'Roseanne For President' Campaign Hits the Valley

Roseanne Barr spoke rather seriously to a group of Green Party supporters at the in North Hollywood on Friday night about her run for President of the United States.

This “Rally in the Valley” was the first in the country that hosted all three of the leading contenders running for president in the Green Party. The 75 people in attendance (including some paparazzi) also heard from other Green Party candidates for congressional seats.

The comedienne explained that her candidacy was no joke, and she discussed a platform that included legalizing marijuana, supporting gay marriage and forgiving student loans.

“I will not let the idiots go unanswered,” she said, with an occasional quip. She talked about her modest beginnings, as a “smart fat girl growing up in Salt Lake City, Utah.” 

“I wasn’t born with a golden spoon in my mouth,” she said. “I didn’t even have a plastic spork.”

’s” show was shot in Studio City at thelot in the late 1980s and through most of the 1990s, and she said, “I created jobs by the hundreds, and I made some people there millionaires. I am the American Dream, and I know the average American’s problems and issues.”

She made a few jokes, calling Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner “Agent Orange” and calling others “Ponzi-scheming sociopaths.”

Her biggest asset is that she is not a politician and said, “One impeccable credential I have is that I’m not George W. Bush.”

Roseanne said, “It is time to point upward and hold their feet to the fire” and “An informed public is the enemy of tyranny and corruption.”

She added, “The days of holding our nose and voting for the lesser of two evils hasn’t gotten us anywhere. What we have been sold is an unsustainable treadmill.”

About drugs, she said, “I am smart enough to know that if someone wants to buy recreational drugs they probably can find somewhere to find it—even in prison.”

She explained how she would handle foreign policy with common sense, and still needs to raise money (see the video clips sent in above.) And, she had a few four-letter words peppered in her speech.

“I do swear, and as long as I swear you know I haven’t been bought by any corporation,” she laughed. 

The night was kicked off by Derek Iverson, who is also a writer for the animated show “SpongeBob Square Pants.” He said he and his wife share one car, and he rides the bus a lot and was inspired to become a Green Party member by Ralph Nader in the 2000 election.

Local activist and Patch blogger , who writes the “” blog, said he was an Al Gore Democrat who became Green after reading the 10 Key Values of the party. He pointed out that three cities have a majority Green representation and more than 40 offices statewide are held by the Green Party.

Marcy Winograd, a former Congressional candidate from Santa Monica, said she became Green after being raised in a liberal Democratic family.

“I’m late coming to this party,” and she said she is unhappy about the politicians wanting war.

Michael Powleson is running in the 30th Congressional district against Howard Berman and Brad Sherman. He said he went to Milliken Middle School and Grant High and said, “I am a socialist. They were the first to fight for women’s rights, fight slavery and fight against war.”

David Steinman, running for the 33rd Congressional District against Henry Waxman,  wrote two books about the environment and came from being an independent voter. “I thought the Democrats were spineless and the Republicans were anti-environment.”

Anthony Vieyra, running for the 35th Congressional District, which includes East Los Angeles, talked about how he was Green from the time he was a little boy.

(See photos above and video clips, and for more information go to the Green Party website: gp.org.)