Greens/Green Party USA - Contrast Between G/GPUSA and GP-US

Contrast Between G/GPUSA and GP-US

The Green Party of the United States and Greens/Green Party USA have no organizational connection but share a common and difficult history. The G/GPUSA is not an electoral party, although some of its members participate in elections. The name "G/GPUSA" is said to have reflected a compromise or a synergy between Greens who emphasized the primacy of combining nonelectoral movement building with electoral campaigns, and those who sought to participate actively only in elections. It has also been characterized as a power grab when the original Committees of Correspondence split and a small group registered the name without consultation with the five existing state parties, all in the western states.

The Greens/Green Party USA is an educational, grassroots organizing, advocacy group based on the 10 Key Values. The journal Synthesis/Regeneration published in St. Louis, Missouri, is associated with the G/GPUSA. This journal publishes articles by writers with a wide range of Green viewpoints. Synthesis/Regeneration was first published in 1991 and is produced every four months.

The source of the rift between the two national Green parties is a matter of contentious debate. Some point to differences of political philosophy or views on the proper structure of the party or attitudes toward elections, while others suggest it was more about personality conflicts, turf struggles, and poor communication leading to concerns about financial and political accountability, or perhaps the 1991 name grab or the inaccurate G/GPUSA FEC filing in 1995. It is important to note that the heated debates and the fighting that was waged for several years at the national level (and among Greens within a few states, such as New York, Missouri, California and New Jersey) seemed largely irrelevant to the vast majority of grassroots Greens, who preferred to devote their energies to local organizing.