Ralph Nader Radio Interview Promoting New Book and Much More
September 23, 2009 in Editorials, National Greens
Posted over at Independent Political Report:
I was listening to the radio last night and happened to catch Ralph Nader being interviewed on Radio Times, a locally broadcast show on WHYY, the Philadelphia NPR outlet. The main topic was his new novel “Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us!”, but he was talked about his regrets (the interviewer kept trying to get him to say he regretted running for president), ballot access, a new national third party, the Green Party, and many other topics that are relevant to third parties. It was a much more in-depth look at these issues – and one from a perspective rarely heard in the mainstream media – than can usually be heard or seen in the media.
Nader is currently on a book tour because of the release of his novel. You can listen to the full interview here, and I highly suggest doing so.
There was one thing Nader mentioned about the Green Party that really popped out at me during the interview.
To paraphrase:
Caller: Please start a legitimate third party. Make the Greens a legitimate power.
Nader: It’s easier said then done. I went to all kinds of gatherings of Green parties around the country I raised a lot of money for them. They do squabble among one another and couldn’t put it together.
To some extent I believe Nader is right in that we have a long way to go in organizing our internal operations of running a party and what it takes to win (a more successful fundraising operation, etc), but I disagree with his implicit sentiment that pretty much says Greens won’t be able to do it. That’s what I at least saw in that comment.
One reform within the party that I wish had some traction is to move toward a single Green Party chair. I can understand people’s concerns that this would “centralize power,” but it doesn’t have to if we make the chair merely a spokesperson to articulate our policy in the media and make him/her answerable to the Green National Committee or a steering committee equivalent. Green Parties around the world have a single chair/leader or co-leaders and they are much more successful in reaching out to the media and public because they can put a face to the message. Not so with 7 co-chairs. By the way, this is just one Green’s opinion, not that of Green Party Watch or other editors.
What do you think about Nader’s interview on his book and about his comments about the Greens?
Ronald Hardy said on September 23, 2009
“…they do squabble among one another…”
Well that is an understatement!
anonymous said on September 23, 2009
The problem is not that there are multiple chairs, but that many of them do not do anything other than administrate. It is possible that they fear attack from some members of the party (every political party has people whose primary purpose is to attack, that’s not unique to the Green Party) but a Co-Chair has to stand up to it and seek out interviews, seek out fundraising opportunities, seek out a chance to promote the party.
As for Ralph, what can be said about Ralph? Great guy, awesome American, but definitely used to Ralph’s way or the highway. Any group that has its own agenda that isn’t Ralph’s personal agenda “squabbles” too much for his tastes.
Ronald Hardy said on September 24, 2009
I just picked up my copy of “Only the Super-Rich can Save us!” from my local family owned bookstore.
Anyone want to start a “book group” where we can read and discuss the book together online?
We could break it into 5 sections and create five posts or pages here on Green Party Watch and discuss it in the comments. I’m game if anyone else is.
Dave Schwab said on September 24, 2009
We had the same exact idea at Green Change – check it out:
http://network.greenchange.org/news/9851-ralph-nader-s-new-novel-only-the-super-rich-can-save-us
Anonymous said on October 21, 2009
i like him
Gregg Jocoy said on October 21, 2009
Ralph is a personal hero. I thought his decision to run an independent campaign was ill advised, and I can’t point to anything that remains from those campaigns, and the Green Party is still standing.
I don’t know him well enough to say that it’s ego. He did help us raise a couple of thousand dollars here in South Carolina, but I had to put $2000 of my own money in to make it happen. His campaign didn’t tell us that he would be here until about a week before he arrived, making the fundraiser less successful than it could have been.
We need two co-chairs, not seven. One male, one female. Two year terms, one elected each year. Two term limit. We need a much smaller National Committee. We should have a relationship between state parties that is more like the relationship between national parties. In other words, support one another, communicate, share values, but you run your show, I’ll run mine.
At to power…all the power in the GP is in our elected officials, our ballot line, and our values. There is no institutional power.