-- BEGIN included message
- Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 17:03:32 -0500
- From: Greg Gerritt <gerritt@edgenet.net>
- Subject: ASGP-COO ASGP News Circulator 1/28/01 pt 1
Association of State Green Parties (ASGP) News Circulator From January 16, 2001 to January 28, 2001 News Summary: * Letter: Let's Carbon Tax the USA; * Editorial: Green Party of Kentucky Finds Voter Niche; * Editorial: Where's Ralph: Democrats Continue to Whine; * Wisconsin Green Party's Ben Manski Calls for United Front Against Bush; * DLC Says Gore Shouldn't Have Run as a Populist; * Nader Blasts Plan to Sell Subway Station Names to Corporations; * Green Party of Texas Wins First Election: A Watershed for the Greens; * Slovakia's Liberals and Greens to Form Coalition; * Editorial: Quit Whining Over Nader's Campaign; * Denver Green Rally Protests Bush Inauguration; * New Zealand Greens Protest E-mail Snooping Bill; * Irish Greens in Strong Push for More Dail Seats; * UK Greens Urge Bush to Take Lead Towards Greener World; * Austrian Green Party Rejects Czech Government's Temelin Nuclear Decision; * ASGP's Greg Gerritt Urges Folks to Say 'No' to Nominee Norton; * Maine Green Party Heads to D.C. to Protest Bush Inaugural; * Scottish Greens Vow to Continue to Fight Against GM Crops. Copyright 2001 Newspaper Publishing PLC The Independent (London) January 28, 2001, Sunday SECTION: COMMENT; Pg. 27 LENGTH: 100 words HEADLINE: LETTER: CARBON-TAX THE USA BYLINE: Caroline Lucas (green Party Mep) BODY: THANKS FOR reporting on one of the most serious threats faced by humankind ("Warming - it's twice as bad as we thought", 21 January). It is fortunate that my Green colleagues did torpedo a deal with the US, for the one on offer would have been worse than useless, merely legitimising the US's refusal to live up to its responsibilities as the worst polluter. If we cannot persuade them to take action when the talks resume later this year, the rest of the world should go ahead without them, and impose a carbon tax on US imports. CAROLINE LUCAS (Green Party MEP) Brussels, Belgium January 27, 2001, Saturday, BC cycle SECTION: State and Regional LENGTH: 778 words HEADLINE: State's young Green Party searching for niche BYLINE: By DYLAN T. LOVAN, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, Ky. BODY: During his run for the 4th District Congressional seat last year, Ken Sain hoped his backing of industrial hemp for Kentucky farmers would catch the attention of voters. But Sain, who quit his job of 14 years at a Cincinnati newspaper to run as Kentucky's first Green Party candidate, got a hard lesson. Sain collected just 1.6 percent of the vote for the seat won by Democratic incumbent Ken Lucas. Despite that, the tiny party made modest gains during the 2000 campaign, evolving from a no-name third choice led by human rights crusader Ralph Nader to one that has five regional organizations in Kentucky and a strong presence on college campuses. Most groups still meet monthly, and a statewide assembly is planned for February. The party is now setting its sights on growth - and many believe it cam be done by focusing on issues members believe are important to Kentuckians. Hemp, a Greens issue, has gotten mainstream backing from former Gov. Louie Nunn. Other core Green issues include the environment, human rights and race relations. "A progressive party has to have something to offer that everybody wants," said Don Pratt, 56, who worked as the Greens' media coordinator during last year's campaign. "We have to identify with the day-to-day voter." The party's pro-environmental platform could grab Kentucky voters concerned by two recent disasters. On Oct. 11, 250 million gallons of thick coal sludge spilled out of an impoundment in eastern Kentucky in what has been called one of the south's worst-ever environmental disasters. And earlier in 2000, a fire at the Wild Turkey distillery near Lawrenceburg spilled one million gallons of bourbon into the Kentucky River. The spill killed most fish in several miles of river. "Kentucky is an environmental disaster," said Ned Meyer, secretary for the Green Party in Lexington. Meyer said part of the reason the disasters occurred is because elected officials are losing touch with their constituents. "Kentucky is a great place for a Green Party because you have people who have become disconnected" from politics, said Meyer, who teaches sociology at Lexington Community College. But a tall hurdle that stands before the Greens - and all third parties in Kentucky - is the state's voter registration system. In Kentucky, Democrat and Republican voters register directly with their party. Third-party backers get lumped under an ambiguous "other" category that doesn't designate a specific party. For the 2000 election, there were more than 171,000 Kentuckians registered in the "other" category, compared with the 1.5 million registered Democrats and nearly 854,000 Republicans. That information, along with the names and addresses of each registered voter, are recorded with the board of elections and made accessible to the public. The parties use the information for mail campaigns. The Secretary of State's office has promised reform for that system, though there is no set time for when those changes would be made. The two major parties also have