After November 5 we will undoubtedly still be subject to governance by either Tweedledee or Tweedledum. But, as a campaign swing through New Jersey last week (Oct. 20-22) made clear, the objectives of the Nader campaign are being achieved: (a) to discuss the fundamental issues that the "major" party candidates ignore; (b) to foster the development of progressive political alternatives (specifically the state-based Green Parties); and (c) to spark entry into the political process by young people.
On the basis of the organizing done around the Nader campaign, a Green Party of New Jersey will be established during 1997. When he spoke at Princeton University, someone (either a Republican or a Democrat or a Claustrophobic) called the campus fire marshall to complain that the attendees were occupying every square inch of the auditorium and an aisle could hardly be distinguished, no less traversed. Standing Room Only was the motif for all of Nader's appearances in the state. Local media representatives, with presumptions based upon negative coverage in the New York Times, were quickly disabused of their skepticism about the campaign as the enthusiasm for Nader's message was fervently apparent at one campaign stop after another.
The resonance for Nader's ideas on the part of young people was clear as he delivered his message at Rutgers and Montclair State in addition to Princeton. After listening to Ralph chastise the two-party duopoly and the hegemony of corporate culture in this society, the students were snapping up Greens literature, plus buttons, bumperstickers, tee-shirts, and other campaign paraphernalia.
Nader's first stop was an appearance at the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Grass Roots Environmental Organization (GREO) on Sunday. GREO has been instrumental in providing support to numerous community-based groups on the front lines of NJ's toxic-waste wars. This is exactly the kind of citizen activism that Ralph Nader has always advocated and admired. Additionally, the Director of GREO, Madelyn Hoffman, is on the ballot with him as New Jersey's "favorite daughter" Vice Presidential candidate, so it was appropriate that Nader should deliver the keynote address and personally hand out awards to citizens and groups being honored for their environmental activism.
On Monday, October 21, Nader toured the Route 1 corridor, beginning with a live call-in interview to New Brunswick radio station WCTC and then a press conference on the steps of the statehouse in Trenton. At an editorial board meeting at the offices of the Packet newspaper group, Nader commented: "External competition is necessary to break up the two-party duopoly." The Packet has never before taken the Greens seriously, but now they are planning to do a story about our presence in the state and are much more likely to cover our founding convention next year.
After a luncheon and reception at the Student Center, Nader addressed the Rutgers University community at an event sponsored by the Cook Campus Council and the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Afterward, dozens of students signed up to do volunteer work for the campaign in its final weeks.
Then Nader headed back down to Princeton University (his alma mater) to deliver his third speech of the day. Here he was especially in his element, in a moderate-sized room where he could converse with audience members. The students, mostly born after the publication of Unsafe At Any Speed, might have been aware of the historical significance of Nader's work, but may not have realized how relevant his perspective remains, this alumnus from the distant Class of '55. The response was overwhelmingly affirmative, with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. After the question and answer period, an undergraduate came forward to find out how a Green Party chapter could be inaugurated on the Princeton campus.
Nader made one more campaign appearance in the state on Tuesday before heading over to Lehigh University in western Pennsylvania. He spoke at Montclair State University, sponsored by the Student Activity Board and the Student Government Association. This was a typical Nader day, crammed with "side" meetings and media interviews shoehorned into his schedule between the events visible to the public. His Montclair State speech was preceded by a meeting with ministers from the African- American community around the state and then followed by the taping of an interview with a German television crew wanting to compare Nader's Green Party campaign with the electoral efforts of the German Green Party.