>Nader promoted the Green Party during and after his 2000 presidential run:
>
><blockquote>Ralph helped:
>
>* local Greens start 450 new local Green chapters,
[...]
>* went to Europe in 2002 for the 3rd annual Congress of European
>Greens in Germany, and visited the French and Swedish Greens before
>their elections.
>
><http://www.votenader.org/why_ralph/news.php?cid=3></blockquote>
You forgot to quote the next part:
>So why would Ralph run as an Independent now?
>Throughout American history third parties and independent candidates
>have pushed the agenda toward the just needs of the people and
>changed one or more of the major parties on many important subjects
>- abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, deficits, agrarian rights,
>labor right, social security, health care and civil rights, to name
>just a few.
>Third parties and Independents have been the seeds of regeneration
>and great social movements.
>The Greens are not planning on deciding whether or under which
>conditions they will run a Presidential candidate until their June
>Convention in Milwaukee.
>Because of the deadlines under the unfair ballot access laws, Ralph
>could not wait until then to see whether the Greens would field a
>candidate this year and under what restrictions.
>He still plans to work with local and state Green parties and
>supports their main values, but he wanted the ability to start
>before June and be able to run an innovative campaign and bring out
>more Independents and nonvoters who don't want to identify with any
>party.
>Ralph is and always has been registered as an Independent.
>A third of the country identifies themselves this way and more and
>more people want a viable check on the two parties.
So if the party doesn't serve Ralph's purposes, the hell with it. And there's always the Reform line.
Doug