Princeton's Nader supporters gather to cheer on alumnus

In a room on the second floor of Terrace Club, Joe Conley GS and David Tannenbaum '01 sat at a table covered with green and white pins, posters and signs.

Avid Green Party supporters, Conley and Tannenbaum may have appeared relaxed in their temporary Campus Greens Headquarters, but they are far from apathetic.

They and the other leaders of the Campus Greens' campaign for Ralph Nader '55 spent much of yesterday orchestrating the group's final push to encourage students to get out to vote.

And the work is not easy or glamorous. By last night, Conley, Tannenbaum and other Green Party supporters — armed with signs and posters — had been standing outside area voting spots for nearly 12 hours.

"People come [to the polls] undecided," said Amy Hughes as she entered the makeshift headquarters to grab some supplies. "We are converting them left and right!"

Conley and Tannenbaum smiled. For them, that is what the Campus Greens are all about.

As Texas Gov. George Bush and Vice President Al Gore scrambled to garner last-minute support in recent weeks, Nader and his followers have had a different goal.

For them, the objective has not been victory, but instead a strong enough performance at the polls to put the Green Party officially on the political map.

Conley and Tannenbaum conceded that their candidate has no hope of winning the presidential election.

For both, this race was a chance to disseminate ideas, and they have no regrets about the time and money they have invested in what some might view as a lost cause.

"What makes you think it won't have an effect?" Tannenbaum asked. "Our goal is long-term."

On the road

Driving to the hot spots in the Princeton area last night where Nader supporters were rallying, Conley discussed the support students have shown for the Green Party candidate — not just at the University, but all across the nation.

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Conley took great pride in announcing his belief that Green Party candidates are becoming more prominent not only in the presidential race, but also in other political races. "It's something that we believe is going to be part of a long-term progressive movement," he said.

Conley knows his candidate well. From memory, he referred to newspaper articles published about the Princeton alumnus.

But despite his depth of political knowledge, Conley remembered that, especially for a third party candidate, every vote counts.

Conley spent several hours visiting Nader supporters around town yesterday. But he made his first stop at the corner of Nassau and Mercer streets where he joined two graduate students with pamphlets and signs — along with their politically active Dalmatian, named Xerxes.

The graduate students — Nick Guyhet and Kristin Harknett — enthusiastically described what they believed were the important issues in Nader's campaign. They became particularly passionate when discussing their wish to see "the end of the failed war against drugs and of mass incarceration."

And for both, the candidate himself was as important as the issues he has championed. "I was inspired and motivated by [Nader's] integrity," Harknett said.

Many area Nader supporters said they joined the Green Party seeking an alternative to politics as usual. Often coming from families with fairly conservative political leanings, they said the Green Party appealed to them because it seemed to be the more humane alternative.

"These days injustices are very subtle," said Tom Kornack GS. "The Green Party addresses [these injustices] directly."

Curtis Deutsch GS said he grew disillusioned with both Democrats and Republicans. "I had the naive belief that the Democratic party had honest, liberal principles in their goals," he said. "I looked at the record, at the Clinton-Gore [administration], and I see it's not true."

And though Americans may be breathing a sigh of relief with election season over, for many Green Party supporters the fight is just beginning.

"The time is right for a real grassroots movement to take off in this country," said Eric Brown GS. "I want to be part of a movement from the people. It is tremendously exciting."