Nader fails in California; seeks to destroy Greens by DaveOinSF Sat Aug 7th, 2004 at 18:48:48 GMT
(From the diaries. How far has Nader fallen? And what about Camejo? He couldn't get his ticket on the ballot in his home state? That's a solid running mate. And since we're asking questions, what the hell is up with Green Party star Matt Gonzalez supporting Nader over Cobb? --Trapper.)
So Friday was the deadline and Nader came no where near getting enough signatures to get on the California ballot in November. Realized he wasn't going to make it and so he gave up mid-last week. And the state Republican Party, Gubernator notwithstanding, is disorganized enough that they never got mobilized to help him.
SF Chronicle story http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/08/07/MNGP48494S1.DTL
Proving that his run for the presidency is more about building a unified, powerful and respected progressive third party and not about his own personal glory, Nader, who refused to turn over his supporter lists to the Green Party following his 2000 presidential campaign, is now trying to splinter the national Green Party. He wants the California Green Party to ditch David Cobb, break from the national Green Party and instead give the California ballot line, which he couldn't gain access to by himself, to him.
Meanwhile it was with shock and grave disappointment that I read that Green SF Supervisor Matt Gonzalez is supportive of Nader's candidacy. This http://www.examiner.com/article/index.cfm/i/071404op_gonzalez slipped by me until today, but, in his endorsement of Nader, Gonzalez doesn't even pay lip service to David Cobb. Newsom just looks better and better every day, and Gonzalez, whom I was tempted to vote for - but am grateful that I did not - has officially jumped the shark.
So there you have it folks. Nader is seeking to destroy the most viable progressive party in the nation.
http://daveoinsf.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/7/152158/3658
Names sought for Nader y TERRY DATE Democrat Staff Writer
STRATHAM — Visitors walking to President Bush's campaign picnic Friday were asked to help his re-election chances by signing nomination forms to place Ralph Nader on the ballot in New Hampshire as a presidential candidate.
A spokeswoman for the Bush campaign said later on Friday it had no knowledge of the signature drive.
Democratic Party spokeswoman Kathleen Strand said news of the activity was very disappointing.
Among the young signature gatherers in the lower field at Scamman farm was Randi Fellows, 22, of North Strafford. She said she supports the president.
"Some people say if Nader hadn't run in 2000, Al Gore would be president," she said, adding that she had gathered many signatures.
About 3,000 people were expected to attend the picnic with the president.
Emily Sawka of Kittery, Maine, who brought the matter to the attention of Foster's Daily Democrat, said she had been recruited by Adecco Employment Agency to gather signatures for Nader, but she eventually turned down the $12 an hour temporary position when she learned that it was intended to benefit the Bush campaign.
Sawka, 25, said in a phone interview she had joined a dozen others in the Shaw's supermarket parking lot Friday morning before 9 a.m.
They were given a sheet with a script that read:
1) Approach: "Excuse me sir/miss etc. I was wondering if you could take a second to help President Bush?"
2) Follow through: "I am collecting signatures to get Ralph Nader on the ballot."
3) Persuasion: "In 2000 Nader got almost 30,000 votes — without his presence Al Gore would be president today."
The temporary workers were hired to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, said Sawka, who will attend graduate school at the University of New Hampshire this fall.
Sawka said she turned down the positions because she felt it was unscrupulous.
"It really disturbed me because it seemed (to be) really unethical campaigning," she said.
Maria Comella, New Hampshire communications director for Bush/Cheney '04, said, "We had nothing to do with it." She later added, "This campaign is focused on the president, and we believe he is going to be successful with or without Ralph Nader on the ballot."
The Democrats' spokeswoman, Strand, said a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush, and that she is outraged by the signature gathering.
"We're obviously going to have to monitor these activities closely," Strand said.
"We're in a fucking stagmire."
--Little Carmine, 'The Sopranos'