Why The Nation is a lousy rag

Election Matters

by JOHN NICHOLS

[from the July 19, 2004 issue]

The striking distinction between the Green Party's national gathering in late 
June and the Democratic and Republican national conventions, which will come 
later this summer, was the element of suspense. Close to 800 Green delegates 
arrived in Milwaukee united on basic issues--opposition to the war in Iraq and 
corporate hegemony, enthusiasm for organic standards, mass transit and 
instant-runoff voting--but uncertain about who would carry the party's 
national banner into the fall election season. In a sense, this was the 
convention where Greens had to decide what they wanted to be when they grew 
up. To the surprise even of some party leaders, they opted for a nuanced 
approach that, in the words of veteran party activist Medea Benjamin, promises 
to "help defeat Bush and grow the Greens."

Faced with a choice between nominating one of their own, anticorporate 
activist David Cobb, and endorsing Ralph Nader, the party's 1996 and 2000 
candidate who this year is running as an independent, Greens had to sort 
through a dizzying array of electoral and emotional options. By endorsing 
Nader, they would maintain a difficult relationship between the party and a 
non-Green but high-profile contender who Democrats say spoiled their chances 
in the 2000 presidential race, and who continues to send mixed signals about 
how he will conduct himself. With Cobb, they were offered a savvy party 
veteran who promised to use his campaign to build Green strength at the 
grassroots while maintaining a "safe states" strategy that, though critical of 
both George W. Bush and John Kerry, would avoid targeting states where a 
strong Green showing might tip the balance to Bush. After disregarding the 
Greens during much of this year's campaign, Nader and his followers within the 
party made a late bid for an endorsement that would have provided access to 
many of the party's twenty-three ballot lines and to its substantial volunteer 
base. Nader selected a prominent Green, former California gubernatorial 
candidate Peter Camejo, as his vice presidential running mate and then phoned 
in an "appearance" to a "Run Ralph Run" rally on the eve of the vote. But in 
the second round of balloting, delegates--some supporters of the "safe states" 
strategy, but other party purists who wanted to nominate one of their 
own--gave Cobb the nomination.

Cobb, who has developed over months of campaigning into an agile contender, 
was gracious in victory, announcing, "Ralph, if you are watching, thank you 
for what you have done, and thank you for what you will continue to do." Nader 
responded by dismissing the Greens as "strange" and calling the convention a 
"cabal." But the rejection will hurt. After a week that included a disastrous 
meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus--during which 
California Representative Barbara Lee told him, "A vote for Ralph Nader is 
really a vote for George Bush"--the consumer advocate needed the Greens more 
than ever. Many Green activists say Nader could have secured their support 
with relative ease if he had treated the party with respect--by seeking its 
nomination rather than an endorsement, by showing up in Milwaukee and by 
offering a clearer sense of how he hopes to run his campaign. But in the words 
of one of the party's elder statesmen, Maine's John Rensenbrink, Nader "blew it."

Though Nader continues to poll at 5 or 6 percent in some national and 
battleground state surveys--often tipping the balance in Bush's favor--he is 
having trouble securing ballot lines; the latest failure was Indiana, and even 
with the help of conservative groups, he is still struggling to get on in 
Oregon. Ultimately, Nader's name will make it on a number of state 
ballots--including those of battleground states like Florida, where he's been 
offered the Reform Party line. But without the Greens, it is hard to see how 
he will get on anywhere near the forty-four lines he was on in 2000, and that 
will cost him not just votes but credibility as a national contender. For 
instance, in California, where Nader will not have the Green ballot line, an 
independent candidate must gather a daunting 150,000 signatures. It's likely 
that Nader will come to regret losing the backing of the Greens. On the other 
hand, many Greens appear to be satisfied with their new course, and their new 
candidate. "We've broken our addiction to Nader," Benjamin, a founder of the 
antiwar group Code Pink, says of the Greens. "We've recognized that we can 
build the party at the grassroots while remaining on the same page with our 
progressive allies when it comes to beating Bush."

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