Rosa Clemente accepting a bid to run as VP on Cynthia McKinney's Green Party ticket is big news. In fact its great news. First Rosa is no joke. This Bronx born-Puerto Rican-African sista is sharp on the issues and uncompromising on the principals she stands for. She stands tall and fights fiercely for the communities and people she has long represented. She is more than qualified.

The other thing that is equally important is that Rosa gives voice to a variety of issues impacting the community that have been increasingly put on the back burner during this election season. many of us have waited eagerly for important issues like the prison industrial complex, media justice, gentrification, a just immigration policy, police brutality (i.e Sean Bell), war crimes and impeachment proceedings being levied on those in high office responsible and the Palestinian perspective in the Middle East to be addressed. With each passing day they seem to be tossed under the bus with the conventional wisdom being middle of the road white voters from small towns need to be appeased. Hence important issues like the aforementioned keep getting sacrificed.

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"I am honored and excited to accept this invitation to run with Cynthia McKinney. Cynthia McKinney is a hero to me and many others across this country and around the world for her courage in standing up to George Bush while the Democratic Party establishment caved.

"This campaign is the opportunity the Hip-Hop generation has been working for. This is our time to address the issues affecting our communities – rising unemployment, the high cost of food and housing, a lack of quality public education and access to higher education, the prison-industrial complex, and unaccountable corporate media. These issues are not being addressed by either the Republican or Democratic nominee. "I choose to do this, not for me, but for my generation, my community and my daughter. I don't see the Green Party as an alternative; I see it as an imperative. I trust that my Vice Presidential run will inspire all people, but especially young people of color, to recognize that we have more then two choices. Together, we can build the future we've been wanting."

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[Washington, DC] Recently released preliminary results show that Cynthia McKinney has taken a clear lead in the delegate count for the upcoming Presidential Nominating Convention of the Green Party of the United States, scheduled for Chicago, from July 10th - 13th. With the addition of the recent Florida and New York mail balloting results, McKinney now has an outright majority of 267 of the 550 allocated delegates. With these results, former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney now commands her first clear majority of convention delegates in the ongoing contested four-way race for a Green Party presidential nomination.

McKinney is widely acknowledged, both inside and outside the campaign, as a leading contender for the Green Party's presidential nomination. Campaign organizers point out that nearly two-thirds of delegates have been named and instructed so far. There are 840 total possible delegates, including 34 uncommitted delegates, and some states for which allocation is incomplete. McKinney's lead puts her ahead of all other announced and write-in candidates, including early returns for Ralph Nader, who has announced he will run independent of the Green Party.

However, her campaign is not taking anything for granted. Campaign supporters have taken the initiative to carry her message to the public in spite of inequitable access to the public airwaves and debates, which are being used to promote some candidates to the exclusion of others. "Ms. McKinney may be heading into the convention with an impressive lead," said one campaign staffer, "but this contest is not yet over, and we're urging our supporters to engage with this campaign and help us use this opportunity to bring to the forefront issues no other candidate in this race is prepared to raise as effectively as Cynthia does."

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