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The Mysterious Case of David Cobb

In short, the Green Party is a big ol' mess.
You probably don't all remember Mr. David Cobb; he's the one who ran for president with the Green Party in 2004. I am not sure he actually ran, as he advocated early on for the Greens to endorse a "safe-state" strategy. Anyway, nominating Cobb for prez has backfired on the Greens. They have lost ballot access and credibility across the country, and rumor has it that they are in dire financial straits while a member of their Steering Committee is under scrutiny and may even be impeached.

In short, the Green Party is a big ol' mess.

Well, David Cobb has resurrected himself in California where he's been upsetting the locals. In a recent editorial for the Humboldt Sentinel, Cobb was taken to task for his questionable motives:

"David Cobb has taken his penchant for grandstanding and misrepresentation to new heights with his recent dubious claims that he is an attorney and a national political figure.

"At a minimum, these are misrepresentations that stretch the truth. David Cobb has been suspended from practicing law in Texas since 2003, which also happens to be well prior to his resignation as legal counsel for the Green Party of the United States. Cobb also resigned his post as a member of the National Committee of the GPUS last year, and holds no other offices on a state or federal level within the Green Party any related organization that can be found on the Internet."

The editorial insists that Cobb has been lying about who he really is: He says he's a lawyer -- he's not. He says he is a national political figure -- he's not. The Humboldt Sentinel won't speculate as to the motives behind David Cobb's entrance into the community's political scene, but they do wonder what the heck he's all about. They also say Cobb hasn't yet paid his dues.

Regardless of Cobb's true motives, he's been quite good at one thing of late: raising money. During the Ohio effort to recount votes, Cobb and his staff made out like bandits. As the editorial states,

David Cobb has been suspended from practicing law in Texas since 2003, which also happens to be well prior to his resignation as legal counsel for the Green Party of the United States. Cobb also resigned his post as a member of the National Committee of the GPUS last year, and holds no other offices on a state or federal level within the Green Party any related organization that can be found on the Internet."
Cobb is also holding his cards close and won't divulge any donation list to local Humboldt Greens. What's David Cobb afraid they'll find out -- that the Green Party's Ohio recount was funded primarily by big Democratic contributors? Regardless of ones' take on the whole vote fraud in Ohio, you have to wonder why Cobb didn't put as much effort into running for president of United States as he did recounting votes. He didn't raise a quarter of the funds running for the high post as he did after the election in Ohio.

Besides, if Cobb is so darn passionate about democracy, why did he insist before the elections that the Greens should run a "safe-state" strategy where they'd virtually ignore voters in swing states? Isn't it more democratic to run an all out campaign and let voters decide for themselves whom to vote for?

I think it's pretty clear that the Green Party and others should steer clear of David Cobb and crew. Their motives are inscrutible and they have a record of ineptitude.

 http://www.counterpunch.com/frank03062006.html
All things to everybody... 07.Mar.2006 14:37

greenknight

More sour grapes from Joshua Frank. How much time have you spent convincing the middle that Dem's will roll over every time big business wants to rub their tummy?

It's 'inscrutable'.

Cobb continues lawsuit in Ohio 07.Mar.2006 15:47

Anon

I don't waste my time reading Joshua Frank so I don't know or care what he says. Mr. Frank is an asshole of the biggest kind in my opinion because he writes inflammatory half-truths simply to be provocative.

I can tell you David Cobb is still involved with lawsuits in Ohio. David may not be perfect but it is a total mischaracterization to say the Green party or David Cobb told people to vote for Dems. Thankfully David Cobb and his campaign filled suit in Ohio and continue to press on in the name of free, fair and open elections. Something the Dems don't seem to stand for.

question writers bias... 07.Mar.2006 18:27

squeegy

hmmm, I checked out the Humboldt Sentinel on line. I lived in Humboldt Co. for years and never heard of your paper so I was curious. It looks like a fine rag, albeit new on the scene, but I do wonder that it's the principle source you quote from and it appears to be a paper that you write for. It makes me question your bias. But who cares anyway? The green party doesn't stand a chance in hell as long as we live in a one party system (repulicrats) and getting rid of that system would take a serious revolution. David Cobb doesn't appear to have either added or subtracted to that simple equation.

In truth, the Green Party is a shambles 08.Mar.2006 03:40

.

I don't know anything at all about the 'Humboldt Sentinel'. 'counterpunch' has been good at sounding angry, for years; but it has never suggested any useful action and generally opposes any suggested bu others. What positions the "Democratic" Party will or will not assume for banks and corporations is, of course, irrelevant to an analysis of the Green Party.

An analysis of the Green Party, or David Cobb, should be evaluated on observable facts and testable predictions -- never on whether it sounds similar to some thing, said for some other purpose, by some other persons or corporations, who are at best indifferent and more likely hostile.


What is beyond dispute is that a bunch of long-time Greens claim Cobb and associates hijacked their party. Cobb's strategy in the last election was clearly disasterous to the Green Party, effectively removing it from that election and probably several yet to come. There are claims that this was sabotage rather than incompetence. Certainly it went against the grain of many Greens at the time, and the mere fact of the party's existence.

Regardless of the truth of any allegations, the Green Party is a shambles. Neither Cobb, nor Frank, nor any number of Democratic Republicans or IndyMedia pundits, is going to fix it. Only Greens, talking with Greens, in the context of the Green Party, can do that.

Impeach Cobb? 08.Mar.2006 17:49

brian

Does anyone think this idea absurd when the far great evil of Bush has escaped imperachment!?

Green Party is not in Shambles 09.Mar.2006 17:17

Green and Growing

The Green party is growing. Last fall 46 of 179 Green Party candidates won. See  http://gp.org/2005elections/

This year will see the largest number of greens ever running for office.

If the Green party wasn't growing, why would the Democrats push a bill that would bar third parties in races for Congress?
 http://gp.org/press/pr_2006_02_09.shtml

The Green Party is the only party demanding that our government bring the troops home.

Some folks want to not only remember the past, but live in the past, the Green Party remebers the past, while advocating for a better tomorrow.