designated checkoffs on state tax forms for donations. Despite their disadvantage in registration numbers, third- party candidates have often appealed to Kentucky voters. Ross Perot received 13.6 percent of the vote in his 1992 presidential campaign in Kentucky. Randall Lloyd, a political science professor at Eastern Kentucky University, said voters overwhelmingly pick between the two major parties because they feel a vote for a third party candidate would be a wasted one. Lloyd said any third party that wants to grow has to figure out how to reach people. "They've got to attract people that are interested in their issues," he said. And by nature that's tough, because "third parties tend to be idealistic and far from the center ground." For now, Kentucky Greens say they'll settle for baby steps, like some members in Louisville, who are attempting to form a bus riders' union. Jackie Green, a 47-year-old Louisville headhunter who doesn't own a car, says the union could encourage new riders and routes, therefore reducing air pollution and traffic. Sain, who said he has lessened his involvement with the party since the election, said the Greens hope to field a handful of state and local candidates in the 2002 elections. "We need other people to emerge as leaders in this party," he said. Meyer said that shouldn't be a problem, as most Greens are intensely devoted. "People in the Green Party tend to be very committed - it's a lifestyle," he said. "I don't see any way for us to go except up." On the Net: www.kygreens.org www.greenpartylouisville.org Copyright 2001 Seattle Post-Intelligencer SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER January 25, 2001, Thursday , FINAL SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg. B5 LENGTH: 672 words HEADLINE: WHERE IS RALPH? BYLINE: ROB SULLIVAN Guest columnist BODY: Alert, Alert, Alert! The FBI has issued an All Points Bulletin for Ralph Nader, former Green Party candidate for president. Nader was last seen in Florida the day before the election, telling his followers that it made no difference whatsoever if George W. Bush or Al Gore was elected, that a vote for either one was a vote for nothing. Nader was conspicuously absent during the historic battle over the Florida vote -- this didn't seem to bother authorities at the time, as his absence underlined his insistence that it mattered not a whit if the Democratic or Republican contender won the election and thus could be easily explained. Progressives on the left were a bit concerned that the earnest crusader didn't show up to protest the alleged mistreatment of African American voters in the Sunshine State. But Nader's no-show seemed to be justified by his lack of support among blacks in particular and the minority community in general. When the Supreme Court strayed from its non-partisan status by granting a hearing to a case that appeared to many judicial experts to be a state's rights matter, again some on the left wondered: Where's Ralph? But after it was pointed out that Nader's area of expertise is consumer affairs and not legal issues, calm was restored. But now that Bush has picked his Cabinet, law enforcement officials and representatives of the Green Party are truly worried. "Where is Ralph?" buttons have been distributed by the hundreds of thousands, but so far no one has spotted the elusive crusader. No holds have been barred in this search: milk cartons and telephone poles have been plastered with Nader's likeness, movie stars and Nader-for-President backers Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins have issued a personal plea for Nader to come out of hiding, and billboards with "Where is Ralph?" in huge green letters have been leased in major cities across the country, but so far the whereabouts of the former Green Party candidate is a veritable mystery wrapped inside an indecipherable enigma. An unsubstantiated report that Nader and former Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan were vacationing together in Ireland has been exposed by the CIA as a hoax. Apparently, members of the media are very interested in locating Nader. They want to ask him if Bush's Cabinet selections have altered his belief that there is no difference between the two men. In the case of Spencer Abraham, whom Bush chose for secretary of the Energy Department, reporters want to pose this question to the crusader: Would Gore have chosen someone who co-sponsored a Senate bill that would have abolished the very department he is now being asked to lead? What about Gale Norton, picked by Bush to head the Interior Department? Would Gore have selected someone to safeguard our public lands who professes a belief in voluntary compliance to pollution regulations and who once served as attorney for Mountain States Legal Foundation, founded by James Watt, former interior secretary for President Reagan and scourge to environmentalists everywhere? Then there's Linda Chavez, Bush's first choice for labor secretary. Would Gore have nominated someone for that post who has consistently been opposed to any increase in the minimum wage and is a leading spokesperson against any form of affirmative action? What about John Ashcroft, Bush's pick for attorney general? Would Gore have nominated someone who is on record as being adamantly opposed