Ralph Nader 1996 presidential campaign

Last updated
Ralph Nader for President 1996
Ralph Nader 1996 presidential campaign logo.jpg
Campaign U.S. presidential election, 1996
Candidate Ralph Nader
Founder of Public Citizen and
progressive activist
Winona LaDuke
Activist
Affiliation Green candidate
StatusLost election: November 5, 1996
Headquarters Washington, DC
Website
http://www.vais.net/~nader96/index.html

The 1996 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader , consumer advocate and political activist, began after he was drafted as a candidate for President of the United States on the Green Party ticket during the 1996 presidential election. Nader was not formally nominated by the national party or the Green Party USA organization, which was, at the time, the largest national Green group; instead he was nominated independently by various state Green parties. In some states, he appeared on the ballot as an independent.

Contents

Background

Although Nader was not formally nominated by the national Green Party, a significant number of the party's members and supporters backed his presidential bid. Several of them actively campaigned for him. Nader qualified for ballot status in 22 states, [1] garnering 685,297 votes or 0.71% of the popular vote (fourth place overall), [2] although the effort did make significant organizational gains for the party. He refused to raise or spend more than $5,000 on his campaign, presumably to avoid meeting the threshold for Federal Election Commission reporting requirements; the unofficial Draft Nader committee could (and did) spend more than that, but the committee was legally prevented from coordinating in any way with Nader himself.

Criticism

Nader received some criticism from gay rights supporters for calling gay rights "gonad politics" and stating that he was not interested in dealing with such matters. [3] However, more recently, Nader has come out in support of same-sex marriage. [4]

Running mates

Instead of Nader having one running mate on all ballots on which he appeared, the women's caucus of the Green Party decided that a slate of women would run who would act as a cabinet of advisers for his campaign. [5] Nader's multiple running mates included: Anne Goeke (14 states), [6] Deborah Howes (Oregon), Muriel Tillinghast (New York), [7] Krista Paradise (Colorado), Madelyn Hoffman (New Jersey), Bill Boteler (Washington, D.C.), and Winona LaDuke (California and Texas). [8] However most political election websites dispute this and have LaDuke as his running mate in most of the states he ran in.[ citation needed ]

Ballot access

Nader attained ballot status in 22 states.[ citation needed ]

Events

A long term Green catch-phrase came out of the 1996 nominating convention. During Nader's acceptance speech, the crowd started to chant "Go Ralph Go!" to which Nader, appearing uncomfortable, gestured for silence and said "the intonation should be 'Go we Go'." The crowd obliged and the phrase "gowego" became a part of Green history. [9]

See also

2000 Nader Presidential Campaign

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Nader</span> American lawyer and activist (born 1934)

Ralph Nader is an American political activist involved in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. He is a perennial presidential candidate. His 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed, which criticized the automotive industry for its safety record, helped lead to the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act in 1966.

The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; anti-racism. As of 2023, it is the fourth-largest political party in the United States by voter registration, behind the Libertarian Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Camejo</span> Venezuelan American politician

Peter Miguel Camejo Guanche was a Venezuelan American author, activist, politician and Sailing Olympian. In the 2004 United States presidential election, he was selected by independent candidate Ralph Nader as his vice-presidential running mate on a ticket which had the endorsement of the Reform Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Cobb (activist)</span> American activist and politician

David Keith Cobb is an American political activist who was the Green Party presidential candidate for the 2004 election. Cobb later became the campaign manager for fellow Green Jill Stein for her presidential run in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Nader 2004 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2004 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney began on February 23, 2004. This was Nader's third presidential campaign, having run in 1996 and 2000 campaign as the candidate for the Green Party; in 2004 he ran as an independent candidate. Nader won the 2002 endorsement of the Reform Party USA, and thus appeared on the ballot as the Reform Party candidate in several states. In some states, Nader was on the ballot as an independent candidate, while in other states, Nader was deemed not to have met the requirements for ballot access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of Oklahoma</span> Political party in the United States

The Green Party of Oklahoma is a political party in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was formed in 2002 through a gradual coalition of various state green groups and received its accreditation from the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) in May 2005. Its stated aims are a commitment to environmentalism, non-violence, social justice, and grassroots democracy.

