Why the Green Party doesn't endorse Democrats

(The following letter was drafted in response to a former Green's column in the Albuquerque Tribune: "Nader may not run for White House if diplomatic Democrat presidential candidate emerges" by Abraham Gutmann)

Mr. Gutmann is sorely misinformed about the Green Party and its role as an independent, noncorporate political party. He claims to have founded 'Greens for Kerry' in 2004, but this group has had no association with the Green Party itself, and endorsement of John Kerry was never an option during our 2004 nomination process. The Green Party doesn't endorse Democrats, for the same reason that Democrats don't endorse Republicans and vice versa. We're a separate party, not an appendage to the Dems.

Mr. Gutman erroneously believes that Greens may be willing to support a Democrat for President whose positions might be acceptable to us, and goes on to name Barack Obama, John Edwards, and Bill Richardson. There is no support for Sen. Obama, Sen. Edwards, or Gov. Richardson in the Green Party. We plan to field our candidates for the White House in 2008, as we did in 2000 and 2004.

The difference between Greens and Democrats on major issues is wider than the difference between Dems and Republicans. Greens have called for immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, congressional cutoff of funding for the war to compel President Bush to bring our troops home safe and sound, and impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for numerous high crimes and misdemeanors, including a massive deception campaign to justify the US invasion of a foreign nation. The Green Party supports single-payer national health insurance; repeal of Taft-Hartley restrictions on workplace organizing and bankruptcy bills that privilege banks and credit card companies over customers; and renegotiation of NAFTA and other trade agreements so that they uphold protections for working people in the US and other countries -- the only real solution to the flood of undocumented immigrants into the US. Greens also favor dramatic steps to conserve energy, reduce consumption of fossil fuels, and conversion to alternative energy sources in response to the global warming threat.

Very few Democrats have taken these and other Green positions, certainly none of the Dems with a chance of being nominated -- even though a majority of Americans agree with the Green Party on Iraq, health care, and many other major issues.

Mr. Gutman repeats the tired mythology about Green candidate Ralph Nader 'spoiling' for Al Gore in 2000. In reality, Mr. Gore was denied the White House because of Republican manipulation and obstruction of votes in Florida (especially those cast by African Americans), Mr. Gore's own failure to demand a recount in more than three counties, a patently biased Supreme Court decision (which also held that no national right to vote exists in the US), and Mr. Gore's own weak campaign, in which he even lost his home state of Tennessee. In Florida, four times as many registered Democrats voted for George W. Bush as voted for Mr. Nader.

Unlike the two old parties, the Green Party and its candidates reject the corporate money and influence that have severely eroded US democracy and the rule of law under the US Constitution. We believe that the Green Party is as much a historical necessity in the 21st century as the anti-slavery Republican Party was in the mid 1800s. The only real democracy is multiparty democracy and the right to vote for a candidate who supports one's best interests and ideals. I encourage readers to learn more about the Green Party and Green candidates by visiting www.gp.org.