VOTING GREEN
June 26, 2000

The Green Party nominates Ralph Nader as their presidential candidate during their convention last weekend.

Online NewsHour Special Report: Election 2000 April 27, 2000: Texas Governor George W. Bush. March 14, 2000: Vice President Al Gore Browse the NewsHour's coverage of politics     The Association of State Green Parties VoteNader.com	BETTY ANN BOWSER: In the staging of their three-day convention, the Greens pulled many of their moves right out of the playbooks of the two major political parties. There were speeches... JOHN ANDERSON, former presidential candidate: And in this election, it is surely the Green Party that is going to be entitled to wear the label of the true reform party in this country. (Cheers) BETTY ANN BOWSER: ...And a slickly produced video about their presidential candidate. RALPH NADER, Green Party presidential candidate: The only thing that's ever going to clean up government is an aroused, informed, and dynamic public. BETTY ANN BOWSER: There was a roll call of the states... SPOKESMAN: Hawaii casts its four votes for the next President of the United States, one man who we can't thank enough for what he's done for all of us, Ralph Nader. (Cheers) BETTY ANN BOWSER: ...And of course a balloon drop. But officials at the association of state Green Parties want any similarities to Republicans and Democrats to end there. Medea Benjamin is a Green Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in California. MEDEA BENJAMIN: We're showing that you don't have to be a corporate party. We put on a great convention with no corporate money. And the Republicans and Democrats, they're taking million-dollar donations for their conventions. SINGER: We want peace on earth -- healthy earth.
	A diverse platform
	BETTY ANN BOWSER: Frustration with the two major political parties is what has brought this diverse assortment of people together. Organizers say they include Republicans, Libertarians, Labor and Reform Party folks. But overwhelmingly the delegates here used to be Democrats. Dan Hamburg ran for governor of California two years ago on the Green Party ticket. But eight years ago he was elected to the U.S. Congress as a Democrat. DAN HAMBURG: I was a flag-waving member, a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party, and I was proud to be part of the largest freshman class in the history of Congress, and proud to be part of the new administration that was going to bring in universal healthcare, was going to cut the military budget, was going to mean a better deal for working Americans, was going to reinvest in the cities. But it didn't happen. The last eight years have been a betrayal, and many of us feel not that we've left the Democrats, but that the Democratic Party has left us. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Tony Affigne is another former Democrat. He's a Latino delegate from Rhode Island, and is quick to correct what he says is a common misconception, that the greens are a one-issue party. TONY AFFIGNE: There's a misunderstanding, there's a perception and I think fostered by the Democratic party-- and the Republican-- that Greens only care about the environment. The reality is the Green Party is the most progressive party on environmental questions, but the Green Party also is the most progressive of the major parties in terms of labor politics, in terms of civil rights, in terms of the political equality and social equality of people of color. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Ken Mathenia is a union worker at General Motors in Flint, Michigan. He and his wife, Jan, were at the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle last November, along with hundreds of other Green Party activists. They were protesting what they call unfair trade agreements that hurt workers in the United States and nations all around the world. (Applause) This weekend the Mathenias lodged their complaints by marking their ballots for Nader. KEN MATHENIA: The Democrats at the upper levels of this country have become pretty much committed to the same policies as Republicans as far as the money goes, and I think they're both corrupted by the money right now at the top. It just seems like every time we turn around, the Democrats give labor another kick, you know, and labor another kick, and expect us to go along with the corporate line. DEMONSTRATORS (Chanting): This is what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like! BETTY ANN BOWSER: If there is one thing that unified all of the delegates, it is their distrust and disgust with corporate America. About 200 people marched through downtown Denver on Saturday, protesting what they call economic injustice. PROTESTOR: We're not here in protest against trade; we're here in protest against greed. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Jim Hightower is an author, radio talk show host, and former agriculture secretary from Texas. JIM HIGHTOWER: This fervor in the countryside among working people who are being downsized, among people concerned about human rights around the world, among folks like family farmers who are being squeezed out by this global monopolistic power, people are in rebellion against this effort to enthrone corporate power as our sovereigns, and Ralph Nader has a unique ability to communicate that issue and to touch people, not only intellectually, but also in their gut and in their heart. RALPH NADER: Thank you very much. (Cheers and applause)
	A perfect fit
	BETTY ANN BOWSER: Consumer advocate Ralph Nader won the Green Party's nomination overwhelmingly yesterday, with just token opposition from two other candidates. Hamburg says Nader is a perfect fit for the Green Party. DAN HAMBURG: Ralph is kind of the anti- politician person. He's not a politician. He's been standing up for clean air, for clean water, for auto safety, for air safety, for clean food, for all the issues that have affected the lives of millions of Americans. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Four years ago, Nader also ran for President on the Green ticket. SPOKESMAN: And here is Ralph! (Cheers and applause) BETTY ANN BOWSER: But back then, he made few campaign appearances and raised just $5,000 in contributions. On election day he garnered less than 1% of the vote. This time things are different. He's campaigned in all 50 states, and has raised nearly a million dollars. A recent Wall Street Journal poll showed him with about 5% support nationwide, and 11% in the Midwest. With more and more union members supporting Nader in those key Midwestern states, some analysts are saying Nader could be a spoiler for Gore's chances for the White House. It's a notion that doesn't trouble either Nader or his supporters. RALPH NADER: Why don't you ask Al Gore, are you worried about defeating Ralph Nader? SPOKESMAN: Well, they've taken to labeling Nader a spoiler. Well, yeah, he's a spoiler-- he's spoiling their little cozy game of business as usual. The powers that be are not worried that Ralph Nader is a spoiler; they're worried that he's a winner. (Cheers and applause) BETTY ANN BOWSER: Hightower's optimism notwithstanding, most delegates to the convention admit there is very little chance Mr. Nader will win in November, and they say a major reason is because he has been excluded from the television debates. It's an issue that Nader himself raises again and again. RALPH NADER: The debates have now become a central part of the election process, for better or for worse. Millions of voters apparently make up their minds on what they hear in these debates. To shut out legitimate third- party candidates from these debates is to limit the competitive Democratic process on which the American electoral system is supposed to be built. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Ballot access is another issue. Nader hopes to make it on at least 48 state ballots, but he currently has only qualified in 20 states and the District of Columbia. And finally, the decentralized Greens have no national organizational structure to help support the candidate, but Hightower says that doesn't matter. He says Nader's candidacy is catching fire with grassroots America. JIM HIGHTOWER: 'Cause we're going to have the lowest turnout probably in American history if it's just Al Gore and George W. Bush. It's a money-soaked, made-for- television, corporate-driven, issue-avoiding snoozer of an election, but here comes the big surprise, someone like Ralph Nader who is going to suddenly turn the campaign hotter than high school love. BETTY ANN BOWSER: Immediately after accepting the Green Party nomination, Nader headed out to California to try and turn up the heat, where polls show he has about 7% of the vote. JIM LEHRER: We're planning a Newsmaker interview with Ralph Nader on Friday.