THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

MEDIA RELEASE
For immediate release:
Monday, January 14, 2002

Contacts:
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576,
 nallen@acadia.net
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
 scottmclarty@yahoo.com

RALPH NADER REITERATES SUPPORT FOR THE GREEN
PARTY, DEMOCRATIC RENEWAL, AND DEFIANCE TOWARDS
THE TWO-PARTY SYSTEM

2000 national candidate urges Greens to join
local and state races


WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Green Party of the United
States 2000 Presidential candidate Ralph Nader
reiterated his support for party growth on NBC
News' Meet The Press on Sunday, January 13.


"What we're trying to do is build a political
reform movement," said Nader, whose book about
his 2000 campaign, titled "Crashing The Party:
How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for
President," was published in December.


"The Green Party now is the third largest party
in America -- the fastest growing party. It won
25 percent of its local races last November. We
hope that thousands of people will run at the
local, state and national level in the year
2002," Nader told Tim Russert on Sunday's Meet
The Press.


Nader did not rule out another run for president
in 2004, adding "It's early to say. I don't like
long campaigns."


"Whether Mr. Nader decides to run again or not,
we look forward to his continued assistance and
support for the party," said Tom Sevigny, a
Connecticut Green activist and member of the
national steering committee. "Many Greens
anticipate a contested nomination in 2004. An
amiable competition for the nomination among two
or more candidates of Mr. Nader's caliber would
prove maturity and staying power for the party,
and would help our local and state candidates
immensely."


Nader rebuffed the notion that he "spoiled" the
2000 election for Democratic candidate Al Gore.
When Meet The Press show host Tim Russert asked
if Nader regretted the fact that his numbers
could have put Gore over the top in Florida,
Nader answered, "Of course not. You don't run
for president to help elect your opponent. What
isn't on that screen, Tim, is the exit polls
showed that George W. Bush got 12 times more
Democratic votes in Florida than I did."


Nader added that a Gore presidency "wouldn't have
been any different in terms of military and
foreign policy, soft on corporate crime. It
wouldn't have been any different in ignoring the
need to transfer our country to renewable energy
and organic agriculture and protecting the small
farmer. And it wouldn't have been any different
on GATT and NAFTA and the increasing trade
deficits and exporting American jobs."


Greens agree, adding many other examples to the
list of bipartisan collusion: national missile
defense, constitutionally defective
anti-terrorism legislation, Plan Colombia, the
War on Drugs, the death penalty, opposition to
national health insurance, welfare reform that
blames and penalizes the poor, concentration of
corporate media ownership, depredation of local
economies by powerful corporate lobbies and PACs,
acceptance of contributions from Enron, and a
'blank check' for Bush to wage unilateral war
without regard for international law and
cooperation. Democratic votes helped pass
President Bush's plan to drill for oil in
Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in July,
2001, and helped confirm Bush's cabinet,
including conservative ideologues John Ashcroft
and Gail Norton.


"If voters were sore at the Green Party for
'spoiling,' they didn't show it at the polls in
2001, where we won a quarter of all the races in
which we competed and emerged as the second party
in New Haven, Connecticut and Minneapolis,
Minnesota," said Starlene Rankin, Illinois Green
Party Media Coordinator.


"Voters are realizing that the Green Party is not
an extention of the Democratic Party, and that
Democrats and Republicans have grown so similar
that many voters are now choosing the Greens as
their political home. We offer a party for
everyone who loves peace through justice, a clean
environment, and a participatory democracy."



MORE INFORMATION


The Green Party of the United States
 http://gpus.org  http://www.greenpartyus.org


Green Party election results
 http://www.greens.org/elections/


Transcript of NBC News' Meet The Press, January
13, 2001  http://www.msnbc.com/news/686453.asp


"Crashing The Party: How to Tell the Truth and
Still Run for President," by Ralph Nader
 http://www.crashingtheparty.com/


END