Message from Draft Nader 2008

Dear Draft Nader supporters,

We are gearing up the organizing efforts for the Draft Nader campaign and we wanted to update you on the various efforts and what you can do now to help out.

1. If you can help with petitioning efforts in Illinois through November 5th, contact Clint Coppernoll at 505-699-2422 or clint.ican2@gmail.com.
2. Download the Draft Nader petition in the attachment below and mail back to the address on the bottom of the petition by mid November.
3. Ask others to join in our efforts by signing the Draft Nader petition on the
http://www.draftnader.org web site.
4. Join us on a conference call on Monday, October 29th at the request from Peter Camejo, 2004 VP candidate of the Nader/Camejo campaign. We will discuss the various organizing opportunities in your state and are seeking Draft Nader State coordinators. Below is a copy of the letter from Peter with the details of time and phone number and an outline of the State Coordinator responsibilities.

JOIN A PRO NADER CONFERENCE CALL

FROM: Peter Camejo, Nader’s 2004 Vice Presidential Candidate

The 2008 elections are just 13 months away. If Ralph Nader decides to run again should we support him? I think we should. Below I explain why. If you are a Green and a Nader supporter or are considering supporting Nader please join the conference call at 8PM New York time that is 5 PM California time Monday October 29th.

The conference call number is: 1-712-432-2000 code 58485.

If you receive this email please send it out to all your friends and lists in the Green Party.

WHY NADER?

Ralph Nader understands the issues confronting us. He has gotten more legislation passed defending our people than any other person in the last 50 years if not throughout our nation s history. He is an historic figure in his own life time and has the respect of people all over the world.

Ralph Nader was attacked for daring to run and tell the truth unlike any person ever in our nation s history. Ralph Nader s running is itself a statement in defense of democracy and the right of those who dissent from the pro Corporate two party dictatorship to speak out.

No one has helped build the Green Party and defended the right of our people to hear other points of view more than Ralph Nader. He has held more fund raisers, gotten more media and won new supporters for our party than any other person in our history.

WHAT WE NEED TO DO

Some Greens have already begun working in support of Nader even though he has not yet announced.

We have a web site, http://www. DraftNader.org where you can sign up as a supporter. Two leading Greens, Howie Hawkins from New York and Danene Provencher from Minnesota have been proposed as co-chairs of a national draft Nader committee.

Pro Nader Greens have already begun organizing to set up a national committee and to make sure all Greens hear Why Nader. In doing this we do not want to show any disrespect for the other candidates running for our national nomination. Quite the contrary we need to show respect for and try to help all candidates views get heard. Truth can only be ascertained through the conflict of ideas. All our candidates are our friends and working to help build our party. Having debates, discussion, and differences on issues is all part of building a democratic party. Showing respect for all candidates is also part of maintaining internal democracy.

I will be proposing on the conference call that we set up a national committee of State coordinators. Each States Draft Nader Committee should elect one or two people to represent their state. We need to make sure that at every nominating State convention pro Nader Greens have representation and can present Why Nader. We should consider expanding the co-chairs to possibly six people to get racial and geographic representation and maintain a 50/50 gender composition

CALIFORNIA INCLUDES NADER

At our most recent State conference in California 82% of our delegates voted to place Nader’s name on the State primary ballot. This was an important victory for democracy in our party and to let all points of view be heard. Let us build on this important victory to make sure that unlike 2004 Nader gets a genuine hearing at all levels in the nomination process. In 2004 we failed to organize to get our views before our State conferences. Let s not let that happen again. Let s win the primary in California and all states, let s win each State convention. That will send a message to the Democrats that we will fight for democracy and free elections in our nation. That we will not let their spoiler system be used to silence those who favor peace, social justice and the saving of our planet. We need to send a message to all the progressives who capitulated in 2004 and supported a pro war, pro corporate, anti-environmental candidate that this is the time to return to the values they claim to support.

In 2008 it is almost certain the Democrats will be back in power. Once again everyone will see their true nature. The pro corporate party that voted just a few years ago for Unequivocal support for George Bush’s conduct of the war in Iraq , that gave Bush 39 standing ovations at the State of the Union speech in 2005, and that supported the Patriot Act. A new potential for the growth of our party, the struggle for free elections and social justice will develop as people realize the Democrats are not the answer.

Let us continue the heritage of the abolitionist Liberty Party, the Greenback Labor Party, the great populist rebellion of the Populist Party, the Debsian socialists and the heroic Women’s Party whose leaders were imprisoned and tortured as they fought for the right to vote. Let s fight for building a party that truly represents the interest of our people.

PS Please email either Howie Hawkins at hhawkins@IGC.org or Danene Provencher pro826@aol.com as I will be out of the country until just prior to the conference call.

Feel free to forward to any Green Party listservs and individual Greens who are interested in supporting the Draft Nader for ’08 campaign,

Peace, Justice, Ecology and Democracy,

Danene Provencher, MN

Howie Hawkins, NY

__________________________________________________________
Petition of Support for Ralph Nader

Dear Ralph Nader:

We, the undersigned Green Party members, are urging you to run for President again with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) in 2008.

We expect that if you did so, you would do what you did in the Nader-LaDuke Presidential Campaign of 2000.
* run on all available Green Party ballot lines
* run on the Green Party's values
* help raise money for the Green Party and local Green candidates in accord with Federal Election Commission laws
* inspire the running of more local, state, Congressional, and Senatorial Green Party candidates
* help organize to surpass the ballot access requirements and legal barriers in all states where applicable
* further spread the Green Party agenda of peace, justice, democracy, and ecology throughout the United States and world

Running with the Green Party in 2008 would allow your campaign to add its resources to the Green Party's resources and ballot lines, thus increasing the strength and attractiveness of the campaign and maximizing the mandate of votes against the corporate control agenda. A united campaign would also spare the Green Party the divisiveness and inefficiency of another split campaign.

The U.S. is in a profound need of a progressive third party to take forth the people's agenda so betrayed by the worsening corporate parties. The Green Party needs a united and exciting national campaign in order to be able to fill that role.

Please give our grassroots Greens, and us, the undersigned, the opportunity to support you and unite with your campaign should you seek the Green Party nomination for 2008.

Sincerely,

Name Phone Email State Party/Title (for ID only)

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Please return petitions to: Draft Nader Committee, P.O. Box 562, Syracuse NY 13205