Mark Dunlea Publishes Madame President: The Unauthorized Biography of the First Green Party President

Long time community organizer and political activist Mark Dunlea of Poestenkill has published his first novel, Madame President: The Unauthorized Biography of the First Green Party President, (http://nys.greens.org/rachel, 441 pages, Big Toad Books).

A major focus of the novel is the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The disputed 2000 Presidential election is decided by the Electoral College, with a Green being selected as vice-President in exchange for giving the Democrats their ten electoral votes for president. The President dies in late August following the use of a genetically-engineered sex drug.

The novel imagines how America would have responded to 9/11 if a Green had been president. The Green’s Rachel Moreno becomes president.

The novel imagines how America would have responded to 9/11 if a Green had been president. Moreno orders one of the hijacked planes shot down and pursues bin Laden as a criminal fugitive. The novel explores how 9/11 occurred, outlining why the Bush administration has fought so hard to block the investigation of 9/11.

The novel outlines the philosophy of the international green movement. The Greens are the third largest political party in the US and are active in more than 80 countries worldwide. More than 200 Greeens hold elected office in the US, include a majority of the Village of New Paltz. The Greens are part of the national or state governments in two dozen countries. The Green Party will hold its national convention June 23-28 in Milwaukee to select its presidential candidate for 2004.

“A fast-paced mixture of politics, sex and the counterculture. A must read for anyone interested in third-party politics. If you liked Stupid White Men, you’ll love MADAME PRESIDENT,” says (Grandpa) Al Lewis, the Green’s 1998 candidate for Governor.

“This book provides hope to those who want to build a world based on peace and justice. Another World is Possible,” said Medea Benjamin, cofounder of Code Pink and Global Exchange.

Rachel Moreno, a nurse and single mother active in the movement for universal health care and against corporate globalization, becomes Madame President. Her efforts to build a more just world are confronted by an angry Congress determined to go to war and CEOs outraged about her Justice Department’s prosecution of corporate crime. Forced to confront the pressing social issues of our time, Rachel puts into practice a Green vision for the environment, health care, feminism, racism, energy and foreign policy.

The book also explores the key social, environmental and culture challenges of the last two decades: global warming, globalization, same-sex marriages, apartheid, Redwood Summer, health care, AIDS, pesticides, Ecofeminism, nuclear power, welfare, water, corporate crime, campaign finance reform, Israel-Palestine, childcare, Colombia, solar power, civil disobedience, music, Indy Media, anarchism, pay equality. A Forrest Gump of the counterculture.

Dunlea is the former chair of the Green Party of New York State and the long time Director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State.

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Dear Friends:

I am interested in coming to your town to talk about the Greens and promote my book. Please let me know if you are interested in hosting such a talk.

There are a number of topics I can discuss in relation to the book – 2004 Presidential election, 2004 Senate Election, peace, 9/11, universal health care, genetic engineering, impeachment, green philosophy, minimum wage, hunger, welfare, globalization, etc.

Thanks

Mark Dunlea
518 286-3411

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Dunlea has been an activist since he was a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1972, helping to found the New York Public Interest Research Group. As a student, he was active on a range on environmental and consumer issues, including the bottle bill and solar power. His lawsuit, Dunlea v. Goldmark, is the landmark Freedom of Information case in New York.

Upon graduating from Albany Law School, he became a community organizer for ACORN in the South and Southwest working on utility, health care and neighborhood issues. In 1979, he helped organize the 200,000-person No Nukes rally in NYC.

Upon returning to Albany, he became active in the Citizens Party, running for Congress in 1982. His report, “The Financial and Environmental Dangers of Garbage Incineration,” helped convince environmentalists nationally to reverse their position and oppose garbage incineration. Mark became active in the peace movement, convincing Albany County to declare itself a nuclear free zone. He helped found the Albany chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.

Mark helped managed the 1984 Citizens Party presidential campaign for Sonia Johnson, who became the first independent candidate to qualify for federal primary matching funds. In 1985, he and his wife, Judith Enck, built their own passive solar home in the hills of Poestenkill in an intentional ecological community with six other families. That is where they live with their son, Reed.

Also in 1985, Mark became the Executive Director of the Hunger Action Network of New York State, a statewide economic justice group working with food pantries and soup kitchens. He has worked through HANNYS on issues such as raising the minimum wage, corporate accountability, welfare rights and sustainable agriculture.

In 1991, Mark organized the first statewide meeting of the Green Party of New York State. Later that year, he was elected as a Green to the Poestenkill Town Board. In 1998, the Green Party obtained official ballot status in New York through the Gubernatorial candidacy of (Grandpa) Al Lewis.

Working with Ralph Nader, he helped stopped the $1.1 billion corporate welfare giveaway to the New York Stock Exchange in 2001.

Mark is active in the community media movement, helping to found the Hudson-Mohawk Independent Media Center. He also hosts a weekly public affairs radio show on WRPI, Troy NY.

Last updated: April 13, 2004 .