Ralph Nader, in his effort to turn the White House over to the Greens, attacks corporate handouts, free trade, the military budget and nonenforcement of laws aimed at cleaning up the environment and making air, drinking water and communities safer for all Americans.
His populist message is in sync with the political movement he represents. With grass roots in Europe as a pro-peace, anti-nuclear effort, the American Greens are loosely affiliated with more than 80 Green Parties around the world. Their motto is "Think globally, act locally."
The party platform, endorsed by the Greens, strikes an activist, but also sentimental, tone: "Greens are advocates for the Earth. All the rivers, lakes, landscapes, forests and wildlife. This is our birthright and our home--the green Earth. When we see the first picture ever taken of our green oasis from space, photographed from the window of the Apollo flight, we marvel at the preciousness of life."
The U.S. Greens got their start in the mid-1980s and first gained ballot access in Alaska in 1990 and then in California in 1992. In 1996, Nader gave the burgeoning party a shot in the arm when he ran in the California presidential primary as a Green, as well as in several other states. But he ran what some dubbed an "un-campaign," making few political appearances and ending up with only 685,128 votes--less than 1% of all votes cast.
While known mainly as a consumer crusader, Nader's political views are closely aligned with the Greens'. The party platform calls for decentralization of wealth and power, ecological wisdom, gender equity and nonviolence.
The party's platform on key issues:
Abortion rights: "We believe the right of a woman to control her own body is inalienable," the platform states. "It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available."
Campaign finance reform: Calls for a cap on spending and contributions, as well as a ban or strict limitations on political action committees and all "soft money" contributions.
Defense: Greens say the defense budget, currently about $300 billion a year, must be cut in half over the next decade. They also call for a worldwide treaty to abolish all nuclear weapons to be signed by 2002 and an end to the embargo against Cuba. In addition, Nader has also called for an end to the Iraqi embargo, charging it has cruelly cost the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqi children.
