by Gilles d'Aymery & Jan Baughman
[ed. This file, created on June 2, 2008, is updated regularly (last update: September 8, 2008) and will be until November 2008 with as much information we can gather. It will keep the same file name and be removed from the site, or altogether changed, when the election is over. Please send us any specific information you may have and we'll include it in this space. This is a work in progress. We can use help from more seasoned and knowledgeable activists!]
(Swans - August 25, 2008) If you want to keep activism going, then just be active yourselves. If you want real change, then just demand real change -- it won't happen if you do not demand it. Your vote counts so long as it is directed at the candidate who will work for the values and policies you hold dear. Please, do not waste your vote. Here are five actions that you can take: First, you can donate some of your hard-earned money to the campaign. Second, you can help the Nader Ticket get on the ballot in your state. Third, you can contact the main stream media and politely demand that Nader-Gonzalez be invited on the political talk shows, the evening news, and the editorial boards of the national and local newspapers. Fourth, you can demand that Nader-Gonzalez be included in the presidential debates. Fifth, you can talk to your neighbors and the residents of your locality, bring campaign literature to their door, discuss the issues that they have on their mind. Let's go through each step.
On August 27, 2008, Ralph spoke at the University of Denver Magness arena (Colorado). You can read the transcript right here on Swans. Unfortunately, the live feed on Free Speech TV did not work, but you can watch a video posted on their Web site.
Ralph and Matt held another Super Rally on September 4, 2008, in Minneapolis, an event that was utterly ignored by the main media and the likes of C-SPAN and Democracy Now! You can access a video of the event on votenader.org.
AA - Donate to the Nader-Gonzalez '08 Campaign
That's the easiest part. Simply, open your checkbook, write in the amount of your own choosing up to $2,300 (or $4,600 for a couple) made to "Nader for President 2008," and mail it to:
"Nader for President 2008"
P.O. Box 34103
Washington, D.C. 20043.
Or, if you like plastic, you go to this secure site where you can make a contribution on line by credit card.
Just do it.
Also, go to votenader.org and enter your e-mail address to receive the campaign's announcements and news.
TheWomanDirector.com is having a Summer Sale -- save $5 on What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?, a humorous chronology of Ralph's 2004 campaign written by his photographer and videographer, Jürgen Vsych and reviewed by Jan Baughman. Proceeds go towards funding Ralph Nader video projects! The book is only available at TheWomanDirector.com.
BB - Get the Nader-Gonzalez '08 Ticket on the Ballot in your State
As of August 24, the Nader-Gonzalez Campaign has filed for a ballot line in 38 states. Only 7 to go. Let's get it done!
The goal of the Campaign is to gain access to the ballot in at least 45 states. The requirements imposed by many states are stringent and cumbersome. Please check the Presidential Ballot Access Requirements for your state of residence on the National Voter Outreach Web site.
Votenader.org has posted a PDF file of signature requirements for all the states. You can retrieve it at votenader.org/files/state-signature-requirements.pdf and check your own state.
Volunteer with the Campaign to gather signatures. You can do so online at https://www.votenader.org/forms/volunteer/. Send an e-mail to state@votenader.org to find out your state coordinator.
Here is a very informative document for any would-be petitioner, by Jürgen Vsych, the author of the recently published book, What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?.
CC - Have Nader-Gonzalez appear on TV
Without media exposure Nader and Gonzalez's message and policies won't be heard by the American people -- potential voters who may well be attracted by that message and those policies. Thus, once more, their message will only reach their loyal followers -- a tiny minority. It's worth recalling here that when Matt Gonzalez ran for mayor in San Francisco he started with a base of 3 or 4 percent of the voters. Once he had access to the local media and was able to present the policies he intended to implement were he to be elected, he ended with about 47 percent of the votes in the run-off election. (He narrowly lost because the Republicans voted in masse for the Democratic millionaire candidate, Newsom). Media exposure, dignified exposure (aren't you tired of the "spoiler" bogus narrative?), is a sine qua non endeavor.
