The Green Party
By Unkown

Just because Al was vice president and George W. was governor for a few years does not mean that they are the only two candidates in this election who could be considered veterans of the political world. 

Green Party candidate Ralph Nader showed up on the political scene in 1965 when he wrote "Unsafe at Any Speed," which was most noted for warning consumers of potential danger connected with the Corvair, manufactured by General Motors.  Now, 35 years later, Nader is still fighting for the rights of consumers and average Americans.

Nader's platform and issue stances are primarily based on the ten principles he laid out in his 1992 writing entitled  "The Concord Principles."  The idea that underlies all the principles is that all American citizens should have an equal amount of influence on their government.  He suggests that this can happen by improving communication to citizens, giving control of public assets to the citizenry, not legislators, simplifying the voting process, and creating job protection for whistleblowers among other things.

"Progressive" would probably be the most accurate description for Nader's convictions which include legalizing industrial hemp and taking Channel One and the all advertisements out of schools.  Nader believes that public schools need to increase civic education as part of helping every citizen to become an informed participant in the democratic process.

Nader's most obvious strength is that he speaks for the vast majority of the voting public.  Of course his most obvious weakness is that the vast majority of the voting public must not believe that he speaks for them.  Most Americans have not even heard of the Green Party, let alone considered voting for a member of it.  The party is notorious for infighting, which is probably why its popularity is so small.  

If Nader was taken seriously as a candidate, I think his message might even be well received.  While the rest of the candidates want to stand back and watch cars pollute the rest of America like they have already polluted metropolises such as Los Angeles, Nader plans to help usher this country away from the personal automobile and towards mass-transit.  In all the expense and grief caused by cars, America might just be ready to try something new.  

Most Americans distrust big business to some extent.  I believe that most Americans want to see big business have less influence on government, and average citizens have more influence.  This is exactly the doctrine that Nader Espouses.  

Nader really does have some factors working in his favor.  It is possible that in choosing the fairly conservative Joe Leiberman as a running mate, Al Gore may have angered some of the more liberal members of his party.  Nader may begin to look more attractive to these people.  Nader's strong environmental views might make him appealing to disappointed environmentalists who expected to see Gore do more for the environment during his time as vice president.  

Right now Nader is fighting to get into the presidential debates.  The present requirement is that a candidate have 15% of the vote before he or she will be allowed to participate in the presidential debates.  Nader's camp is working to find a way around the rule as he is not expected to reach the 15% minimum.

With such a low expectations, one might wonder why a candidate like this would even waste the time to run.  According to an article printed in the New York Times on April 15, 2000, Nader's goal is to get five percent of the vote to qualify him for federal campaign matching funds.  He wants to use this money to build the Green Party. 

Most will never agree with Nader on the issues, but few question Nader's willingness to go after what he believes in.  Even though he probably will not win the election, he may definitely have an impact on the race.  For 35 years he has been speaking his mind, and more people than ever are listening.