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Inspiration at the Nader Rally

By Josh Sutter

My story is about the Nader Rally at Madison Square Garden on Friday October 13, but it begins with the first Presidential debate. There, the most relevant difference between the candidates was discussed by Gore, who attempted to inform the public that Bush, if elected, would replace the Democratic pro choice Supreme Court Judges on the verge of retiring with pro-lifers, allowing the court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, allowing the States to resurrect laws making abortion illegal. The majority of the American public, however, was more concerned with Gore's rudeness. How dare he stretch while Bush was speaking?

So in the second debate, keeping these views in mind, the two decided to argue as little as possible. "I agree with the Senator that family values are important." "I agree with the Vice President that education is important" says Bush. "I know it's controversial to say this, but the death penalty is a valid deterrent to crime," they both say together.

In a Saturday Night Live debate sketch, the Republicans offered to supply free pay-per-view to anyone who wanted it while the debate was being broadcast. Well, as I wrote most of this, the third presidential debate at St. Louis, and game six of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium were both taking place at the exact same time. SNL didn't have to work all that hard for the jokes, simply because that is what the actual election has become: a joke.

Familiar with the TV show West Wing? It's popular because it's a romance: a story of true love at first sight between voters and their candidate. Roy Bartlett (Martin Sheen's character), not initially the favored Democratic candidate, comes on to the scene like a charismatic fireball: willing to take a stand on the tough issues. The voters are infatuated with him, and he doesn't let them down. There's very little compromising done by the Bartlett administration, and the differences between Democrats and Republican are as clear as night and day. Not realistic of course, but there's still a certain charm to the moment where we see one of the staff watching him speak for the first time. You can almost see the chills going down his spine, and you can't help but think: "Ah, there it is: true inspiration." Believe it or not, that is what I experienced at the Nader rally: inspiration.

It wasn't just Nader's speech that moved me, it was everything. We arrived a half hour late, and were herded up to seats on the third balcony, overlooking the entirety of the Garden, filled to the brim with eager participants, swaying back and forth as Ani DiFranco strummed her guitar and sang. Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, and Tim Robbins (as Republican Senator parody Bob Roberts) all performed as well, and each time a song ended, bright lights fell upon the cheering crowd giving each member a certain glow as they stood above their seats, leapt up and down with their fists held high, and waved signs above their heads. There was something in the air... a vibe, that everyone was breathing in and getting high off of at once.

Phil Donahue, Susan Sarandon, Bill Murray, and Michael Moore all spoke with great enthusiasm, but one of the best moments came when a rally organizer stepped to the microphone, and asked the question: "Is anyone here from the New York Times?" The audience began to boo. I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I'd like to introduce you to some people," said the speaker, "This... is... the resistance!" he shouted with arms outspread to the audience all around him, and the whole Garden began to whistle, shout, cheer and scream. A truly great moment, despite the fact that a girl in front of me nearly blew my eardrums out.

Toward the end of the evening Michael Moore introduced Nader, citing some of the many battles he'd fought in the past: for auto safety, workers and consumer protection, the Freedom of Information Act, clean air, clean water, and the list goes on. As Nader approached the podium, glittering golden confetti was released from the ceiling, and as bright lights lit up the crowd, it roared. I loved the moment, but hadn't expected much from Nader in terms of a speech. I'd seen him on the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, and hadn't been too impressed.

Nader delivered his speech with great intensity, and the content of it blew me away. Gore's a self proclaimed friend to the poor, and would probably tax the rich a bit more than Bush would, but Nader pointed out that the same corporations donating money to Bush's campaign were paying for Gore's as well, and thus they both have allegiances to the rich. It is for these reasons that Gore, like Bush, does not support the concept of a living wage that would allow all working people to stay above poverty. This is why he only plans to raise the minimum wage one dollar over the next two years. This is why Gore, like Bush, is a strong proponent of NAFTA and the WTO.

There was much more to the speech, and I challenge all reading this to find out more. Transcripts of the speeches are still available at www.votenader.com and www.nader2000.org. You may ask yourself, "Why do that at this point? The election's over." What you must remember is, the point of Nader's running was never to win this year. It is to create a permanent third party, that is a mass movement to serve the people and effect change. In four years this whole spectacle will replay itself, and next time as a result of the difference the votes for Nader have made, the Democratic Party will take Nader and his supporters a little more seriously.

During Nader's recent (C-SPAN) televised D.C. rally, a quote from Gandhi was repeated several times: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, and then you win."

Josh Sutter is an English major at CCNY.

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