You need to contact the news organizations (and your local media -- print and TV) and demand (that word again) that they invite Ralph and Matt on their shows, and write about them and their platform in the national and local newspapers. Demand need not be rough and accusatory. It should be a polite request. According to Ralph Nader, written letters carry more weight than phone calls. Last on the list of positive return are e-mails. Letters should be mailed to the news organizations' main address and addressed to the particular person you want to contact. Here are a list of contacts:
ABC
ABC News
77 WEST 66th Street
New York, NY 10023
212-456-7777
ABC News Network Programming Feedback
http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346
Links to feedback forms for specific shows are at
http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3068843
Submit comments to (among others):
World News with Charles Gibson
This Week with George Stephanopolous
Primetime
Nightline
CBS
CBS News
555 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 975-4114
Go to www.cbsnews.com
Click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page
Submit comments at links to (among others):
CBS Evening News
CBS Evening News w/Katie Couric
Face the Nation
CBS News Sunday Morning
NBC
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10112
212-664-4444
The Chris Matthews Show
202-885-4600
Submit comments to:
http://www.thechrismatthewsshow.com/html/contact.html
Meet the Press
Submit comments to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6872152/
Send an E-mail to the following programs:
Today: Today@NBCUNI.com
Nightly News with Brian Williams: Nightly@NBC.com
Dateline NBC: Dateline@NBCUNI.com
CNN
CNN
1 CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: 404-827-1700
Submit comments to:
CNN Election Center
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4.html?125
CNN Newsroom
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?92
General Feedback
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form.sound.off.html
FOX
Fox News
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
212-301-3000
Send an E-mail to the following programs:
America's Election HQ: americasnewsroom@foxnews.com
Fox News Specials: Fncspecials@foxnews.com
Fox News Sunday: FNS@foxnews.com
Special Report w/ Brit Hume: Special@foxnews.com
PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
2100 Crystal Dr.
Arlington, VA 22202-3785
703-739-5000
Submit comments to:
NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/letters.html
E-mail: onlineda@newshour.org
Other media personalities to contact to ask that they cover the Ralph Nader-Matt Gonzalez '08 Campaign:
Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose, Inc.
731 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212-617-1600
E-mail: charlierose@pbs.org
Diane Rehm
The Diane Rehm Show
WAMU 88.5 FM University Radio
4000 Brandywine Street, NW
Washington, DC 20016-8082
202-885-1231
E-mail: drshow@wamu.org
To recap:
- Letters are the most effective tool.
- Phone calls are moderately effective.
- E-mails are the least effective tool.
(Note: Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) has a more comprehensive contact list. Check it out.)
DD - Demand that Nader and Gonzalez be included in the presidential debates
1) Google is planning to sponsor a debate for the Democratic candidates, and possibly one for the Republican candidates. They are also organizing a Presidential Forum in New Oleans for September. Write to Ginny Hunt, Google Elections Program Manager, to demand that Ralph Nader be included in the Presidential Forum and debates, or that they also provide a forum for third-party candidates to debate. Send a copy to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt.
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 253-0000
2) Go to neworleanstownhall.org, click on "contact us" in the bottom right corner, and demand that Nader be allowed in the Google debate.
3) Visit opendebates.org and sign the petition to reform the debate
process by replacing the CPD with a non-partisan, Citizen's Debate
Commission that will allow Independent and third-party candidates to
be included.
4) Contact the Commission on Presidential Debates at 202-872-1020 and
demand that they include Ralph Nader in the debates. The CPD is
chaired by Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., former chairman of the Republican
National Committee and Paul Cook, Jr., former chairman of the
Democratic National Committee. The CPD is a corporate-funded entity
that has controlled the presidential debates since 1988. In 2000, they
ruled that only candidates with 15% support in the polls be allowed to
debate, thereby excluding Ralph Nader.
EE - Be involved
An overwhelming amount of people are dissatisfied with our politics as usual (over 80 percent) -- people from all walks of life, Democrats, Independents, Republicans. If you are one of those but think of going to the polls to cast your vote for the Democratic candidate because you do not like the Republican one, or cast your vote for the Republican candidate because you do not like the Democratic one, yet disagree with both and keep loathing the system that forces you into such a no-win conundrum, then visit votepact.org. There are many ways to skin a cat. Nader-Gonzalez is the most creative, and non-violent way of them all.
Remember, nothing will change if you don't demand change. To demand is not synonymous with ranting about and against the system. It's about offering a different future. It takes time and effort. Leave your computer screen (after having acted on AA, BB, and CC) and drive, or walk to your neighbors' homes. Present your views with respect and passion. Bring them in. Don't tell them they are idiots for going with the duopoly (they aren't). Offer them an alternative. (We'll talk about the issues in a forthcoming article.) Just get involved. It's as simple as that. Get involved!