NADER: A Word of Thanks (& GORE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ELECTORAL PROBLEMS)
James in Cambridge
The election is over and the Green Party's permanent reform movement
has broken through the tape on November 7, 2000 to become the third
largest party in America, the fastest growing and the first in its
determination, in Lincoln's words, to work toward a "new birth of
freedom" that participates in power and pursues justice. For all
of you who worked so hard, raised your expectation levels for
politics to be subject to the will of an informed citizenry, in
place of being subjugated by the power of giant corporations, I
thank you.
For all our voters who stayed the course and lifted all our horizons
higher, you are the main reason why the Green Party and the long
range permanent reform movement it represents can now go from the
present take-off stage to a party with many more candidates for
local, state and federal office. The many causes you believe in
and are urged here in Washington, DC by the national citizen groups
will be enhanced by the Nader/LaDuke 2000 campaign next year when
Congress convenes.
Our appreciation for your stand up and stand for vote of conscience
and public interest is unbounded.
- Ralph Nader
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From: press...@lists.votenader.org
Reply-To: pr...@lists.votenader.org
To: pr...@lists.votenader.org
Subject: Press digest, Vol 1 #57 - 1 msg
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 13:38:29 -0500 (EST)
Today's Topics:
1. GORE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR =?iso-8859-1?Q?GORE=92S?= ELECTORAL PROBLEMS
(Stacy Malkan)
--__--__--
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 13:36:27 -0500
From: Stacy Malkan <st...@votenader.org>
Organization: Nader 2000
To: press lists <pr...@lists.votenader.org>
Subject: [Press]GORE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR =?iso-8859-1?Q?GORE=92S?= ELECTORAL
PROBLEMS
Press Release
November 10, 2000
CONTACT: Jake Lewis or Stacy Malkan, (202) 265-4000
GORE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GORE’S ELECTORAL PROBLEMS
WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 10—Ralph Nader said today that the Gore
campaign is continuing to fish for an excuse for its failures in
Tuesday’s election.
“Clearly, the Gore supporters — and their apologists in the opinion
media — would like to place the blame on our campaign, but the facts
simply do not support their theory,” Nader said. “Gore ran a poor
campaign, failed to attract new voters and remained a captive of the
conservative Democratic Leadership Council and the corporations and the
special commercial interests that financed his campaign. ”
Nader said Gore, as Vice President in an incumbent Administration,
entered the election with “every advantage against a marginal,
ill-equipped and corporate-dominated Texas Governor.” “Yet, the Vice
President mismanaged his campaign into a deadlock with Bush and now he
has only himself to blame for the Democratic fiasco.”
“Rather than trying to shift blame to our campaign, the Democratic
Party needs to examine itself and reassess the party’s decision to
abandon its progressive roots and to place its emphasis on raising big
money, rather than reaching out to people.”
Nader Campaign Manager Theresa Amato made these points:
*Third-party candidates are not responsible for the campaigns of the
major parties. It is absurd to expect the Nader campaign to give up its
votes because Al Gore failed to attract enough votes. Candidates have to
earn their own votes. They cannot expect third-party candidates to run
to elect them anymore than third parties are entitled to their votes.
Already, third parties are up against massive barriers of money and
media and debate and ballot exclusions.
*The idea that all the Green Party votes would have gone to Gore had
Nader not run is not supported by the facts. A significant part of the
Nader vote comes from new voters and voters who would not have voted
without Nader on the ballot. Gore would not have attracted many of these
votes under any circumstances. Moreover, Al Gore did not even win his
home state of Tennessee.
*Lack of enthusiasm among much of the Democratic base hurt the Gore
campaign. The abandonment of progressive issues and the failure to
address issues like universal health insurance, public financing of
public elections, anti-union labor laws, consumer protections, renewable
energy, corporate crime, welfare, WTO-NAFTA, the death penalty, the drug
war, affordable housing and child poverty contributed to the feeling of
many voters that voting for Gore meant nothing to them.
*The false ring of “populist rhetoric” which Gore suddenly started
espousing in an effort to combat the Nader campaign without providing
specific proposals, only words.
*The shifting positions and reinventions only led voters to wonder just
which Al Gore was running at the top of the Democratic ticket.
“In the end, Al Gore made his appeal on one major campaign pitch —
that he was not George W. Bush,” Nader said. “That simply was not enough
to bring millions of stay-at-home voters to the polls.”
--
Stacy Malkan
Assistant Press Secretary
Nader 2000 Campaign
202.265.4000 ext. 42
202.265.0183 (fax)
www.votenader.org
Paid for by the Nader 2000 General Committee, Inc.
P.O. Box 18002, Washington, D.C. 20036
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End of Press Digest
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