Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- > Published on Thursday, August 2, 2001 in the Madison Capital Times > > Greens Say They Will Fill Political Void > by John Nichols > > Condemning the conservatism of George W. Bush's > Republicans and the caution of congressional Democrats, the new Green Party > of the United States is moving to formalize its position as a progressive > alternative to two-party politics. > > At the annual meeting of the Association of State Green > Parties, the loose confederation of Green groups responsible for nominating > Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for president and vice president in 2000, > activists from 30 states - including Wisconsin - agreed to create a formal > Green Party of the United States. In coming weeks, they plan to file > paperwork to create a Green Party National Committee with the Federal > Election Commission, and they will then ramp up national party building and > electoral efforts. > > "Legally speaking, the filing of the paperwork means that > we are recognized as the Green Party of the United States and sets us up to > nominate candidates for president and vice president in 2004. Practically, > it means that we are getting serious about forming a real national party," > said Green national organizer Dean Myerson. > > In addition to placing field organizers in states across > the country before the 2002 elections, the Green Party of the United States > plans to open a national office, increase outreach to > people of color, step up efforts to recruit candidates and develop the > party's fund-raising capacity. > > "This step, although it sounds sort of technical, means > that there are going to be aggressive and energized efforts to build a > national party," Myerson said. > > After an election in which the Green ticket won 3 percent > of the vote nationally - with higher totals in Alaska, Washington, Oregon > and a number of other states - the announcement of > stepped-up Green Party activism at the national level is a significant > development not just for advocates of the third party, but also for > supporters of the Democratic and Republican parties. > > A number of national Democrats have blamed Nader and the > Greens for drawing enough votes away from Democratic nominee Al Gore to tip > the crucial states of Florida and New Hampshire to Republican Bush. "Nader > cost us the election," says Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., D-Del., bluntly echoing > the sentiments of many - though not all - congressional Democrats. At the > same time, former Labor Secretary Robert Reich acknowledged in a recent > article that Green Party activists around the country are among those > filling "a large and growing political vacuum" created by the failure of the > national Democratic Party to address fundamental issues of social and > economic justice. > > Greens now hold 91 local elective posts around the > country, and party activists believe there is room for the party to > establish a larger presence nationally. "The two major parties, with > their stranglehold on American democracy, should see this development as a > threat," said Steve Schmidt, chair of the committee responsible for > developing the Greens' platform. "For those who support the ideals and > political goals of the Greens, it's cause for celebration." > > Nancy Allen, a Maine Green, eschews the line that > Democrats and Republicans are indistinguishable, instead arguing that they > are not different enough when it comes to challenging corporate power, > supporting meaningful electoral reform and backing living wage > and universal health care initiatives. > > "The Democrats and Republicans aren't identical. But as > the Democrats have retreated further and further from populist principles, > they've given Republicans the license to move to even greater extremes," > Allen says. "That's why more Greens are winning more elections now. We're > not beholden to corporate interests. We want to do better than represent > voters - we want Americans to have the democratic power to speak for > themselves, to strengthen civic participation. You won't hear that kind of > subversive talk from Democrats or Republicans!" > > Copyright 2001 The Capital Times > > ____________________________ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
