It didn’t qualify as much of a bash: Four white-bearded guys crunching on tortilla chips and sitting around a computer screen watching a Green Party presidential candidate give a wonky, pre-recorded response to President Obama’s State of the Union address.
In a way, though, Wednesday night’s People’s State of the Union House Party conformed to the perception that many people already have of the Green Party: that it’s a hopelessly small, fringe group defined by aging hippies who enjoy telling each other how smart they are. In a deeper sense, though, the night was an aberration. For one thing, the viewing party was indifferently thrown together with short notice, and the SA group’s spiritual leader, Kat Swift, was under the weather and couldn’t make it. And if there’s a story to be told about the Greens at the moment, it’s that they’ve absorbed some of the populist energy from the Occupy Movement. Eighteen Green Party candidates have filed for elections in Bexar County, and at least half of them are Occupy protesters, most of whom were not involved with the Green Party when they first started camping out a few months ago.
Join Plaza de Armas to read the full article and access all of our content. Subscribe now or login.
