Nader's Big Chance

One of the cheering things for progressives of all stripes about this election (aside from the wonderfully long period of time without a president-elect) was the relatively last minute, highly successful get-out-the-vote efforts of the unions and the Black community (including the very interesting Michigan Republican primary " hijacking"). This almost certainly made the difference in several states (particularly in the midwest) for Al Gore. While I could wish that these efforts had benefited Nader, it nevertheless pleases me greatly to see those communities adroitly wielding political power. It also raises my hopes that a progressive coalition with the clout needed to get things done is an attainable goal in the near future.

The deeply sour note, however, is the ever more brazen attack on the African-American franchise. (Note: the poor, in general, are getting hit, as well as several other groups, but Blacks, as one might expect, are the main target.) The assault is not entirely systematic, though there are organized elements, but it is thorough and thoroughly despicable.

Despite Blacks going all out for Al Gore, indeed often having to fight their way to the polls, Gore and the Democrats -- disregarding their political debt, moral duty, and their own immediate tacitical advantage -- chose to ignore Black disenfranchisement in Florida. Of course, I'm not at all surprised as it's completely consistent with the record: the Democrats have always told the wrong Jesse (Jackson, rather than Helms) to shut up.

This blunder gives Ralph Nader the perfect chance to continue rectifying what was, for me, the weakest part of his campaign: race. Granted, Nader seemed to take the criticism of his avoidance of racial issues increasingly to heart. He gave a good speech to the NAACP and, at the last minute, made some campaign moves toward Blacks, like going to a rally at Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters in Harlem. A bit too little, much too late, but it was something.

Nader simply didn't have it all together when the campaign started -- at first, he didn't really grasp what kind of candidate he could, and should, have been. He gradually grew as a politician as his campaign progressed. His early avoidence of racial issues was more from deference than denial, but, be that as it may, it's clear that he's picked up a clue. But if he wants to be part of a coalition, if he wants to help bridge the gap between (white, often racist when not "merely" racially insensitive) Greens and Blacks, he needs to act now. The Florida debacle is tailor-made for him.

First: It involves a lot of lawyering and lobbying at all levels of government. Nader excels at this sort of thing. His participation would be a great way to strengthen institutional ties with, for example, the NAACP and personal ties with, for example, Jesse Jackson.

Second: It involves mobilizing lots of people at the grass roots level, another thing Nader's proven good at (although much more with whites). There's a deep need for oversight (not only in Florida, but across the country) of voter registration, polling places, ballot design and access, and so on. Greens, as non-Republicrats and as deeply commited to democracy, can serve as valuable allies to Blacks and non-Green Black activists. If a polling official tries to turn away a voter, let a swarm of Greens be there to support that voter. If the police set up a roadblock near a polling place in a heavily Black precinct, let hundreds of us swamp the roadblock.

This is what democracy looks like. This is what anti-racist whites look like. This is an opportunity not just for Nader but for those who worked to shut down the WTO and the Republican and Democratic national conventions. Only here, instead of shutting something down, we can work to open up the franchise.

No other group has fought as long and as hard as Blacks for the vote. No other group has cherished the franchise as much. White activists can do few things that are more noble than to be loyal, active allies in the struggle of Blacks and Black activists to keep and exercise this bedrock democratic right.