{news} Background on McKinney/Nader relationship

[David Bedell]

Howie Hawkins of NY State Greens distributed this info, which includes an explanation of why Nader withdrew from consideration for the Green nomination.

David Bedell

________________________________
From: GreenPartySC_Unmoderated@ yahoogroups.com On Behalf Of Howie Hawkins
Sent: Saturday, July 05, 2008 7:36 PM
To: GreenPartySC_Unmoderated@ yahoogroups.com; GreenPartyNYExCom@ yahoogroups.com
Subject: [GPSCUnmd] Why I'm Running as "Green Populist"

Responding to questions raised on these lists about me running as a "Green
Populist" for Congress in the 25th District:

I'm still registered/enrolled in the Green Party. We are building the Green
Party organization through my congressional campaign by developing working
relationships with new forces, asking them to enroll in the Green Party, to
become regular financial contributors to the Green Party, etc.

The decision to run with the label "Green Populist" comes out of months of
local discussion on how to approach this race among local Greens and other
supporters of the campaign, including rank-and-file Teamsters and disaffected
progressive Dems and antiwar Republicans.

One reason for adding Populist to the label is that it adds the metaphor of
economic justice. Greens, of course, fight for economic justice, but Green is
still widely taken as a metaphor for environmentalism, even here in the 25th
District where the Greens are well-known for their work on public power,
living
wage, and progressive tax reform.

The economy is the top concern of the people of this district, which had the
highest proportion and absolute number of workers in the US receiving trade
adjustment benefits due to NAFTA. The City of Syracuse has the third highest
overall poverty rate and the highest black poverty rate of center cities in
the
top 100 US metro areas. The 25th District is a traditional rust-belt
manufacturing region that is reeling from factory closures and layoffs that
have been steady for 25 years. I'm sending separately an oped I wrote
yesterday
responding to the latest layoffs this week.

The political demographics of the 25th are close to one-third each for Dems,
Republicans, and independents (no party and third party) and the last poll
before I announced showed the Dem, the Republican, and undecided all at about
one-third support. Perot got 25% in 1992, expressing the anger at both parties
more than enthusiam for old Ross.

So there is a political opening. We are confident of defining the debate in
this race. We are hopeful of making it a competitive three-way race.

The Populist label in addition to the Green label will hopefully broaden our
support.

It's like when Gloria Mattera ran for Brooklyn Borough President in 2005 as
"Green/No To War." It's also like Cynthia McKinney endorsing the
Reconstruction
Party platform and also seeking the Green nomination.

It's about multiplying our forces, not letting them be divided.

Which brings up the other reason for Green Populist, which is to be in
solidarity with and support of both the McKinney and Nader presidential
campaigns.

We want to help both campaigns to force our demands into the center of the
presidential debate by helping them both get on the ballot in NY. We want the
activists in both campaigns to be working together in the Green Party after
Nov. 4.

Nader is peititioning for a "Populist" line in New York.

After reading the relevant sections of the NY Election Law and then talking to
both my county BOE and the state BOE, it is clear to me that we can collect
and
witness signatures for both McKinney and Nader.

You can collect and witness signatures for both candidates until you sign the
petition for one of them. From that date on, you can only witness for the one
whose petition you signed.

So we are asking people to collect and witness signatures for both and not
sign
a petition until the final turn in. Then they should sign the petition of the
candidate that most needs the signatures.

Finally, I want to address two issues issue that spun off in this thread
related to Nader: why Nader did not seek the Green nomination and his relation
to third party building.

What follows is mainly based on a three-hour meeting I had with Nader in DC
after he announced his decision to run as an independent in March. This
perspective has been corroborated independently without my solicitation by
close associates of Nader.

Nader wanted McKinney to run as a Green. He personally urged her to do so in
Spring 2007. When it was clear she was staying in by March 2008, he withdrew
from consideration for the Green nomination. He wanted to keep his word to
McKinney. He wanted Cynthia running as a Green.

Yes, there were the Greg Gerritts and others in the Green Party who urged him
not to run and some of whom tried to bend state party convention delegate
selection rules against Nader. But that was not a factor in Nader's decision.

Nader did not stop us in the Draft Nader movement in the latter half of 2007
because McKinney had hestitated and was in and out for a while, because of the
positive reception he received at July 2007 national Greens meeting in Reading
PA, and because the Draft Nader movement was swelling. Things got complicated.
But when it was clear in March when Nader, for ballot access reasons, had to
make a decision one way or the other and it was clear that McKinney was
staying
in for the Green nomination, Nader withdrew from the Green nomination process.
Nader wants to see parallel progressive campaigns pushing our issues into the
debate.

As for Nader's views on third party building: He supports the development of
one or more strong independent progressive parties. He is dissappointed at the
low level of Green organizing and at the incessant infighting in the Greens.
But he has and will support Green candidates, as well as other independent
progressives (e.g., Cindy Sheehan against Pelosi), as well as do fundraisers,
etc. for the Greens or other independent progressive parties.

But Nader is not going to be a member of any party. He doesn't want to spend
time on intra-party politicking. He wants to focus his limited time and
resources on directly challenging the corporate power structure.

-- Howie Hawkins

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