LaDuke and Nader rally in Mass

OCTOBER 2, 2000

It was a rally en masse in Massachusetts last night as the Green Party duo of Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke spread their message of environmental and social activism to about 10,000 supporters in Boston.

The Sunday stop in Boston was the fourth in a series of what the Nader / LaDuke campaign have been calling "super rallies." Previous rallies in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, have drawn more than 10,000 people each, making them the most successful, in terms of attendance, public campaign events of the 2000 election.

And at $10 a pop, the rallies have been just about the only method, besides donations, the campaign is using to raise funds and pay costs in the upcoming election. They are also one of the only ways supporters or undecided voters may have to hear Nader and LaDuke address the issues.

Neither Nader nor LaDuke will participate in the upcoming debates sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The Commission only invites candidates who have received more 15 percent of the vote in a series of national polls and have a mathematical chance of receiving a majority of votes in the Electoral College, the method by which the President is actually elected.

The five polls put national support for Nader at less than 5 percent. And while the Green Party appears on the ballot in almost every single state, almost equal support for Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush has eaten up the electoral votes.

But none of that curbed enthusiasm for Nader and LaDuke yesterday. They addressed supporters who cheered their views on the environment, poverty, and corporate involvement in not just the campaigns and elections, but in everyday life.

"How are you going to shift power from the hands of giant corporations . . . to workers, consumers, taxpayers, and voters of America?" Nader asked.

The Green Party was also joined by film maker Michael Moore, best known for his 1989 documentary about General Motors' shutdown of an auto-plant in Michigan. Last night, he criticized the Greens exclusion from the national debates, which begin tomorrow in Boston.

Nader said he will stay in town for the debate. For LaDuke, returning to Boston brings her back to old stomping grounds -- she graduated from Harvard University in 1982.

Relevant Links:
The Green Party Native Platform - globalcircle.net/nativeplatform.htm
Vote Nader, Campaign site - www.votenader.org
The Electoral College - www.nara.gov/fedreg/elctcoll/index.html

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