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The Press of Atlantic City

CAMPAIGN 2000 / GREEN PARTY WORKING SLOW BUT STEADY

Date: Sunday, July 16, 2000  Section: Region  Edition: All  Page: A11

Byline: By PETER SAHARKO Staff Writer, (609) 272-7219

It's not easy being Green.  Supporters of the Green Party and its candidate for president, Ralph Nader, know they lack the advantages of the Democratic and Republican parties.

If they don't reach a threshold of 15 percent in national polls by September, Nader will not be included in the presidential debates. He will not receive the campaign funds that the Republican, Democratic and Reform parties get from the federal government.  And analysts also say support for third-party movements like the Greens is "soft," meaning that as the election draws closer and further emphasis falls on the two major candidates, support for Nader will dwindle.

Still, in New Jersey, the Green Party takes its party-building efforts seriously.  It's running a Senate candidate, lawyer Bruce Afran, and congressional candidates in each district except the 12th district, the seat held by Rep. Donald Payne.  And perhaps unlike past elections, supporters of Nader, as well as other Green Party candidates for office, say their support for the Green Party is solid, regardless of the outcome of the race between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush.  Nader supporters say this campaign will be different than 1996, when Nader garnered less than 1 percent of the vote nationally as the Green Party candidate.

Jane Hunter, the communications coordinator for the Nader campaign in New Jersey, cited many differences this year.  "Nader didn't really make an active campaign in '96,"  Hunter said. "It was a party-building campaign that he loaned his name to. This year, he's seriously running for president."  Nader's raiders say they are not with the Green Party to protest the other parties' actions, but as part of a movement to create a viable third party, possibly a coalition of labor and environmental movements, in future elections.  Therefore, many say they can be victorious if they build the party even if they lose in November.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released on June 28, Nader is affecting the race in New Jersey, earning the support of 7 percent of voters.  Nader also was the only candidate with more voters having a favorable impression of him, 23 percent, than unfavorable, 19 percent.

Robert "Gabe" Gabrielsky has been a supporter of insurgent party movements for more than 20 years.  This year, the Atlantic City resident hopes others will support his own third-party run as the Green candidate in the 2nd district.  Gabrielsky, a restaurant host at Caesars Atlantic City, is active in Local 54 of the International Union of Hotel and Restaurant Employees.

"Ralph has this idea - he may even deny it - that the fuller his slate is, the more people will vote for him," Gabrielsky said in an interview at the Cup and Saucer restaurant in Atlantic City.  Gabrielsky said he supports the Green party because it is a true home for progressive causes.  "Every
progressive social movement since Reconstruction has gone into the Democratic Party to die," he said.  He said that for social movements to be successful, they must present themselves to the American public directly.

His goal is to build the Green Party.  "Not only is that more important than winning, that is winning," Gabrielsky said.  Gabrielsky's platform includes a shift in spending from defense projects, the protection of due process and freedom of speech in the work place, and preventing corporate abuses.  "I'm not looking for real estate in the District of Columbia and I'm not even looking for a strong vote," Gabrielsky said.  "But if people can come together and spend some of their time to think about these problems and articulate these ideas, then I will have accomplished what I set out to do," he said.

Rich Raimonde, an employee of the United States Postal Service, supported Rep. Frank LoBiondo's campaign in 1998.  Raimonde is a registered Republican, but this year, the man who hopes someday to register as a member of the Green Party said he will support Gabrielsky and Nader.  "Within the
last 30 years, he's accomplished so much - and it's been selfless work,"  Raimonde said of Nader. He said he supports Nader because the candidate is not for sale.  Raimonde, a Vineland resident who supported Nader's bid in 1996, said he also is encouraged by speculation that the United Auto Workers might endorse Nader.  "That's an indication that working people are fed up," Raimonde said.

Local 54 will make its presidential endorsement at its caucus meeting next month, said Kevin Armstrong, a member of the executive board. Armstrong said the union will consider all options, including the Green Party.  Many Greens say they are trying to build the party because
they see the Democratic and Republican parties under the control of corporate interests.

Norm Cohen, a Linwood resident, said voters need an alternative.  "There's really no two-party system," Cohen said. "There's one party with two faces."  Cohen, the executive director for the Coalition for Peace and Justice, said he sees growing support for Nader in Camden and Burlington counties, less in more conservative Atlantic and Cape May counties.  Cohen said Nader's support would increase dramatically if he were allowed in the presidential debates this fall.  "They won't let them in the debates because Nader and Buchanan would win the debates," Gabrielsky said.  "Nader certainly has the substance and Buchanan certainly has more style."

John Scardino, media coordinator for the commission on presidential debates, said the threshold is a fair one.  "People want as much depth and substance as possible in the debates," Scardino said. "What we want is people who have a reasonable chance of winning the election."  Stephen Wayne, a professor of government at Georgetown University, agreed with the commission's standard.
"If the criteria is, 'Can he (Nader) win?' then he probably should not be included," Wayne said.  But Wayne acknowledged that can be a vicious circle.  "There is a reinforcing mechanism," he said. "If he's not in the debates, then he'll never reach that level."  Wayne said he believes Nader's poll
numbers will decline because third-party candidates usually lose support closer to the election.  He said Nader will have to overcome the "don't waste your vote" theory.  Wayne said Nader's support comes from Sen. John McCain's supporters, people who are cynical about the political process. He
said they generally are white, well-educated, higher-income older people.  Wayne said for the most part, the public remains content and the publicity that Nader is receiving now because he's "different" will fade.

Hunter said Nader will return to New Jersey two more times before the election. She said those visits will include rallies on college campuses and possibly an event with labor in southern New Jersey.  Hunter said it will be a classic grass-roots campaign but she acknowledged that a shortage of campaign funds could hamper the effort.

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