Green Politics

Nader to raid FleetCenter

by Ben Geman

He may not be participating officially in the on-again, off-again -- now on-again -- debate between George Bush and Al Gore at UMass Boston on October 3, but Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader is coming to Boston soon.

The legendary consumer advocate will be at the FleetCenter for an October 1 rally that should draw plenty of attention to Nader's exclusion from the UMass event. Organizers hope that thousands will come to hear Nader discuss issues Bush and Gore will leave undisputed, and that the event will help pump up both the Massachusetts Green Party and Nader's statewide election effort.

"We are hoping to widen the parameters of debate, because when Bush and Gore go head-to-head it will be very narrow," says Patrick Keaney, a Nader campaign worker coordinating the FleetCenter rally. "They will have minor differences on domestic issues, but on free trade, corporate globalization, foreign policy, sending arms to Colombia to fight the drug war -- they are in lockstep on all these issues."

Satirist Michael Moore will be the master of ceremonies. Speakers will include historian Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States, and local bands will serenade the proceedings. After Nader speaks, State Green Party organizers will meet to discuss fundraising and strategy, and then they will throw a party.

Greens hope to draw more than 13,000 people to the FleetCenter, and Massachusetts Green Party coordinator Jonathan Leavitt expects that a good turnout will increase the campaign's skimpy coverage in the mainstream media. The press "will no longer be able to pretend that this is not something reaching . . . and motivating people across the state," Leavitt says.

Green activists hope that Nader, who's been hovering at three percent in national polls, wins at least that much of the vote here in November -- enough to give the Massachusetts Green Party official party status in the 2002 elections, when the state Greens hope to run candidates for several offices.

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for the October 1 event. Call (617) 995-2595 for tickets and more information.