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Local Greens keep the faith in the face of long odds Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Medford�s George Hutchinson is enthusiastic about the Green Party�s national ticket, presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate, Winona LaDuke. Hutchinson is the Southern Oregon representative of the Pacific Green Party. With a �national treasure� running hard for president, they think �00 may be their year By Dani Dodge When asked why he�s fired up about politics for the first time in his 75 years of life, Jim Jeffrey taps his gnarled left leg. "This is the reason," said Jeffrey, pulling up his polyester pants to display a leg dramatically shortened by a German bullet. "I was in World War II. I was a prisoner of war for six months. Ever since then I�ve been trying to work for what (Ralph) Nader represents." "I�ve waited my entire life for this moment." For Jeffrey and dozens of others in the Rogue Valley, Green Party candidate Ralph Nader represents a liberal menu of environmentalism, social justice and worker protectionism that will lead to world peace. The small but fervent group of Greens in the Rogue Valley hopes that a recognizable presidential candidate, a former Ashland resident as the vice presidential nominee, and growing dissatisfaction with the major parties give them their best chance yet to influence American politics. They believe Green Party ideals offers a better life for all but the fat cats living off of "corporate welfare." And they say Nader has a proven track record of caring for people, dating back to the 1960s when he took on the auto industry for producing unsafe vehicles, they say. These locals are converting to the Green cause, despite knowing Nader has about as much chance of taking the White House as a timber baron has of becoming mayor of Ashland. They simply say they are unwilling to pick between the lesser of two evils. "Can you say that George Bush is a national treasure? Or Al Gore?" asks George Hutchinson of Medford, the Southern Oregon representative of the Pacific Green Party. "What about Nader? Is Nader a national treasure? Many people think so." Supporters have been buoyed by polls showing strong Nader support in a number of states, including the West. He�s polling 9 to 10 percent in California; an Oregon poll showed him with 7 percent, the highest of any third-party candidate. Additionally, Nader had the highest personal approval rating of any presidential candidate, including Bush or Gore. Even back in 1996, when Nader was the Green Party nominee � but did little in the way of campaigning � he received nearly 4 percent of the vote in Oregon. Now he�s campaigning full time. Irene Saikevych, the Southern Oregon campaign chairwoman, believes the World Trade Organization protest in Seattle galvanized a cadre of Northwest liberals, who will channel their zeal for Nader. Although conventional wisdom and Oregon political scientists say Nader is stealing most of his support from Gore, some polls show Nader�s message of clean government and campaign finance reform also drawing some John McCain-style Republicans from Bush. Jackson County Democratic Chairman Lon Holston said Nader�s popularity doesn�t threaten Gore here. "I don�t see that we�ll have a huge amount of voters going Green in a timber area," Holston said. "I think Al Gore would be good for this area." Treva Tumbleson, an Ashland delegate to the Democratic National Convention, expects those professing allegiance to Nader to come back to the fold after the conventions. She says they are simply misguided. "They are the very people who would be most unhappy with Bush-lite as president,�� she noted. Political scientists Bill Lunch from Oregon State University and Jim Moore from University of Portland say the Pacific Green Party isn�t likely to sway November�s election. "Most of the time, third parties are more of a side show � which, however, aren�t necessarily silly," said Lunch. "They introduce ideas the major parties have been resisting." Moore said both Democratic and Republican presidential policies could be affected by a strong Green Party showing. Some of the nation�s biggest environmental reforms came under the Republican leadership of Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, he noted. Ashland native Winona LaDuke, the Greens� vice presidential nominee, said she�s fully aware her candidacy is a longshot. But the Green Party concerns about sustainability, nuclear power and large corporations plundering the world�s natural resources need to become part of the national debate, she said. "The truth is, if Ralph were allowed in the debates and if the media would allow a substantive discussion of the issues, I think Ralph would win," LaDuke said. "Half the American people don�t vote anymore. People feel very disengaged from the electoral process and a lot of people we attract are historically not voters. " She hopes her efforts will help build a multiparty system in the United States. "I absolutely believe the diversity of this country cannot be represented by the politics of the present-day Republicans and Democrats," she said. "I hope to break it open. To increase the number of people who are engaged." Her message is getting through, at least in Ashland. In the past few weeks, Nader supporters have been gathering in the small community room at the Ashland Community Food Store. Last week, they ran out of chairs for an exuberant crowd of more than three dozen that spanned an age range of four generations. Among the campaign volunteers are dewy-faced youths, middle-aged computer programmers and spry seniors wearing hats festooned with flowers. The group has formed a political action committee to raise money, developed a Web site and is looking for office space. It�s organizing traditionally nonvoting students at Southern Oregon University as well as talking with seniors at local senior homes. The group�s current focus is bringing up Nader�s visibility in hopes he�ll poll at 15 percent; that could earn Nader a spot in the national presidential debates. They also want at least 5 percent of the vote nationally, something that would allow the Greens to be considered a major political party � giving them federal matching dollars, easier ballot access and a better shot at winning future elections. The group also has to the biggest question Nader supporters face: Doesn�t a vote for Nader just mean one less vote for Gore, and ensure a Bush victory? Saikevych, a physician on sabbatical, said no. "In Oregon, voting for Nader is a guiltless thing to do," she said. "We only have seven electoral votes. The race will be over before we�re even counted, but a vote for Nader can send a big message." "I just don�t think Republicans or Democrats have done anything to improve the environment or social conditions," said Chris Chambers, a 26-year old Ashland biologist and former Democrat. Berkley Palmer, a 46-year-old computer programmer and former swing voter, said neither major-party candidate represents his basic values. "In Gore, what I see is a guy willing to make any compromise and dance with the devil to midnight to be king," Palmer said. "Bush strikes me as a knock-off of his father, and his father is an aristocrat. "It seems like they are both so groomed for the job � if there was a little bubble cartoon above them it would be saying the same thing. �I deserve to be king. And it�s my turn.� " Jeffrey, the veteran and former POW, said he and other seniors have long searched for a candidate like Nader who offers solutions to world conflicts and injustice. "The solution to stopping war is democracy and social justice," Jeffrey said. "And that�s what Nader wants, but not Gore and Bush. They are both pawns of transnational corporations. And corporations are doing everything they can to stop democracy and social justice." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA