In a debate hosted by RT America, Green Party candidates Jill Stein, Kent Mesplay and Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry shared their views on everything from whistleblowers to foreign relations with Russia. Here are 15 of their best quotes.
#1
The threat of Islamic terrorism “was created by the CIA and the Saudis in order to fight the Russians in Afghanistan” before it spread to other parts in the Middle East, Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein said. “The war in Iraq, Syria, and Libya has fanned the flames of ISIS,” she added, urging the US to “stop the arming and the funding.”
#2
“Under a Stein administration, when we turn the White House into a ‘Green House,’ we will ensure that everyone has healthcare as a human right,” Stein said, stressing that the government will have nothing to do with “dictating” the health of US citizens.
#3
Green Party presidential candidate Kent Mesplay said there is a need for a “cultural shift to not have a militarized police force” and stressed a need to “take the money out of the military.”
#4
Stein called the current surrounding of Russia with missiles and nuclear weapons a “Cuban missile crisis on steroids” to which the US is playing a “major instigator role.”
#5
“Election day should be a legal holiday,” Green Party presidential candidate Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza-Curry said. The election system is based on an “outdated” concept of the Electoral College and should be entirely “wiped out,” she added.
#6
Mesplay said the US is “heavily militarized” and is acting as a “predator across the planet.” He added that he does “not believe in giving up our guns as long as we have a military that poses a threat.”
#7
Moyowasifza-Curry said that to achieve economic equality, it is crucial to abandon capitalism, which in her opinion is “barbaric.”
#8
Stein said that the current “unsustainable and industrialized” food system which has “waste at all ends” is in need of a complete transformation. She advocated the Green New Deal – a food system that would “run for people and not for profit.”
Other members, too, called for a “redesign” of the food system.
#9
“We need whistleblowers to act as a counter-balance to our nation and our society...I would not only pardon the whistleblowers...I would advocate for them and actually praise their activity,” Mesplay said.
Whistleblowers such as Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange should be “welcomed home heroes,” as they revealed information that Americans “desperately needed to know about,” Stein said.
“There is a litany of wonderful whistleblowers that we need to celebrate” so that we can “make this government ours,” Moyowasifza-Curry said, adding that “this is not my government that is acting nuts.”
#10
Speaking on US-Russia relations, Mesplay said the “Eagle and Bear” should establish common ground to defeat their common enemy – climatic instability, which he referred to as the “World War III of our time.”
#11
Moyowasifza-Curry said that her presidency would “end corporate financing” of parties, adding that “we should have publicly financed elections.”
Mesplay also agreed that campaigns should be publicly financed, saying “we need to close loopholes and ban pacts and super-pacts.”
Stein said: “We have seen the incredible corrupting influence of big corporate media in this race.” She cited Donald Trump receiving practically $2 billion in free media from big corporate exposure, noting that Hillary Clinton has also received a substantial amount of free media.
#12
Moyowasifza-Curry called herself “anti-nuclear,” adding that nuclear energy is not needed because there is enough sustainable technology to replace it.
#13
The US has shown a “lack of respect” to Russia, stating that not allowing the Russian president to come to the White House or be involved in a dialogue or discussion shows the US government's “immaturity.”
#14
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are a “perfect storm” for people to turn to the “independent politics” that we need, Stein said.
#15
The weapons industry and war profiteers “need big enemies” because they need big, trillion-dollar projects and a nation-state to fight, adding that the US is creating a “trade war” with China right now with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.