While Republicans and Democrats battle over assorted matters on Capitol Hill, the Green Party is making plans for the 2020 election. The independent party is in Salem, Massachusetts, on Thursday for a three-day national meeting that features 50 speakers and 30 forums covering topics such as “Building a mass working class third party,” “Who you calling spoiler?” and “An Eco-Socialist Green New Deal.”

“Greens are surging around the world, calling for urgent climate action, social justice, peace and democracy. In the US, we’re are not only changing the debate, we’re winning it with an emergency Green New Deal and the right to a job, free public higher education, student debt bailout, medicare for all, racial & migrant justice and ranked choice voting to break the stranglehold of the parties of war and Wall Street!” the organizers advise incoming attendees.

While Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York Democrat, has enjoyed much publicity for her recent proposal for a “Green New Deal,” the Green Party introduced their idea for a “Green New Deal” in 2006.

They predicted their concept would “convert the old, gray economy into a new, sustainable economy that is environmentally sound, economically viable and socially responsible.”

Among the many speakers at this year’s meeting is former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein — who received 1% of the vote in the 2016 election, or about 1.4 million votes. The Democratic Party, she told Fox News earlier this year, “is not the party of diversity.”

There are already seven Green Party presidential hopefuls in the running; they faced one another in a debate earlier this week. Ms. Stein has not yet revealed her plans for 2020.

The Green Party itself has 257,000 registered voters, according to spokesperson Holly Hart.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.