Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 11:13:51 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: HAB: Progressive Pragmatics: Should Nader Supporters Vote for Gore?


The foreign policy advisor for George W. Bush said today (NYTimes)
that a Bush administration would work to withdraw US participation in
NATO peacekeeping in the Balkans, as part of a general strategy to
not use military force for peacekeeping activity, which brought a
European reaction that such a strategy was a return to a Cold War
view of US membership in NATO.

The LA Times reports that long-standing Nader allies are urging Nader
to back Vice President Gore, but Nader is relentless. 
< http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20001021/t000100553.html >

"Now, as the end of the presidential campaign season nears," the
Times writes, "Nader thumbed his nose at those who suggest he taper
his idealism and endorse Gore in an effort to keep the Democrats in
the White House.....12 former colleagues asked Nader to reevaluate
his strategy of lumping together Democrats and Republicans. 'It is
now clear that you might well give the White House to Bush,' the
former colleagues wrote in a statement published Friday. 'As a
result, you would set back significantly the social progress to which
you have devoted your entire, astonishing career. . . . It is time
for you once again to step aside in the best interest of your
nation.' The letter was signed 'Former Nader Raiders,' the name used
by those who worked with Nader from 1969 to 1984...."

"Still, in the past Nader has said that a Bush victory could have an
oddly beneficial effect for the Green movement, just as James Watt's
tenure as Interior secretary had on the once-dormant environmental
movement. Watt, who served under President Reagan, was vilified by
environmentalists for his policies and, as a result, energized the
movement. Bush, Nader has said, could be the same kind of
'provocateur' if elected."

I find this to be a chilling perspective on Nader's part, relative to
long-term and large-scale contexts at stake in presidential and
congressional elections. 

I am entirely supportive of the Green Party's growth, and I applaud
Nader's tireless devotion to building a viable progressive party in
the US. Thanks to his work, the Green Party may be ready for Prime
Time in 2008. 

But Nader has done all he can this season to grow the Green Party. 

Now is the time for pragmatic realism. It's time to act like a
citizen. 

I urge idealists who are enchanted with protest votes or principled
non-participation: Vote for pragmatic realism. 

Gary



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