(A) Ralph Nader is a believer in the virtue of competition, rather than duopoly, in the political marketplace. Competitive pressures from Nader and the Greens, _if they are strong enough (much stronger than the 2000 Nader/Green Party presidential campaign)_, should motivate the Democratic Party to (1) move to the left, even stealing one or more planks on the Green Party platform, (2) register working-class voters -- especially working-class voters of color -- more aggressively than usual in closely contested states, or do both (1) and (2). Liberal interest groups that work within the Democratic Party -- such as labor unions and liberal NGOs that advocate on behalf of Blacks, Latinos, immigrants, women, GLBT individuals, etc. -- should demand (1) in exchange for their work to do (2).
(B) Greens in closely contested states should first do as much as we can to register new voters and sign them up as Green Party members, as well as courting disgruntled and discouraged Dean, Kucinich, Sharpton, and Braun supporters. The Green Party should not tell the Democratic Party that Green votes in closely contested states are the Democratic Party's for free. The Green Party should demand concrete concessions from the Democratic Party -- especially institutional reforms that will make it easier for the Green Party to participate in national politics on equal terms to the Democratic and Republican Parties -- in exchange for Green votes for the Democratic nominee in the presidential campaign. If the Democratic Party makes no move to make such institutional reforms before the end of October 2004, Greens in closely contested states should vote for the Green Party candidate; if the Democratic Party does make such a move, the Green Party should claim victory, and Greens in closely contested states should vote for the Democratic Party candidate.
In other words, compete stiffly, and bargain hard.
>3). . . And I have yet to see, in anything you have said or are
>quoted as saying, that you intend to reach out to communities of
>color, the lesbian and gay community, the women's movement or other
>important progressive constituencies. . . .
>4) I was glad to see that, when pushed by Tim Russert, you came out
>in support of marriage equality. Prior to this I have seen no
>evidence that you are raising issues like affirmative action,
>immigrant rights, reparations, marriage equality or reproductive
>rights. Why have you apparently not done so up to now, and do you
>plan to do so in the future?
>5) Many Green Party activists, including many who have been
>supporters of you for a long time, have been disappointed by your
>unwillingness to participate in that democratic political party's
>internal process of caucuses, primaries, conventions, polls and
>debates leading toward choosing a candidate. . . .
>6) When you ran for office in 1996 you said, in a KQED (Bay Area) TV
>interview, referring to why you were running, "It's not some guy on
>a horse with this heavy applause and people drift away, never to be
>heard from again, but the self-reliant belief by people as citizen
>volunteers who are going to build a new progressive political party,
>like the Green Party, so that never again will tweedle dum, tweedle
>dee Republicans and Democrats say to millions of Americans they have
>nowhere to go other than to stay home or vote for the bad over the
>worst." Given this statement, don't you see problems with political
>movements built around and heavily influenced by a single individual
>personality?
>8). . . Given that you are running as an independent, and given
>that, as a result, the Green Party will have even less ability to
>impact upon how you run your campaign, could you please explain what
>your vision is of what will be built that lasts following your
>campaign and your role in it?
(C) The Green Party should demand the following changes in Ralph Nader's political conduct in exchange for the Green Party's nomination of Nader as the party's presidential candidate: (1) reach out to working-class communities of color and other critical and yet underrepresented constituencies for the Green Party; (2) emphasize the most important issues in working-class communities of color and other critical constituencies; and (3) participate in the Green Party's internal politics democratically, rather than remain outside of it and seek to make common cause with it on an ad hoc basis. Put everything in writing, and have Nader agree to publish it. :->
>7) There are no blocs of voters within the Democratic Party who are
>currently considering leaving that party to form something more
>progressive.
It's time for the Green Party to begin courting disgruntled and discouraged Dean, Kucinich, Sharpton, and Braun supporters, some of whom are former Green Party activists anyway -- a number of them are looking for a new political home. -- 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/>