Jill Stein is an American physician and political activist. She was the Green Party’s candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election, receiving over 450,000 votes. She is currently the Green Party’s candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 election and is on the ballot in Ohio for this year’s election.
1. What is your campaign's core message?
That we can have an America and a world that works for all of us. That puts people, planet, and peace over profit. Young people must lead the way, we must cancel debt and bring young people back into their historic role of making change.
2. Can you give a little background on yourself?
I'm by training and profession a medical doctor. I used to practice clinical medicine. I practice political medicine now, and if we want to fix what is literally killing us, our economy, healthcare system, health in general, if we are going to fix any of those we need to fix the political system that is creating them.
4. What is your opinion on the job President Obama has done and what do you think he could have done better?
When he came into office, he had a big mandate. For starters, instead of bailing out the crooks - Wall Street - he could have held them accountable and taken them to court. He could have bailed out the American people. Disastrous trade deals has been robbing the American people blind. The TPP is undermining our people and is taking away our jobs. It is an overthrow of democracy. Anyone supporting this needs to be tried for treason in my opinion. He sabotaged the public option in terms of healthcare, wouldn't let them have their say in regards to single payer. Privatized health care is great if you are a pharmaceutical company, not if you're an American every day person. He abandoned every day people even when he had Democratic control over Congress, he is a creature of the Democrats and not what the people need if we are going to have an economy that works for us. These are just a few things that he could have done better. We need to take progressivism a step further.
5. Do you think President Obama lived up to his campaign promises enough?
Ha. These promises have not be lived up to whatsoever.
6. Why do you think more and more Americans are starting to look at anti-establishment candidates?
The American people are tired of the same old same old and are angry and they are voicing their opinions through these political outsiders.
7. What do you think about the Bernie Sanders campaign and do you think it's fair when people call him a "socialist"?
To be a socialist, you need to have an international view. He supports the F35 weapons systems, that will cost us a trillion dollars. It provided jobs for Vermont, so he supported it. We don't need a war economy, we need a green economy. We should have a foreign policy that is evenhanded based on international law. Funding the war crimes of Israel is not what we need to be doing, that is where we as a party part ways with him. He doesn't meet up to the standards. I think it is great that he is getting young people motivated, but a lot of these people will be crushed when he gets up on that stage in July and nominates Hillary Clinton. The Democratic party silences the real change makers. You look at Jesse Jackson, George McGovern, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich and they silenced those individuals. Bernie’s worst decision was running as a Democrat and not as an
independent.
8. Can you give voters a few reasons to start looking at third party candidates?
I think that if you look at what is currently going on in the world of politics then that is reason enough to start looking at us and our campaign.
9. Do you believe a third party will eventually emerge and really challenge the two-party establishment? If so, how long do you think it will be until we see that happen?
I think third party candidates and outsiders are already emerging. You look at Bernie and Trump, and while they may not win they have gotten independents and those angry with the current system going out and voicing their opinion. I think this is the beginning of a new movement.
10. What do you think is the best case scenario for the 2016 election cycle?
That we move towards a Green New Deal, creating millions of jobs by transitioning to clean renewable energy, by investing in infrastructure, providing jobs as a right, providing health care as a right, making the moves to end poverty, providing debt free education, making our economy a just one again and empowering the people again. This is truly the best case scenario for our country.
11. Worst case scenario for the 2016 election cycle?
That we keep up this war economy, we need to invest in a green economy. If you go to jill2016.com or my Facebook or Twitter account, you will see more about this Green New Deal I am speaking about. We will only have a few more years left on this planet if we continue down this treacherous path.
12. Can you give your perspective on the rise and fall of Jeb Bush? Is it a telling sign of what politics in America is becoming?
Jeb Bush speaks volumes about this really dramatic rebellion that is happening within the Republican party and everywhere. He entered the race, intimidated Mitt Romney out of the race and it turns out it didn't even matter because Donald Trump self-financed his way to the top. Jeb Bush represents old establishment and Donald Trump represents new - but it is all the same. It's still the billionaire running things. We need to have a revolt
that rejects big money.
13. What would your take on another Clinton presidency be?
Hillary Clinton has a very clear track record. She is in the pocket of the big banks. You can't deny Wall Street is a problem. Banks are bigger than ever, more ready to fail. She is more of that. She was on the board of Wal Mart, and if there is a corporation out there that exemplifies that type of evil she is that. She is the Wal Mart candidate, the Goldman Sachs candidate. She supports fracking, which is devastating to our environment. This is not a bridge to the future, this is a bridge to Hillary Clinton and the gas industry. She has never found a war she didn't like. You take a look at Libya. We don't need this and we should not be shooting ourselves in the foot and intimidate us into more of the same.
14. Best case scenario for you?
If we got all 43 million current and former students that have college debt of sorts, we could win the election in a landslide. This is the best case scenario for us and our Green agenda.
15. What could be done to provide third party candidates with more ballot access and exposure?
Let them debate, let them have the same exposure. The media created a monster in Donald Trump and they keep giving him exposure when there are people like us with actual policies and actual things to say that don’t get any exposure.
16. What do you hope to achieve with your campaign?
To achieve debt free education for all and move America towards a green agenda.
17. One last question, if you will: Describe Donald Trump in three words.
Dangerous hate monger. If you allowed two more words, SCAM ARTIST.