There is an excellent article on Salon talking about Nader running for president in 2004. The question they ask is the same question that is challenging Green Party members around the nation. Is it better to try to build the Green party by running Nader for president again? Or is getting George Bush out of office more important?
For me, the answer is clear. As long as the Democratic candidate for president is not a Bush clone, then I am voting for the Democratic candidate. We have to do whatever possible to remove Bush from office. We no longer have the luxury of trying to build up the Green party. The situation is critical, and must be addressed now.
The problem is that the Bush administration is much more evil than anyone could’ve ever envisioned in 2000. At that time, Bush and Gore seemed pretty much equals. Neither candidate seemed much worse than the other. However, no one imagined that the Bush administration would quickly and effectively start taking back personal liberties, would dismantle the 4th Amendment, would be successful in creating a populace that was willing to trade away their rights and accept unprecedented governmental control and surveillance. Not even the most staunch Democratic Party members could’ve predicted how desparate our situation would be in 2003.
So now, in about 18 months, we’ll get a chance to correct this. We will get to vote to either keep the current administration, or to bring a new administration in. This is our chance to get this scourge on our nation out of power, to try to start restoring our rights, and re-establishing the spirit of the Constitution. This must take precedence over all other concerns, including growing the Green party. We must start working with the Democratic party now, both to ensure that a progressive candidate is nominated, and to get that candidate elected. We must work together to remove George Bush from office in 2004.