to abortion under any circumstance, even rape or incest, and who has received a honorary degree from Bob Jones University? These are just a few of the questions the media would like to ask Nader, but where the heck is he? Please, if you have any information, forward it to your local police station. Or send a telegram to: Where is Ralph? Washington, D.C. This is urgent -- 2004 isn't that far away and Nader has some pressing questions that he should answer. That is, if he wants to protect his hard-earned reputation for courage, straightforwardness and integrity. NOTES: Rob Sullivan is a writer who lives in Los Angeles. Copyright 2001 Madison Newspapers, Inc. Capital Times (Madison, WI.) January 25, 2001, Thursday, ALL EDITIONS SECTION: Editorial, Pg. 10A LENGTH: 369 words HEADLINE: UNITED FRONT AGAINST BUSH BODY: The real news from Saturday's Madison rally to protest the inauguration, the Cabinet nominees and the policies of George W. Bush was not that the people of Dane County are dissatisfied with the new president. In a county that gave Bush only 32 percent of the vote last November, it's no secret that Bush's selection by the U.S. Supreme Court did not go down well with the citizenry. The news was that Bush's inauguration succeeded in doing something that would have seemed impossible just a few months ago: It united local supporters of Democrat Al Gore and Green Ralph Nader. The divide between Democrats and Green Party supporters last fall was intense - and at times bitter. Indeed, in the last weeks before the 2000 election, Bush was a bit player in Dane County, while Gore and Nader made high-profile appearances in Madison. After the election, there were Democrats who blamed Nader for costing Gore the presidency by taking vital votes in key states such as Florida and New Hampshire. Greens, in turn, noted the failure of the Gore campaign to offer a clearer alternative to Bush and the Republicans. Some evidence of the divisions remained even Saturday, as both the Dane County Democratic Party and the Wisconsin Greens and their allies organized separate protests. But the demonstrations linked up outside the State Capitol to loudly protest the nominations of Attorney General-designee John Ashcroft and other right-wing extremists to serve in the Bush Cabinet. In his remarks, Ben Manski, the able organizer of Nader's Wisconsin campaign,went out of his way to recognize the presence of Carol Brooks, the chair of the Dane County Democratic Party, at the rally. Manski's gracious call to unity was not lost on Brooks, who has worked hard in the post-election period to heal partisan wounds and build the Democratic Party into a more effective and more progressive fighting force. Democrats and Greens will continue to have differences, as both parties are likely to remain forces on the local scene. But the recognition of the threat that the Bush administration poses to progressive ideals shared by the Greens and most Democrats is a sign of maturity on the part of both parties. January 24, 2001, Wednesday, BC cycle SECTION: Washington Dateline LENGTH: 766 words HEADLINE: Democratic group says Gore miscalculated with populist campaign BYLINE: By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: WASHINGTON BODY: A group of moderate Democrats contends Al Gore's populist presidential campaign wasn't aimed at suburban residents, moderates and upper-middle-class whites he needed, but others within the party disagree sharply on the reasons for his loss. The Democratic Leadership Council, "new Democrats" who helped propel Bill Clinton to power with a centrist appeal, has released an analysis that highlights several reasons it thinks Gore was unsuccessful against eventual winner George W. Bush - most significantly, his steady appeals to the working class. Gore also had the Green Party's Ralph Nader draining some votes from him, rather than Ross Perot dampening support for the Republican candidate, a factor described as minimal by the group's leadership. "Given the fundamentals, the good economy, the fact that crime and welfare were down, the vice president should have won by a comfortable margin," said Al From, founder and chief executive of the moderate Democratic group. But not all Democrats agree that Gore's basic strategy was flawed. Steve Rosenthal, political director of the AFL-CIO, said Gore actually fared better because of his strong appeal to the base of Democratic support. "His political targets continue to be extremely unpopular," said Rosenthal, referring to drug companies and oil companies. He said union members were far more successful at reaching white men within their ranks than was the party in reaching white men overall. Nader, who came as a spectator and took copious notes during the panel discussion, said both sides are missing the point by underestimating concerns about corporate power in America. He rejected any suggestion that he was the cause of Gore's defeat. "There were 20 banana peels," said Nader, acknowledging that he was one of them. Nader said it's too early to say whether he will run again. Gore aides said during the campaign that he was trying to blend the new Democrats' moderate message with an outreach to those who felt the new economy had left them behind. Gore campaign research suggested the populist message would