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