Hello!
I have not felt this energized by politics in years and the reason is
simple. This is the first presidential election in my lifetime where I can
actually vote my conscience. Rather than being trapped between voting for a
corporate-friendly centrist Republican and a corporate-friendly centrist
Democrat and being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils, there
is actually a candidate who has been fighting his whole life for social,
economic and political justice in this country.
Ralph Nader is leading the movement to take back our democracy from the
power brokers, the moneyed interests, the greed mongers, the bought-and-sold
politicians, and all those who dismiss the people from whom democracy has
been stolen. He has spent 37 years working tirelessly and solely for all of
our rights, and is widely considered to be the most honorable figure in
public life – he is not now, nor ever has been, for sale. No one knows
better than Ralph Nader that we have reached a point in history where
corporate control has effectively shut out citizen and grassroots
participation in our own government. This ever-increasing erosion of our
most fundamental rights, especially the right to participate in our own
government, has compelled him to run for president.
In stark opposition to the other candidates, Ralph Nader promotes programs
that empower people left behind by corporate power run amok. He has always
worked, and continues to work, for truly just and populist goals, focusing
on issues they would never touch: abolishing the racist death penalty,
repealing Taft-Hartley and allowing millions of workers to unionize,
guaranteeing a living wage, implementing universal health insurance, fully
funding Head Start programs, and end the racist drug war to drastically
reduce the vast population of our unfairly and shamefully overcrowded
prisons (visit http://www.VoteNader.org for more campaign issue positions).
Shut out of the media and the presidential debates (by the Commission on
Presidential Debates, run by the former heads of the Republican and
Democratic Parties) and taking zero money from corporations and zero “soft”
money, Ralph is drawing crowds of thousands wherever he speaks – crowds
never once matched by the other candidates, even with their multi-millions
of dollars and saturating media coverage. So you can throw your vote away
on the lesser of two evils, insuring ever-increasing evil every four years,
or you can help build this movement that at the very least can be a powerful
watchdog exposing the two ruling parties’ deceit and destruction, and at
best will eventually elect a president, and more and more representatives,
who serve the greater good of all of us.
Gore, after hundreds of millions of campaign dollars and virtually
unlimited, friendly media coverage, still ignites no passion in voters, and
for good reason: he is a hereditary politician who stands for nothing and
espouses whatever position he and his party handlers think will win him
votes. And now the Democratic Party is panicking and labeling Ralph Nader a
“spoiler.” They’re not about to blame their own ineptitude for their
difficulties in defeating Bush, another hereditary politician with a dismal
record and bumbling persona. With all his advantages, if Gore can’t earn
his votes and beat a candidate as weak as G.W. Bush without resorting to
such low-handed tactics, then is he worth your vote?
We are heading down a very destructive road. But now we have the
opportunity for a healthier society, one we can be proud to live in. This
campaign is about fighting for our lives and our futures. It is not about
which corporate candidate does what in the next four years; it’s about the
rest of our lives. Only with millions of committed people working together
in a progressive movement can we take our government back. The Green Party
and Ralph Nader’s candidacy are our best and only hope for that future.
With just five percent of the national popular vote, Ralph Nader and the
Green Party will earn federal matching funds, making them an immediate force
in national politics.
Vote for the candidate who truly, honestly represents what you believe in.
And has the record to prove it.
I know most of you, and I think I know you well enough to know that in your
heart of hearts, that candidate is Ralph. Vote for Ralph Nader and the
Green Party on November 7.
For detailed information and links go to http://www.VoteNader.org.
Thank you.
“Welcome to the politics of joy and justice.” - Ralph Nader
