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Comments on Nader from Richard W. DuleeMay 1, 2004Dear Friends: I was struck by a sentence in Vince George's article in the Mt. Party April newsletter supporting a Nader endorsement. Vince said, speaking of Kerry, "Preferable to Bush, yes, but only in degree." I respect Vince, he has been a reliable and ardent voice for progressive causes throughout his life and that of this Party, but it is in this question of degree I believe he fails in his argument that a Nader candidacy makes sense. Degree is important. Especially if you believe, as many of us do, that what is happening in Washington is not the usual agreeable division of the wealth among the established American oligarchy. Rather, the stolen election of 2000 was more than that, it was a coup, and 2004 represents the final consolidation of power by a separate corporate and ideological cliche the likes of which we have haven't seen since perhaps Germany 1932. If Vince is right, and its politics as usual, then his arguments hold. But if he wrong, and what we are witnessing is the finalization of a coup, then we must vote the lesser of the two evils, because circumstances demand it. Preservation of our Constitution demands it, as does the rule of law. To suggest that the degree of difference between the last four years under Gore and what we have experienced under the Bush junta is insignificant is, I believe, absurd. A belief that the next four years under Bush will not be exponentially worse seems equally absurd given the constraining power of Bush's need to be reelected. A second term Bush is one who need no longer worry about such formalities. One need only contemplate Bush appointing the next 2 Supreme Court justices to imagine a day when ballot access will be the least of the issues facing us. And, extra judicial imprisonment, as has happened to American citizen Jose Padilla, is the norm rather than the exception. Richard W. Dulee Comments from Jay TroutMay 2, 2004I am a new member of the Mountain Party, and attended the convention. I was one of those in favor of Nader's nomination, but that matter is settled. Despite that difference in opinion, I am so happy to have discovered the Party. I have hope today, and am proud to be a member. Thank you to all who worked so hard to make this Party a reality and a home for the homeless. In solidarity, Comments from Bill DwyerMay 4, 2004I attended the Mountain Party Convention on May 1st and heard a lot of opinions about the three people running for president. Some praised the idealism of Ralph Nader. There was a general consensus that George Bush is dangerously incompetent. John Kerry was referred to by some as Bush-lite, or the lesser of two evils. I first heard John Kerry speak in Washington to a half a million Vietnam war protesters in 1970. As one of the founders of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War he gave an articulate and convincing speech. Somewhat subdued compared to the other firebrand veterans there, he spoke passionately about the horrors he'd seen in Vietnam. I can't believe that the dedicated young man I saw back then has been corrupted by the political system. I didn't like it one bit when Kerry voted yes on the war resolution. I give him the benefit of the doubt, though. Bush said there was irrefutable evidence that Iraq was accumulating weapons of mass destruction. Bush lied and that was that. I hope I am not being naive when I say that Kerry will be an ally in the fight against mountaintop removal. The Clean Water Act and the Surface Mine Reclamation Act are on the books and I think he'll enforce them. He has the endorsement of the League of Conservation Voters. He has a good record on the environment and isn't that the bottom line? I plan to help get the vote out this fall and I support Jesse Johnson and all of the other Mountain Party candidates. I also support John Kerry. Like him or not, Kerry is our only hope to defeat Bush and Cheney. Let's get behind this man and make sure West Virginia is on the side that votes these scoundrels out of office. Bill Dwyer | |
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