Should The Green Party Run A Candidate For President? A Radio Debate

[Solidarity]

Forum 2004 -- Independent Election Coverage
A Debate between
Peter Camejo & Norman Solomon
Resolved: The Greens should NOT
run a candidate for president in 2004
Thursday, January 29

KVMR radio presented is a lively debate on a potential Green Party presidential candidacy in 2004. The event was broadcast on KVMR and other radio stations in California.

California Green gubernatorial candidate Peter Camejo, a possible
Green party presidential candidate, debated Norman Solomon, director of the Institute for Public Accuracy and author of "Target Iraq,".

Camejo is a lifelong political activist with roots back to the student movements of the '60s, and he received over 5% of the vote for California Governor in November 2002. Solomon is a veteran media analyst and political commentator/author.

A potential Green presidential candidacy has been a hot issue among progressives for months. Many moderate Democrats and independents have cited Ralph Nader's 2000 bid for the Oval Office as a key reason for George W. Bush's ascendance to the White House after that November election. They fear a Green run will give Bush the edge he needs to defeat the Democratic nominee. Norman Solomon has voiced strong opposition to a Green run for president.

Meanwhile, Peter Camejo contends that a vote for a Democrat -- even a progressive -- is a vote for a system that has failed Americans and American ideals. He also argues that a Green candidacy moves the debate to the left, which he says increases a Democrat's chance of defeating Bush.

At the debate, Camejo and Solomon also fielded recorded questions from scholars and journalists familiar with the issue.

Solomon and Camejo did a fine job in presenting and defending their positions. And unlike some who have debated the issue they did not engage in personal slanders, attacks and insults to make their points.
They took the high road. It was a vigorous, emotional and yet civil debate.

You can listen to the debate at the following link. What do you think of the points they made in promoting their positions?

http://www.usgreens.org/audio/camejo-solomon.mp3

[MotR]

1. Nader should drop out...

or it'll be four more years of *

[Solidarity]

2. Did You Listen?

Did you listen to the debate?

[GreenInNC]

9. Nader is not running as a Green

he has said he does not want our nomination because he didn't want to go through our nomination process. He wanted the nomination handed to him on a silver platter.

[hedgetrimmer]

3. no, I did not listen to the debate. yes, I think the Greens should run.

[vetwife]

4. Sorry Hedgetrimmer

There won't be an election process if Bush goes in ..IT will all be gone. America as we remember her of days past. Forget Green..You should be seeing red and if you want another party, I suggest you vote Dem blue this time to maintain a voting system at all !

[Solidarity]

5. Should People Be Allowed To Vote Green?

If people are only permitted to vote for either Kerry or Bush do you think that is a democratic election process?

Many people just will not support either the Democratic or Republican parties. I think they should have the right to vote for a different party without being attacked as being right-wing Bushites, etc.,

In any case I hope you listen to the debate.

[WitchWay]

6. Dems maintaining a voting system?

Huh...that's funny. They didn't seem to give a shit about the votrers scrubbed from florida, did they?

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. They also didn't seem to give a shit about a full primary season.

Let alone one that wasn't rigged from the start to favor the weakest possible candidate. But having said that, I believe the only way that Nader or the Greens should run this year is if they can guarantee they can get more votes than Kerry or Bush. Because God knows I'd rather vote for a TRUE progressive over a PNAC asskisser anyday. However, there's no point in doing so if it's only going to create the illusion of Bush being a "popular" President (and the fact of being a legally elected one, which he does not have now)

[DaveSZ]

8. Well

With Nader and Camejo, I don't see how Kerry can win at all since Bush has no significant third party candidate on the right pulling him down.


I had hoped the left would be unified, but I doubt I'll ever see that day.

I wonder if everyone realizes how all of the progressive reforms of the past 100 years, along with the US Supreme Court are at stake.