[nader-colo-students] We're at 7% in Colorado; Your mission for this week

["Damon Haley " <dhaley@greens.org>]

We're continuing to go up in the polls and the attacks from the 
Democrats are only helping us. For every Democrat we lose, we gain 
two independents.  The Rocky Mountain News called us today to ask for 
a comment about their new poll that shows Nader at 7% statewide. And 
most polls show Bush with a double digit lead over Gore.

So lets keep it going for one more week!

Can you believe it?  It's Halloween, which means it's almost November.
Not only is the semester half way over, but we are now at the one week
mark before the election.

Needless to say, we've gotten quite a bit of attention recently.  
Don't let the cries of "spoiler" get you down; don't agree to "vote 
trader's" risky backroom deals!  We need to stay with the message 
that has inspired and motivated from the start : this election is 
about building a progressive political party in the United States, a 
party that is not for sale to corporate interests; a party that puts 
people first; a party that will restore American democracy.  
Republicrats beware; the Green Party is here to stay, through 
November 7 and beyond!

This week is the most crucial point of the campaign: we must solidify
the votes we have, sway undecided voters our way, and get ready to 
make sure all of our voters cast their ballots next Tuesday.  If 
you're just getting involved, you've picked the best time.  If you've 
been busy withschool work and haven't been able to campaign as much 
as you'd like, than count your blessing that mid-terms are over and 
get out there and canvass.  And if you've been killing yourself, 
barely sleeping because you're doing so much Nader/LaDuke campus 
organizing, then now's the time to give up those few hours of sleep, 
and kick yourself into Nader 2000 overdrive. (Ralph's been doing it 
for months!)

If you're looking for more information on Get Out the Vote (GOTV) 
visit http://www.votenader.org/downloads/GOTV.pdf.  Otherwise, keep 
up the great canvassing, leafleting, and phone bank work you're all 
doing and look forward to a big celebration next week!

On to the alert…

Action Mission:

The success of this final week, and of this campaign, will all come 
down to our ability to mobilize the vote at the grassroots level.  
Canvassing our dorms, campuses, and neighborhoods is where we've been 
most effective, and canvassing is what we must continue to do.  Go 
door to door in your campus dormitories and ask students if they're 
familiar with Nader 2000.

If their answer is yes, take down their name and ask them if they're
supporters and would like to volunteer for our GOTV drive or on 
Election Day.

If their answer is no, make sure to have flyers with you to give them,
explain why you're a supporter of the campaign, and why you feel they
should be too.

Canvassing now will be crucial to the success of your GOTV drive 
later. This way, when it comes to the day before, or the day of the 
election, you'll have lists of where possible supporters live, and 
you'll be able to knock on their doors and make sure they get out and 
vote!

Canvassing is also an effective way of building your campus Green 
Party for the future.    Remember, Greens don't work only every four 
years; we work for a deeper democracy every day!

For more information on our all-important Get Out The Vote drive, 
please check out http://www.votenader.org/downloads/GOTV.pdf.


GOTV Kick-Off Rally:

A few days ago, Ralph Nader wrote a letter to his student supporters
asking you to hold a GOTV Kick-Off Rally on Sunday Nov. 5th to excite
your fellow volunteers, and gear up for the final two days of all out
GOTV.  To help make these rallies successful, we'll be simulcasting 
the GOTV Super Rally in D.C., featuring Cornel West, Michael Moore, 
Barbara Ehrenreich, Patti Smith and her band, Randall Robinson, Phil 
Donahue, Danny Glover, the Pie Tasters, and Ralph Nader to each of 
your campuses.  Any school can receive this satellite transmission.  
If you're interested please contact Corey or Alex for details.

Web Mission:

Consider writing an email from your heart about why you're voting
Nader/LaDuke.  Send it to all of your old friends and relatives; 
people you haven't seen since high school, and people who's addresses 
you've found on an old buddy list.   Whatever the reason you're 
voting Green this November, please think about sharing it with those 
who know you. It will make a difference.

Print Mission:

As you read your local and campus newspapers this week, no doubt you
will see articles from the entrenched powers calling for Ralph and
Winona to drop out of the race.  Nader 2000 will not bow out, but to 
the contrary, we will fight harder than ever to build our progressive 
third party force, bring millions of new voters into the fold, and 
serve as a watchdog to the two corporate parties.

This week, and until Election Day, let's keep writing letters to the
editor directed towards voters who would like to vote for Ralph but 
say they're "afraid that a vote for Nader is a vote for Bush."  
Enough is enough, America!  It's time to end the downward spiral of 
lesser evilism by proactively supporting the politics of joy and 
justice.

Here are some points to incorporate into your letters:

Why a vote for Nader is NOT a vote for Bush:

 - No matter where you live or where you vote, vote your conscience.
Don't we expect the officials we elect to public office to vote their
consciences?  Why then, should we expect anything less from ourselves?
Why waste your vote on a candidate you don't believe in when every 
vote for Nader is a vote for democracy and for building a viable third
party?  In fact, with virtually all national political attention 
focused on less than a dozen states, each Green vote in these "swing" 
states will be even more visible, sending a clearer message to the 
Republicrat duopoly; "if you don't shape up, you're going to shrink 
down."

- The "Spoiler Argument" holds absolutely no weight in all 50 states,
but it doesn't even make sense in about 40 states.  Everyone in the 40
or so non-battleground states that neither Bush nor Gore ever visits
realizes that the election has already been decided there.  Yet, you
still hear people telling you that a vote for a third party candidate 
is a "wasted" vote.  The only "wasted" vote is a vote against your own
conscience – that is, voting for your fears instead of your hopes.

- Don't forget, if Ralph gets at least 5% of the popular vote, the 
Green Party receives federal funding for the 2004 election.  For 
perspective, this year, the Nader/LaDuke effort has raised nearly $7 
million; however, this is a sum that the Democrats and Republicans 
can raise in a good week!  If Ralph receives at least 5%, the Greens 
with at least this much funding for the next campaign season.  A vote 
for Ralph is a vote for a level playing field in 2004!

- The time to build a progressive third party is now.  The most
frightening prospect of this election is that the Democratic and
Republican parties will sustain their stranglehold on the American
political system, continuing to shift the political norm towards
corporations and away from people.  Where will it end?  Over the last 
20 years, democracy has been slipping out of our hands, and into the 
fists of un-elected and unaccountable corporate bodies.  If we wait 
four more years, the outside influence on our government gets 
stronger.  But if you vote Green you can help us reverse this trend.  
You can help build the movement to return government to the people in 
one easy step: casting your ballot for Ralph and Winona on November 
7.  If not this year, when?


--
Alex Zwerdling
Constituency Organizer
Nader 2000
202.265.4000
www.votenader.org

http://www.VoteNader.org

Paid for by the Nader 2000 General Committee, Inc.



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