A Note to the Green Party on CD 8 Candidate Manolakis

By Michael Bryan

AZGP's political strategy is as good as this movie...

Just a few quick thoughts on Charlie Manolakis, who is running in the CD 8 Special as the Green Party candidate.

I didn't mention Mr. Manolakis in my discussion of the first CD 8 debate. There was a reason for that.

I respect that Mr. Manolakis is clearly a passionate and progressive person, and he is running in an attempt to inject the issue of a single payer universal healthcare system into the debate.

I welcome the participation of smaller party candidates, especially when they bring neglected ideas to the table, and provide some sorely needed plain-speaking and truth-telling to a flawed and overly-narrow discussion.

But in a race that the whole nation is focused on as a bellweather for November, the Green Party does itself, and the public, no favors in selecting a candidate who cannot clearly and persuasively articulate their values and vision for America.

There is much to admire in the Green Party's platform and the 10 key values. I did not hear any of that from Mr. Manolakis. What I heard instead was a droning, inarticulate, repetitive, tedious, and charmless mess.

Can you not field a candidate who, at minimum, can express him- or herself clearly? You have handed to you almost one third of the screen time in one of the most important and closely watched races in the nation, and this is the best spokesman you can find?

No wonder the Green Party is dying in Arizona amid internecine conflicts.