More "Third Period" "Social Fascist" ultra-leftism.
And yet many people on this list got all
> excited whens the Greens ran a candidate in Minnesota.
Published on Saturday, May 25, 2002 in The Progressive by Ruth Coniff
>... Ed "Eagle Man" McGaa, an author of popular books on Native
American spirituality and ecology, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of
the Korean and Vietnam wars. More on McGaa and the Greens in a moment.
>..."We want to give people in Minnesota the opportunity to vote their
conscience . If they're opposed to military actions in the Middle
East, the Patriot Act, the sanctions on Iraq," says Brian.
The funny thing is, though, the Green candidate for Senate doesn't seem to share his party's position on those issues.
Ed McGaa takes exception to the part of the Green Party platform that opposes the war on terrorism. As a Korean War vet, he says he believes constructive military intervention is sometimes warranted. He remains proud of his 110 combat missions in Vietnam and is still a staunch anti-communist. Some response was needed to September 11, he adds.
McGaa has also stirred up some controversy for accusing Wellstone of being "more loyal to Israel than he is to the United States"-a statement Wellstone supporters and some Greens view as anti-Semitic.
McGaa takes umbrage at the accusation, insisting that he is "pro-Jewish, if you want to put it that way," and merely thinks the United States should ease up on foreign aid. His comments on Wellstone's disability (the Senator announced this year that he has a mild form of M.S.)-suggesting Wellstone might not survive the election season-didn't go over particularly well, either. A polished politician he is not. But then neither is his role model, Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura.
As for the possibility that his candidacy might tip the scales in the Senate, McGaa is perhaps the only person involved in the hotly contested Minnesota race who hasn't given it much thought.
"Let's just let the cards fall where they're at," he says. "It will be a shame if the Republicans get in. On that I have to agree with you. I'm not enamored by George Bush's policies. I think I may draw a lot of people, though, because I'm uniquely different, and I have a lot of knowledge, and plus I'm a veteran and right now people are very, very patriotic."
With his patriotic, anti-communist, combat vet credentials, McGaa figures he'll draw more votes from conservatives, anyway. "So you Wellstone people can just calm down," he says.
If he's right, it may be a relief to the Wellstone campaign. But it's a bit of a headache for his fellow Greens.
Nationally, the Greens say that the war on terrorism is one of the two defining issues, along with global trade, in their Congressional races. "I can count on one hand the number of Democrats who have spoken out strongly on the question of this war without end" Ben Manski, co-chair of the Green Party of the United States. " So this year you'll find Greens talking about it." The Greens, Manski points out, are part of a global political party, "and we have a responsibility to bring the U.S. into the global community."
But is Ed McGaa the man for that job?
"Unfortunately, we're just now finding out," says Brian, who concedes that the Minnesota Greens didn't know too much about their Senate candidate when he showed up at the nominating convention. (His candidate "screening interview," posted on the Greens' web site, touts McGaa's willingness to learn more about nonviolence, and notes, "Ed used to hunt deer, lasted as a vegetarian for less than a week, but believes animal testing should be highly regulated. He does not believe in animals being used for human amusement and loves the formation of the dog parks.")
"He presented himself well," says Brian. "He's a Native American man, and we wanted a diverse slate. . . . That's what we came a way with. It was a long day."
At the end of the day, somehow the Minnesota Greens fielded a candidate in the most-watched Senate race in the nation whom they aren't sure supports their platform. There is talk of another Green candidate mounting a primary challenge against McGaa in September. "Then there are others of us who want to continue to work with Ed to kind of try to mold him into our kind of candidate," says Brian, adding, "It's been a rough week."
"I'm an American Indian. We're not as analytical as you folks are," McGaa says when pressed on the spoiler issue. "We observe and go forth with our life. I come from a different background. We are more sharing and generous. We're less materialistic. We're more culturally oriented. So I have different values to bring to the table."
Not that he has anything against Wellstone, he says, whom he calls "a nice, nice man" and the candidate he personally would support if he were not in the election. He even hints that he might be willing to strike a deal: "There are all different options. You can run and check the polls and see how they're doing and then think about strategy. If Wellstone is treating me decently and treating me fair, maybe I could sit down and talk. But if he treats me badly and Coleman has been treating me fair I might not be in such a mood."
Meanwhile, the rest of the country is watching. The Bush Administration is focusing its efforts on a too-close-to-call Senate race in South Dakota and a few other races, but Minnesota is the place to play. Groups like the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) are making independent expenditures, paid phone calls, hiring organizers, taking out ads, and conducting get-out-the-vote drives to help Wellstone. Democratic control of the Senate is crucial for pro-choice groups, says Monica Mills, political director of NARAL, because of the possibility of a retirement on the Supreme Court. "That has to be our top, top priority."
Wellstone, who broke a vow to term-limit himself because, he says, the balance of power in the Senate is too close for comfort, has launched a barn-burning populist campaign. He is delighted to run against the Administration. "The President has come," he said in a recent speech, "the President's father has come. The President's mother is going to be coming, and Vice President Cheney has come a couple of times, and he'll be coming back."
"This race is going to be a test case for the Democratic Party nationally of whether you can run as a progressive on a progressive agenda, unabashedly, and win," says Wellstone's campaign manager, Jim Farrell.
If Wellstone wins, it might prompt a bigger progressive revival. Democrats stand a real chance of holding their majority in the Senate and winning the six seats they need to take over the House this year. Ever since Eisenhower, in the first midterm elections after a new President takes office, the party that doesn't control the White House picks up seats.
The big challenge will be taking the next step, not just opposing the worst aspects of the Bush agenda, but pushing forward some progressive ideas of their own. If the Democrats don't manage to do that, look out for those wild card candidates from Minnesota.
Ruth Conniff is the Political Editor of The Progressive. Printer Friendly Version E-Mail This Article
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