The end of my work in the Green Party and the campaign against its corrupt core

The reason that I left the Green Party

Emanuel Pastreich

Many people have asked me why exactly I left the Green Party US after putting so much effort into becoming an official candidate, and after I was designated as one of only two serious candidates, and one with significant backing.

It is too simple to simply say I could not raise enough money within the Green Party. Although that was the reality I faced, and the ultimate reason I decided to pull out, that state was the result of a corrupt insider culture that made it possible for the elites within a party that is marketed as “progressive” and “alternative” to give the order that one candidate (Emanuel Pastreich) was to be frozen out and another candidate (Cornell West) was to be treated as if he were already the nominee.

The two factions in the Green Party that supported me, Green Liberty and Green Renaissance, launched a campaign to expose the deep corruption and conflict of interest within the party itself at the same time that they supported my campaign.

Although Cornell West also left the Green Party in part because of the stink, he never said a word about this matter. I feel, by contrast, that it is my ethical duty to share with everyone the details of the Green Party US’s decay, and the reason why we are launching Green Liberty PAC.

See the petition below and if you are interested, feel free to sign it at

Remove Green Party US’s corrupt leadership

Remove the U​.​S. Green Party’s Conflict of Interest Leadership

I support Green Renaissance-Sovereign Rights Movement members’ objection to the authoritarian leadership of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) and its violations of the party’s ten key values and principles as a grassroots organization focused on world peace, human and economic rights and ecological stewardship.

I believe GPUS leadership’s disregard for accountability, transparency and the rights of women and marginalized peoples at the rank and file level has enabled conflict of interest practices to thrive.  

I agree these practices contribute to the continued harassment and slander of party members and the silencing of all opinions dissenting from the leadership’s faulty narratives.  

I agree the GPUS’ leadership routinely fails to identify and remove party officers guilty of conflicts of interest in campaign financing, ties to other political parties, and people and organizations that do not act in accord with the party’s values.  

I agree that GPUS leaders have advocated for and aligned with the interests of the military industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industry and intelligence agencies whose actions threaten world peace and all life on Earth. 

I am aware that financial records show that members of the GPUS leadership have received funds from the party while also receiving funds from their selected candidate.  

I agree that this grift is a clear example of an unethical conflict of interest that creates bias and maintains an uneven playing field for all potential candidates.

I agree that this also prevents great leadership from rising to the top at a time when we urgently need individuals with brilliance, truth and compassion in positions of power.

I agree that just like in COINTELPRO, the FBI's counterintelligence program that was used to disrupt and neutralize anti-war and radical organizations two generations ago, modern-day infiltrators and operatives are misleading the GPUS. 

I agree that GPUS leadership promotes the corporate-captured, Democratic Party's imperialist positions on war, unscientific dictates that result in unsustainable ecological policy, corporate sick-care over holistic health care, and the weaponization of identity politics and cancel culture.  

I agree that these divide and conquer techniques eliminate education and debate, and fracture class unity. 

I agree that these covert disruption strategies have also disaffiliated politically active Green state parties such as Georgia and Alaska.   

Open Presidential debates are essential for all candidates in every primary to properly inform the electorate of vital issues.

I agree that corrupt party leadership maintains its power by eliminating competition through encouraging or remaining silent to the targeted slander and libel against peace and truth activists based on spurious allegations of “bigotry and hate.” 

I object that women continue to be silenced and removed from the Women's Caucus for believing that men can not become biological women through the intellectual concept of self-identification.

I am against the election-rigging practices that were revealed in the 2020 primary in favor of the Howie Hawkins campaign.  

Party officials and committee members should not have kept other candidates off ballots and out of debates. They misused party funds and resources to promote Hawkins before the primary ended. 

I agree that just like in 2020, the GPUS leadership attempted a coronation instead of a nomination in 2024. This time, they selected former Democratic Party member Cornel West and former Democratic Party operative, Peter Daou, to run his campaign. Daou served as an aide and disinformation agent for Hillary Clinton, slandering dissident voices.

After public criticism, West abandoned the GPUS to run as an independent, embarrassing the party leadership.  West’s campaign cited “the intricacies of internal party dynamics” for his abrupt exit.  

I agree that the GPUS leadership’s attempted damage control is not credible to anyone not suffering from cognitive dissonance. 

I agree that the GPUS has lost more than half its membership, ballot access, and funds due to its leadership’s willful mismanagement. 

I agree that under its current leadership and trajectory, the GPUS may soon fail to exist. 

I agree that without a foundation in electoral and financial integrity, the GPUS cannot sustain its grassroots mission in good faith and grow in prominence. 

I agree that the GPUS can only promote democracy in the United States if it gets its own house in order first.  

I agree that open presidential debates are essential to informing the electorate of key issues that face Greens and all Americans. 

I join in the demand that the GPUS’s leadership commit to treating all members and candidates fairly with equal access to party resources. 

I agree that in accordance with its ten key values, the upcoming 2024 Convention and presidential primary election must be fair and democratic. 

I agree that individuals engaged in conflicts of interest must be permanently removed from leadership positions.

I look forward to a dialogue with those in leadership who embody the party’s values, and the resignations of those who don’t.