On eve of Milwaukee convention: Green Party divided over Nader campaign

[IndianaGreen]

On eve of Milwaukee convention: Green Party divided over Nader campaign
By Patrick Martin
26 June 2004

On Thursday night, June 24, several hundred Greens attended a pre-convention meeting to hear the candidates for the party’s presidential nomination. Camejo, who initially sought the Green nomination but now has agreed to be Nader’s running mate, addressed the group, along with Cobb and three other candidates who had less support. The meeting featured loud hooting, hissing and booing from the supporters of the various positions.

Cobb portrayed the Nader campaign as an obstacle to the long-term building of the Green Party as an organization, saying that the purpose of his own campaign was to “grow the Greens,” and that nominating a Green Party candidate, rather than endorsing a non-Green, would be an act of “institutional self-respect.” He offered to withdraw in favor of Camejo, if Camejo would agree to be the party’s presidential candidate.

At the same time, he made a clear appeal to the “anybody-but-Bush” sentiment that will lead many of the Green Party supporters to cast their votes in the end for Kerry and the Democrats. “George W. Bush is a problem,” Cobb said. “George Bush must go.”

A spokesman for Cobb later spelled out the logic of this position, telling a WSWS reporter, “It’s important to get Bush out of office. (Cobb) will describe Kerry as a corporate militarist, but he understands there is considerable fear of a second Bush administration, and the only way to get Bush out is for Kerry to win.”

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/jun2004/grco-j26.shtml

[eyesroll]

1. The Greens nominated Cobb this afternoon

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GREEN_PARTY?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME

[IndianaGreen]

2. I knew that, but I thought the WSWS story provided a good background

on David Cobb and the different factions at the Green convention. WSWS is covering the convention which is more that can be said about the mainstream media.

BTW, the WSWS supports Socialist Equality Party Presidential candidate Bill Van Auken.

[eyesroll]

3. The Journal Sentinel has some decent coverage, but

the convention's in Milwaukee, so that's not surprising. But you're right -- it's a blurb on page A19 elsewhere.

Socialist Equality Party? I'm not familiar with it (although in WI, we've got many, many parties with "Socialist" or "Worker" in their name with presidential or gubernatorial ballot lines -- don't know offhand if this is one of them).