the convention. No one has demonstrated more courage and dedication to help the GP than Nader and, let's face it, you won't be able to build the party with a complete unkown and fringe candidate at the top of the ticket, his credentials as a nice person notwithstanding.
Carlos, Thanks. You've made some excellent points about why Ralph Nader is Public Citizen #1, and why he deserves our praise, and even our gratitude. Maybe you're right that Cobb won't be able to "build the party" as well as Nader, but at least it will be our party. And not Ralph's. Rest assured that whether Nader receives our endorsement, whether he is labeled a Green or Reform or Independent Party candidate matters diddly squat to the voters, and I imagine, most Naderites like you. Nader voters like their guy because of his message, and although they may associate him with the Green Party, don't really care what party he affiliates with. Why should we? I mean, he didn't even bother coming to Milwaukee. How much do we matter to him? Not enough, clearly. Don't get me wrong. Nader is one of my personal heroes. I'm sure there are people on this list who became Green because of Nader. I also know plenty of Republicans who voted for Nader in 2000, and who will vote for Kerry in 2004. Go figure. If you check out our party website, we have consistently claimed that Nader took more votes away from Bush than from Gore in Florida in 2000: --- Al From, chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, wrote in Blueprint Magazine (1-24-01) that according to their own exit polls, Bush would have beat Gore by one percentage point if Nader hadnt run in 2000. Vote your conscience and your hopes, not your fears! Democracy means joining the party of your choice, and voting for candidates who best represent your interests and ideals. http://www.gp.org/organize/spoiled.html --- Can Nader do the same again in 2004? If so, then please, by all means, run, Ralph, run. We need Bush out of the White House, and though Kerry may be nearly as corrupt, the differences are significant. Noam Chomsky "describes the choice facing US voters in November as 'the choice between two factions of the business party'. But the Bush administration was so 'cruel and savage', it was important to replace it. He said: 'Kerry is sometimes described as 'Bush-lite', which is not inaccurate. But despite the limited differences both domestically and internationally, there are differences. In a system of immense power, small differences can translate into large outcomes.'" [Noam Chomsky as quoted in the Guardian UK, March 20, 2004] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections2004/story/0,13918,1174017,00.html I joined the Green Party in 1996 because I wanted to see a third party prosper on the local level, get its sea legs, and work up to higher office while fighting the good fight to change the regulations and the structure of our political system, e.g. electoral reform. The San Francisco Green Party helped Matt Gonzalez win 47% of votes in a city where the party had only 3% of registered voters. We did so well by convincing many Democrats that Matt's ideas were better. And they are, and many Democrats are now able and willing to vote for good, qualified Greens on the local level because of our hard work. Ok, great, but we're a long way away from running a viable national campaign. Personally, I'm not ready to have a candidate who has never registered with my party -- although he is a great, important man -- serve as my Presidential Candidate after failing to uphold the promise he made to us in 2000, namely, to not campaign in swing states. I'm not blaming Nader for Bush's manipulation of the media and the Supreme Court to take office, but Nader did break his promise. And I don't like being lied to. Peter claimed on Democracy Now just this week that the Nader/Camejo campaign didn't need the Green Party for ballot access. Ok, prove it. And let us run our candidate -- David Cobb. Ralph, you had your chance. Thank you for your hardwork, we really appreciate it. Now take Peter with you and go run without our endorsement. And take everyone with you who believes in your campaign. I wish you well. Dan in Milwaukee