It is not necessary, however, to scare or guilt-trip registered Greens (and registered voters who may consider voting Green) into voting for John Kerry if you want to help make sure that Bush will not be re-elected. Take Arab-American voters, for example:
***** Facts on Arab American Voters
-- According to a 2000 Zogby International poll, 88.5% of Arab Americans are registered to vote. . . . -- The national Arab American registered voter database shows that Arab American voters are well represented in 55 congressional districts across the United States, making up between 1.5% and 4.5% of the total voting population. Arab American populations number in the hundreds of thousands* in many states with key races in the 2002 elections:
California 650,000 New York 410,000 Michigan 400,000 Florida 270,000 New Jersey 250,000 Texas 190,000 Illinois 180,000 Ohio 160,000 Massachusetts 160,000 Pennsylvania 150,000 Virginia 140,000 Maryland 60,000 New Hampshire 60,000
-- Americans of Arab descent vote in greater percentages (62% in 1996) and are more politically active than average Americans. -- According to an October 2002 Zogby International poll, over three-fourths of all Arab American voters say the Middle East is a "very" or "somewhat" important issue in determining their vote.
* Estimates based on 2000 US Census data, Arab American Institute (AAIF) research, and AAIF-commissioned surveys.
<http://www.aaiusa.org/PDF/AAvoters.pdf> *****
The Democratic Party would do better if it wooed Arab-American voters rather than bashing the Green Party, especially now that most of them _hate_ Bush with passion, with the exception of rich emigre Arabs who want to see more of neo-con imperialism. In 2000, 38% of Arab-Americans voted for Gore; 45.5%, Bush; and 13.5%, Nader. But the times are a-changing: "In a recent release, the Arab American Institute, a nonprofit organization representing Arab-American interests in government and politics, said Mr. Bush's support had fallen sharply since the 2000 election. A January poll conducted for the group by Zogby International, which is headed by John Zogby, a Lebanese-American, found that Mr. Bush's approval rating among Arab-Americans had fallen to 38 percent from as high as 83 percent in October 2001. The biggest reason for this drop-off, according to the institute's poll, is concern over Arab-Americans' No. 1 issue, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To many Arab-Americans, the administration's actions are seen as more pro-Israel than evenhanded, especially its support of Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister" (Leslie Wayne, "Arabs in U.S. Raising Money to Back Bush," February 17, 2004, <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/politics/campaign/17MONE.html>). Define a clear Middle East policy that wows Arab-Americans; stand up with liberal Arab and Jewish leaders and together criticize spending US taxpayers' money on building settlements in the West Bank and Gaza -- quote Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg ("Judaism's oldest living gadfly, Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, is turning up in a group of liberal clergy seeking to influence the 2004 election. Hertzberg, the Bronfman visiting professor of the humanities at New York University, is involved with the Clergy Leadership Network, a so-called 527 group (think soft money) that opposes the Bush administration's policies at home and abroad and seeks to elect a Democrat," <http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.12.05/news6.campaigncon.html>), or better yet, have him speak for Kerry: "The most effective way to force a reduction of the violence on both sides is to take punitive economic measures. The United States finances about $4 billion a year, on average, of Israel's national budget. The continuing effort to defend, support and increase settlements in the West Bank and Gaza costs at least $1 billion a year. The money spent annually in directly subsidizing the existing settlements was estimated in 2001 at $400 million" ("The Price of Not Keeping the Peace," _New York Times_ 27 August 2003).
Better yet, increase the Black and other working-class voter registration and turnout by putting universal health care at the top of the agenda.
Etc., etc.
In short, the Democratic Party can win without bashing the Green Party and becoming a spoiler of the GP presidential campaign, but it doesn't want to do so, because getting *too many* working-class voters -- especially Black, Latino, and Arab voters -- very politically active is contrary to the interests of the big DP donors and agenda-setters. -- Yoshie
* Bring Them Home Now! <http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/> * Calendars of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html>, <http://www.freepress.org/calendar.php>, & <http://www.cpanews.org/> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://www.solidarity-us.org/>