As recently as a few months ago, it seemed many of the people who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 were feeling some remorse. While they thought that there’d be no substantive differences between a Bush presidency and a Gore presidency, some of these progressive Americans began to appreciate the folly of such an approach.
Ronnie Dugger, for example, a prominent Green Party activist and Nader confidant, told Salon in April that it’s more important to him to see a new president in 2004 than it is to have his friend launch yet another failed presidential bid that splits the left’s vote in America.
“To elect Bush at a time when he’s waging war on the human race, that to me is insane,” Dugger said. “The Greens would be denying their moral responsibility for this disastrous outcome. If Ralph runs again and tips it for Bush, it would not only be a worldwide tragedy, the prospect of building the Green Party would be radically doomed.”
Two other Nader supporters from 2000 — Jason Salzman and Aaron Toso — even created a website called Repentant Nader Voter.com to urge Green Party members to skip the 2004 race and support the Dems. “Bush is a serious threat to your country and the planet — a much greater threat than any Gore-like Democrat,” they wrote.
With questions like these in mind, the Greens got together over the weekend to make some big decisions. They could run aggressively in next year’s presidential race, even if it means helping Bush, they could put aside their differences with Dems and work to defeat Bush, or they could just ignore the presidential race all together and emphasize building their party’s support and infrastructure at the local level.
Alas, Greens decided they will run a presidential candidate in 2004.
What is less clear, however, is how the Greens will run a race for the White House next year. They may run a hard-hitting campaign across the country, or they could limit their campaigning to states that would not likely affect the outcome, but could still help Greens work towards their goal of 5% of the popular vote. For example, Greens could work aggressively in states like Texas and Utah, and let liberal voters know they have nothing to fear from voting Green because the Dem won’t win there anyway.
Most Green Party activists who attended their national conference over the weekend, however, continued to believe there’s no difference between the two major parties.
For what it’s worth, Nader, who ran as the Green Party nominee in 1996 and 2000, may not be the party’s top choice next year. Five party supporters have expressed an interest in seeking the Green nomination, though the only one you’re likely to have heard of is former Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), who lost in the Democratic primaries in 2002 and still resents the party because of it.
Another prospective candidate is New Mexico political activist Carol Miller, who announced at the conference that she’d like to see Bush, Cheney, and the entire congress offer their resignations. Miller also told MSNBC that she sees next year’s presidential race being a wide-open contest.
“I think Bush and Cheney are probably not going to run,” Miller said. “There are very troubling accusations (about Iraq).”
Not going to run? I can only hope that Ms. Miller gets the Green nomination.
And for you Dean supporters who think the good doctor will be liberal enough to bring Greens back into the Dem fold, think again. Dean was a major topic at the Green convention and the activists agreed Dean is not one of them.
Miller said, “I feel sorry for those people when they learn who the real Howard Dean is.” Green Party general counsel David Cobb, another potential presidential candidate said, “Dean is a neo-liberal who the national media has decided is sufficiently progressive to perhaps win the (Democratic) nomination. But he is not sufficiently progressive to me or to the overwhelming number of Greens.”
Ultimately, however, it doesn’t really matter who the Dems nominate. The Green Party is more concerned with its own ambition than it is America’s future.
I’m not privy to the details of the Green Party’s fundraising, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see huge checks filling the party’s coffers following this weekend’s conference — $2,000 checks from George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft, Tom DeLay…