hit home with the small group of undecideds the campaign was pursuing in the very close race. Officials in his transition office did not return calls. Gore did well among groups he targeted with his pledge to "fight for working families," he didn't do well enough among groups like suburbanites, moderates and the upper middle class, From said. Many political observers predicted Gore would win with a healthy majority of the vote because of the strong economy and general approval of President Clinton's job performance. Gore and eventual winner George W. Bush ended in a virtual tie, with the election settled by less than 1,000 votes in Florida. "Democrats need to have a broad coalition to win," From said. "We need to expand beyond our Democratic base." The council released an analysis of election results and a survey by Democratic pollster Mark Penn to highlight the kind of course correction it feels is needed for Democrats to recapture the White House. Penn's research suggested Gore won on individual issues, but President Bush won the campaign on broader themes like reducing the size of the government and changing the tone in Washington. Penn found that Gore's "old-style populism" prevented him from reaching key voters, especially in key border states and in his home state of Tennessee. DLC founder From wrote in his analysis of the election that Democrats need to build a new majority, not rely on the Democratic coalitions from years past. The Democratic coalition "must expand beyond our Democratic base ... and must include men as well as women, whites as well as African-Americans and Hispanics, suburbanites as well as city dwellers, moderates and even some conservatives as well as liberals." Democrats should not obsess about the Gore campaign's loss but begin working toward elections in 2002 and 2004, From said. Key to renewed success by the Democrats is recognizing the changes in the country and realizing that a populist campaign causes voters to view a candidate as liberal and identified with "big government," he said. The new economy is causing dramatic changes in the voting public, he said, blurring the sharp class differences of an earlier era. "America is changing. It's becoming more affluent, more educated, more suburban, more wired, more moderate and more diverse," From said. "To put together a majority, you have to talk to the country as it is." Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company The Boston Globe View Related Topics January 24, 2001, Wednesday ,THIRD EDITION SECTION: METRO/REGION; Pg. B1 LENGTH: 197 words HEADLINE: NADER BLASTS T 'HUCKSTERISM' BYLINE: BY RAPHAEL LEWIS BODY: Ralph Nader may have lost the presidential election, but his campaign against corporate America soldiers on. Yesterday, the Green Party's main man wrote a letter to Governor Paul Cellucci, criticizing his administration's plan to place corporate names and logos beside those of four MBTA subway stations in return for cash. "This is a hucksterism that degrades history and community in favor of crass commercialism," wrote Nader, founder of Commercial Alert, an advocacy group that fights the excesses of corporate marketing. No stranger to the T, Nader rode a Red Line subway to the JFK/Umass stop on the night of Oct. 3, hoping to get a place in the presidential debate taking place at the university that night. Nader was ejected from the forum, but won his share of the spotlight anyway, drawing 97,419 votes in Florida, far more than the difference between George W. Bush and Al Gore. "We're feeling kindly toward Ralph - particularly for helping make George Bush president," said John Birtwell, spokesman for Cellucci, a Republican. "We were thinking of renaming the UMass stop the Ralph Nader Stop, but obviously we have to go back to the drawing board." Copyright 2001 The Daily University Star via U-Wire University Wire January 24, 2001 LENGTH: 1091 words HEADLINE: Green Party wins first Texas office in watershed election BYLINE: By Sarah Evans and Hope Price, The Daily University Star SOURCE: Southwest Texas State U. DATELINE: San Marcos, Texas BODY: The grassroots efforts of politically inclined residents this weekend turned a local election on its ear and resulted in the first Green Party candidate in Texas being elected to a public office. Two long-time members of the Upper San Marcos Watershed District board came up for re-election Saturday, but the men were ousted from their positions by two write-in candidates unknown to the board. The votes have yet to be canvassed, but initial results show that Rick Henderson, Southwest Texas State political science lecturer, and John D. Schmidt, a Hays County Green Party candidate, were the winners. According to Joyce Cowan, Hays County elections administrator, 199 voters turned out for the election. Schmidt and Henderson received 95 and 91 votes, respectively. Rufus Alexander, the board's president, received 87 votes, and Bruce Harper, the secretary/treasurer, received 86. Voter turnout in past watershed board elections has been extremely low, and most years the members ran unopposed, said Harper, who has been a board member for about 25 years. "There's a lack of interest in that board," Harper said. "Normally in an election like that, we only have 20 or 30 people vote." But it was this lack of interest