Joe Conason: Ralph Nader en route to "Jonestown" [View All]

The Greens have realized -- somewhat belatedly -- that the Bush presidency is unhealthy for their vital planetary concerns and probably shouldn't continue for a second term. According to Micah Sifry's report in the Nation, some Greens worry about the consequences of another Ralph Nader campaign next year -- and others even doubt the wisdom of any third-party presidential campaign in 2004 at all.

Sifry quotes several prominent Greens on the topic, including media analyst and Nader friend Robert McChesney, who expressed his fears quite bluntly:

"I don't think Ralph should run. It would be bad for him personally; I doubt he would get half the number of votes he got in 2000. And it would be bad for the Greens ... Core elements of progressive constituencies, exactly the groups that the Greens need to build upon, will revolt with open contempt -- far worse than 2000 -- to anything that helps keep Bush in office ... Running a presidential candidate in 2004 for the Greens is probably a quantum leap off a cliff. It is the Greens' Jonestown."

Others in the Green Party are dissatisfied with Nader for less cosmic reasons, such as his refusal to actually join the party, his failure to reach out to minorities, and his alleged hoarding of his contributor lists. This alienation from the former standard-bearer has encouraged a potential challenger to Nader for the Green nomination. The party's general counsel, David Cobb, has promised not only to share his donor lists, but also to "withdraw from the race if either Dennis Kucinich or Al Sharpton is the Democratic nominee." (That's certainly a reassuring platform -- but what's wrong with Carole Moseley-Braun?)

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