January
27, 2003
WASHINGTON,
DC -- Minneapolis City Council member Natalie Johnson Lee will deliver
the response from the Green Party of the United States to President
Bush's State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 28.
Ms.
Johnson Lee will speak at 'The Real State of the Union' (also called
'The Sorry State of the Union') Rally and Concert to take place
on the west side of the Capitol, near the Reflecting Pool at 3rd
Street NW. The event, organized by the Shirts Off Coalition and
scheduled from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., will also feature live music, DJs,
dance and spoken word performances, heaters, and a giant video screen.
President Bush's address and the Democratic
Party's response will air between 9 and 10 p.m., after which Ms.
Johnson Lee will begin her speech.
"America is in the midst of being threatened
from many directions, but not the directions that some would have
us believe", said Johnson Lee, a Green Party member who was elected
in November, 2001 to represent Ward 5 on the Minneapolis City Council.
"Our greatest threat is not Iraq, North Korea, or Iran. Our greatest
threat lies in our sense of hope eroding, our civil rights stripped,
our economy toppling, our seniors starving, our children not cared
for, and our collective talents remaining untapped."
"The American people deserve to hear the
Green Party response to President Bush's State of the Union Address,"
continued Johnson Lee. "While the president will address our hopelessness
with a march toward war, we will spread a message of peace throughout
the world. While the president will tackle the racial tension in
our nation by rolling back affirmative action, the Green Party will
advocate inviting all to the table who have been left behind. While
the president proposes to heal our financial woes with tax cuts
for the rich, our message will be to invest in the untapped workforce
in our midst. The Republicrat's tired message of yesterday must
be replaced with the Green Party's reinvigorated message of today.
We are on a new mission with a new vigor and we mean business!"
"President Bush will be the first President
of the United States to face significant protest when he makes his
second State of the Union address," said event organizer Adam Eidinger.
"The Shirts Off Coalition is named for the fact that President Bush
is taking the 'Shirts Off Our Backs' to pay for his war."
Close
Window
|