{news} Courant: Green Party Still Wants Ralph Nader To Run For U.S. Senate

[David Bedell]

http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2010/01/green-party-still-wants-ralph.html

        Green Party Still Wants Ralph Nader To Run For U.S. Senate; Original Target Was Chris Dodd
        
        By Christopher Keating   on January  7, 2010  7:20 AM

    Connecticut's Green Party is still continuing its push for famed consumer advocate Ralph Nader to run for the U.S. Senate.

Party members have been asking the 75-year-old Nader, who still
retains his voting address in Connecticut, to challenge U.S. Sen.
Christopher J. Dodd from the left. But even with Dodd's stunning
announcement Wednesday that he is not seeking re-election, the Greens
have not changed their minds.

"Thousands of people are asking Nader to run and are willing to
commit to money and volunteer time if Nader seeks the Green Party
nomination,'' Tim McKee, a Green Party spokesman and longtime Nader
supporter said in a statement. "On social networking sites, such
Facebook and MySpace, over 2,000 people are asking Nader to run for the
Senate in just a few weeks.  This is still a national race with people
from all across the country saying they want to get involved."
        
            Mike DeRosa, a former candidate for the state legislature and the party's
co-chairman, said, "Blumenthal is still in federal court trying to
defend the state's unconstitutional campaign finance reform and would
not debate the Republican and Green Party candidates for Attorney
General in the last election. His stances on election reform and other
issues are very weak."

The Green Party's state co-chairman, Steve Fournier, said, "With
Dodd out, nothing really changes. Where does a Richard Blumenthal stand
on Green Party issues such single-payer health care? Ending the wars?
Removing the influence of big money in politics? Only Nader and the
Greens are answering those questions, not the Democrat machine."

McKee added in the statement that: "This election was never about
Dodd and his corruption or the national machine of the Democrats
funding Blumenthal now. Drafting Nader is a grass roots effort by
thousands of people who are sick of slick party bosses. We are stepping
up our efforts to get Nader to run, raise $3 million to $5 million and
win the race. Local meetings for the Nader campaign will be announced
next week."
        

     		 	   		  
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