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[an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) LaDuke returns home with inclusive message By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Green Party vice presidential candidate Winona LaDuke was received like a returning hero by nearly 250 people at Ashland High School. The Saturday evening crowd stood, clapping and cheering, as camera flashes exploded when LaDuke came to the front of the high school commons to speak. She spoke about many of the Green Party's beliefs, focusing on environmental and social changes she thinks are needed for the country. She called for investment in alternative energy, an end to commercial logging on public lands, an end to government support of big business, and a refocusing of the federal budget from the military to address the needs of people. And she called for a place at the table for the Green Party in debates for the presidential race. Audience members were impressed by her achievements and her speaking ability. "She's a tremendous speaker, with insight and integrity," said Donal Rounds of Talent. "Her truths are well thought out and important for our system." Rounds and his wife, Yula Rounds, have been in the Ashland area for more than 20 years and knew of LaDuke through her mother, Betty LaDuke, a retired professor at Southern Oregon University. "We're not surprised at her success," Yula Rounds said. "She's like her mother." LaDuke's message fits well with many Ashland beliefs, she said. "There's a history here of people being interested in alternative solutions." Ashland resident Alissa Lukara was impressed by LaDuke's words and plans to vote for the Green Party this year. "I've voted Democratic all my life, but now I agree more with Nader," she said. "Both parties have sold out." Jonah Anderson, another traditionally Democratic supporter, said he has many friends who still plan to vote for Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore because they fear a Republican victory. "A vote for Gore is like taking an aspirin for cancer," he said. LaDuke graduated from AHS in 1976, and was a member of the debate team directed by AHS teacher John Tredway, who she praised. Tredway returned the acknowledgment. "She's taken that debating ability and used it in service of the community," he said. LaDuke, a mother of four, brought her youngest son with her on this trip, doubling as candidate and mother. She even found herself breastfeeding the child during press conferences. "I did not see (Dick) Cheney nursing a child today," she said. "But extraordinary times require extraordinary measures." At this point in the campaign, some Green Party issues have taken a back seat to the Green's desire to participate in national political debates. Recent elections rules keep parties that received less that 15 percent of the vote in the last election out of the national debates, which stacks the decks in favor of the Democratic and Republican parties, according to LaDuke. "I would really like to debate Dick Cheney," she said. LaDuke also called for Ashlanders to expand their political activism beyond the confines of the small town. "You cannot be an island of political correctness unto yourself," she said. Then she quoted her runningmate Ralph Nader: "Sometimes a private citizen must become a public citizen." [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) [an error occurred while processing this directive] (none) Visit our back issue library Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Western Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Corvallis Gazette-Times | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | | Ashland Daily Tidings | Gresham Outlook | Springfield News | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2000 Lee Northwest Publishing