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| WI Greens to Nader: We Respect Your Right to Run, Please Respect Ours Green Nominee David Cobb to Appear on Ballot in Wisconsin. |
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Wisconsin Green Party September 7th Contacts: WI Greens to Nader: We Respect Your Right to Run, Please Respect Ours Green nominee David Cobb to appear on ballot in Wisconsin As Ralph Nader filed petitions to appear on the Wisconsin ballot as an independent, spokespeople for the Wisconsin Green Party issued a mixed message of support and caution to the independent presidential candidate. Specifically, Greens denounced efforts by the Democratic and Republican parties to bar Nader from the ballot, while at the same time calling on Nader put an end to his campaign's attempts to knock Green Party nominee David Cobb from the ballot. "Wisconsin Greens have repeatedly supported the right of voters to select the candidates of their choice, be they independent, Libertarian, socialist, conservative, liberal, Democratic, Republican, or Green, and opposed attempts by the establishment parties to eliminate competition through draconian ballot access laws," said George Martin, WIGP Co-spokesperson. "The right of voters to choose David Cobb is as sacred as the right of voters to choose Nader, Kerry, Badnarik, Bush, or Peroutka." The Green Party, David Cobb, Ralph Nader, and other candidates, have struggled and failed to get on the ballot in some populous states, notably Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, North Carolina, and other states with highly restrictive ballot access laws. Cobb has qualified for the ballot in 32 states to date, including Wisconsin; Nader has qualified in 15. Nader campaign staffers have made failed attempts in several states, most notably in California, to convince state parties to remove David Cobb's name from the Green ballot and replace his name with that of Ralph Nader. The Democratic Party in particular has invested millions of dollars in a building a legal infrastructure designed to deny Nader and Cobb access to the ballot. "In condemning Democratic Party efforts to keep him off the ballot in various states, Nader and his campaign have sometimes suggested that Nader failed to win the support of the Green Party of the United States, and its existing 23 ballot lines, due to "outside" Democratic pressure," said Jill Bussiere, WIGP Co-spokesperson. "In fact, Ralph Nader did not attend the 2003 Green Party National Conference in his hometown of Washington D.C., and did not attend FORWARD 2004!, the Green presidential nomination convention in Milwaukee, despite having been invited to both. Significantly, at his specific request of December 22, 2003, Nader's name did not appear on most state party primary ballots, and he stated that he would refuse to accept the party's nomination, if chosen to be its nominee." "We urge Nader to focus on his own independent campaign, and to either find a way to rebuild a positive relationship with the Green Party, or to let us be," said Bussiere. Green Party presidential nominee David Cobb will stump in Wisconsin over the weekend of September 17-19. The highlight of Cobb's campaign swing will include speaking at Fighting Bob Fest in Baraboo. Other campaign stops will include La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Stevens Point, and the Wisconsin Dells. Websites for further information: David Cobb for President: |
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