in New York.
For Hawkins, the dream in this election is simply a strong showing. He'd like to see McCourt top 50,000 votes, guaranteeing the Greens their slot in the ballot. And he's curious about how many New Yorkers, weary of Clinton's cautious dance around Iraq, will decide to cast their votes his way as a statement.
"The Greens are a real option, at least to send a message," Hawkins said.
His campaign has focused on three issues: A quick withdrawal of American troops from Iraq; a new emphasis on national health insurance; and what Hawkins describes "as the moral equivalent of war," taking half of the American military budget and using it to build a green "energy infrastructure around the world."
"I'm more for (spending money) on world peace and national security than for spending the money on arms and military activites in oil-rich regions," Hawkins said. "That's how you make enemies. Spread technology, spread goodwill and you make friends."
While he hopes people will consider voting Green, Hawkins' practical goal is winning a seat next year on the Syracuse Common Council. And he hopes his almost annual quest for office as a Green, either local or statewide, has convinced enough city voters of his sincerity and knowledge.
For the rest of us, he remains a campaign antidote to the nasty innuendoes and garbage we've been seeing on TV. Hawkins never gets personal and never throws around insults, but he said he's taken energy from he sees as a simple truth:
"It's the war," Hawkins said. "People are sick of what's going on in Iraq." ounces himself “the candidate who wants to get out of Iraq” and decries the fact that he was excluded from the two debates between Clinton and her GOP challenger, former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer.
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 *Website by David Doonan, Labor Donated to Hawkins for Senate Campaign* |
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