The Green National Convention is the presidential nominating convention of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS). Though the Green National Committee (GNC) meets annually in a "national meeting", the convention is convened by the GNC once every four years in order to nominate an official candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and to officially adopt the party platform and rules for the election cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-Rainbow Party</span> Massachusetts political party

The Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) is the Massachusetts affiliate of the Green Party of the United States and a political designation in Massachusetts officially recognized by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Up until 2020, it was an officially recognized political party in Massachusetts, losing that status as the result of vote tallies in the November 2020 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of California</span> California affiliate of the Green Party

The Green Party of California (GPCA) is a California political party. The party is led by a coordinating committee, and decisions are ultimately made by general assemblies. The GPCA is affiliated with the Green Party of the United States (GPUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howie Hawkins</span> American activist and trade unionist (born 1952)

Howard Gresham Hawkins III is an American trade unionist, environmental activist from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee in the 2020 presidential election. His ideological platform includes enacting an eco-socialist version of the Green New Deal—which he first proposed in 2010—and building a viable, independent working-class political and social movement in opposition to the country's two major political parties, and capitalism in general.

The Green Party of the United States originated in 1984 when 62 people from the U.S. gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota and founded the first national Green organization - the Committees of Correspondence. The Green Party of the U.S. has gone through several evolutions, from debating theory and praxis in the 1980s, to starting state parties in the 1990s, to the founding of a national political party in the 2000s.

The South Carolina Green Party is a ballot-qualified political party in the state of South Carolina. It is the state affiliate party of the Green Party of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Party of Arkansas</span> Arkansas affiliate of the Green Party

The Green Party of Arkansas is the state party organization for Arkansas of the Green Party of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Nader 2000 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

The 2000 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney, began on February 21, 2000. He cited "a crisis of democracy" as motivation to run. He ran in the 2000 United States presidential election as the nominee of the Green Party. He was also nominated by the Vermont Progressive Party and the United Citizens Party of South Carolina. The campaign marked Nader's second presidential bid as the Green nominee, and his third overall, having run as a write-in campaign in 1992 and a passive campaign on the Green ballot line in 1996.

The Green Party of Rhode Island (GPRI) is one of the oldest active Green parties in the United States. The party was founded on March 6, 1992, at a meeting of 40 activists from Rhode Island. In November 1996, GPRI was one of 12 founding parties in the Association of State Green Parties, renamed the Green Party of the United States in 2001. Several Rhode Island party leaders have served as officers of the national Green Party. The party's candidates have run for municipal councils in several cities and towns, such as running for Mayor of Providence, the State Senate and the State House of Representatives, U.S. Congress, and for Lieutenant governor.

The 2008 presidential campaign of Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer and attorney began on February 24, 2008. He announced his intent to run as an independent candidate, on NBC's Meet The Press. It was Nader's fifth and final campaign; he ran in the four election cycles prior to 2008: 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. The 2008 election was the third in which he had officially run a national campaign. While Nader ran as an independent, in some states he had ballot access with the Independent-Ecology Party, the Natural Law Party, and the Peace and Freedom Party. Nader received 738,475 votes.

The 2004 presidential campaign of David Cobb, a Texas attorney, was Cobb's second overall election campaign, having run for State Attorney General in 2002. Prior to seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party of the United States, he was involved with Ralph Nader's campaign in 2000 and was an activist for the Green Party.

Greta Gaard is an ecofeminist writer, scholar, activist, and documentary filmmaker. Gaard's academic work in the realms of ecocriticism and ecocomposition is widely cited by scholars in the disciplines of composition and literary criticism. Her theoretical work extending ecofeminist thought into queer theory, queer ecology, vegetarianism, and animal liberation has been influential within women's studies. A cofounder of the Minnesota Green Party, Gaard documented the transition of the U.S. Green movement into the Green Party of the United States in her book, Ecological Politics. She is currently a professor of English at University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a community faculty member in Women's Studies at Metropolitan State University, Twin Cities.

The Left Green Network (LGN) was an ecosocialist organization created by Murray Bookchin and Howie Hawkins.

References

  1. "Politics1.com". Politics1.com. 1934-02-27. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  2. "Uselectionatlas.org". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  3. "Leftbusinessobserver.com". Leftbusinessobserver.com. 1984-06-28. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  4. "Votenader.org". Votenader.org. 2001-09-11. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  5. Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens By Greta Gaard, page 241.
  6. Ecofeminism and Globalization: Exploring Culture, Context, and Religion edited by Heather Eaton, Lois Ann Lorentzen page 229.
  7. Newspaper article about candidate
  8. Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens By Greta Gaard, page 240.
  9. Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens By Greta Gaard, page 241