and knowledge of the board that first led Henderson to write his name on the ballot. "I was reading an article in the Austin American-Statesman, and it was about an obscure election in San Marcos, where the people involved run unopposed every year," Henderson said. "The early voting began Jan. 3, and no one had voted. My girlfriend and I went in to vote, and we wrote in my name." After Henderson cast his vote, he told his students he would appreciate their vote and urged them to turn out for the election. Word reached the Hays County Green Party from one of Henderson's students, and the efforts went from there. "We called and tried to find out information on the position, and there was no real knowledge about it," said Monica Griffin, co-chair of the Hays County Green Party. "It was not a malicious act. We saw an election that concerned issues we're interested in, and we felt this was good time to get on the ballot." Griffin said the party decided Schmidt was the best candidate to endorse for the position because he is very concerned with river issues. The Hays County Green Party and College Greens worked together to send out e-mails to members and encourage them to vote for the write-ins. According to Cowan, the subdivisions of elections in general require a declaration of write-in candidacy. However, the watershed board falls under no such stipulations and any name can be written on the ballot. "I really don't like the fact that you can have a name written in -- it isn't clear whether the voter is voting for an actual candidate or not," Cowan said. The Green Party's interest in the election was vested in its mission to have a candidate on every ballot for public service, regardless of the official position to be held. While Henderson and Schmidt are environmentally concerned and aware, they said they know very little about the watershed board. "We had some members familiar with it (and who) vaguely knew the scope of it," Carolee Miles, president of the Hays County Green Party. "We didn't expect to win. We were just trying to get on the ballot." The Upper San Marcos Watershed District was formed after a major flood in the early 1970s to find a solution for flood problems. "A plan was made to build large earthen dams around San Marcos," said William Taylor, administrative consultant for the board. "There was a need to pass a bond issue to get enough funds to get the land. In 1978, the voters in the district voted to tax themselves for a $ 1.9 million bond issue." Three of the dams are at Sink Creek and two at Purgatory Creek. "The flood of '98 really demonstrated the value of the dams," Alexander said. "(Until that time) the emergency spillways were never actually used." Now that the dams are finished and the bond has been paid off, the board acts as a caretaker for the structures and a liaison between the federal government and the owners of the land on which the dams rest. "We make sure the operation and maintenance is done," Taylor said. "We make sure there is no vegetation growing up on the dams, and that the necessary repairs get made." Every year, seats on the five-member board open up, alternating two seats one year and three the next. By statute, the board must meet four times a year, but Taylor said it usually meets about every six weeks, and that the next meeting will take place sometime in the next 10 days to canvas the votes. Reaction to the election has been mixed as board members try to understand the write-in candidates' motives. "I don't know what vendetta those people have against the board or why they did what they did," Harper said. As a long-standing member of the San Marcos River Foundation and a 70-year resident of San Marcos, Alexander said he is intimately acquainted with the city and its environmental needs. "There's nobody more environmentally concerned than I am," Alexander said. "I am a conservationist ... I believe in water purity." Henderson said his main concern was the scarce amount of publicity for the election. "What I dislike about it is it was not publicized well," Henderson said. "I wanted to show anybody can win an election with a little effort. "I said, 'I'm going to show I can get myself elected,' and I ended up getting someone else elected as well." Taylor said the board was required to run public notices of the election in newspapers, and that several notices ran in The Free Press. A notice was not placed in the San Marcos Daily Record because The Free Press gave a cheaper price, he said. Because the election was so close, a recount could be ordered, but at press time there had been no request for one. "We were curious to know if he (Alexander) was going to ask for a recount, but he said he had no comment on that at this time," Taylor said. Texas Green Party representatives are very excited about the election means for the future of the party. "We are very happy, and we think it's just the beginning," said Nathalie Paravicini one of the Texas Green Party coordinators. Schmidt stated that when the Hays County party formed in October 2000, the "intent was to get involved with issues and run candidates." "This is a long-term progressive issue," Schmidt said. "Every journey starts with one step." Copyright 2001 British Broadcasting Corporation
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