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Respectfully, I think that this issue is of paramount importance to the
city. I enclose a commentary that I wrote in the strib for anyone that
cares to read it. I worked for Nader as a young man. I admire him. But
he can't win. In states like Minnesota, his votes could give victory to
Bush.
Bush will be disastrous for the city as Reagan was. Bush will push
highways over mass transit, he will further dismantle federal aid to
cities and to the poor, and he won't enforce the civil rights laws. He
will appoint a Court that diminishes the reach of federal fair housing.
He thinks that land use regulation is communism. He is decidedly and
forthrightly pro-sprawl and anti-smart growth. I have met with Gore
many times. He is deeply interested in the fate of American cities, in
metropolitan fairness, and smart growth. He has been a leader on all
these subjects -- and these are just the issues that are directly
relevant to this list.
The rest of my commentary is in my op ed piece. It discusses the obvious
differences between Gore and Bush with regard to the environment, health
care, taxes, campaign finance reform, abortion, the Supreme Court -- not
to mention the dangers of having both Houses of Congress and the Supreme
Court in the hands of reactionaries. It also talks about how
progressives have been more effective working within the Democratic
party than outside of it. It gives historical examples.
Vote for the city. Vote for Gore.
http://webserv5.startribune.com:80/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisSlug=ORF29&date=29-Oct-2000&word=orfield
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<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>Commentary: It ought to go to Gore</TITLE>
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<br>
<h2>Commentary: It ought to go to Gore</h2>
<strong>Myron Orfield</strong><p>
<P>I write to ask Ralph Nader's supporters to vote for Al Gore. I worked =
for Nader in the early '80s as a student. I admired him then and do today=
=2E But Nader cannot win. </P>
<P>Al Gore is a progressive. He can win.</P>
<P>Gore wrote a book about global warming before a lot of us were even th=
inking about it. Bush doesn't believe there is such a thing. Gore will pr=
otect the Alaskan wilderness. Bush will drill for oil there. Gore is figh=
ting for health-care reform and reform on prescription drugs. If you beli=
eve they are the same on these issues, then why is all the money from big=
polluters and pharmaceutical companies going to Bush? The big guys know =
there is a difference. </P>
<P>If Bush is elected, we may have for the first time since the 1920s two=
Republican houses of Congress and a conservative president with the abil=
ity to appoint a reactionary Supreme Court. What will happen to environme=
ntal regulation, to health care, to the condition of the poor, to civil l=
iberties and women's rights? What will happen to labor unions and our tax=
system? If Bush's tax cuts go through, tax cuts that the Wall Street Jou=
rnal believes are irresponsible, there won't be money for any progressive=
programs.</P>
<P>The Supreme Court is already on the edge of restricting abortion right=
s, of approving school vouchers and public support for religious schools,=
of allowing states to nullify basic civil-rights guarantees, of limiting=
basic constitutional civil liberties. Is it worth your protest vote to g=
o back to a 19th-century Constitution, in which the due-process clause pr=
otected corporations more than people?</P>
<P>Gore cares about the region, the older suburbs, the city, urban sprawl=
and the environment. I have discussed policy issues with him; never in m=
y life have I met a public official who was more serious about public pol=
icy, who studied harder and cared more about the issues. I believe in him=
=2E He will be a good president.</P>
<P>In the 1940s, the Democratic Party refused to address civil rights. Hu=
bert Humphrey and Minnesota progressives did not create a third-party mov=
ement; they forced a change in the Democratic Party platform to support c=
ivil rights. Rather than letting the anti-civil-rights "Dixiecrats" contr=
ol the party, progressives forced the Dixiecrats to walk out and create t=
heir own ineffectual third-party movement. Harry Truman won, and because =
he needed progressives like Humphrey he was forced to begin the integrati=
on of the armed forces, bring the Brown vs. Board of Education case to th=
e Supreme Court, and set the civil-rights agenda for the next 30 years. I=
f Humphrey and the progressives had left the Democratic Party, Truman wou=
ld not have taken these steps. </P>
<P>You need 51 percent to do something in this country. Sadly progressive=
s, by themselves, are not 50 percent. Rather than splintering into shards=
of idealism, let's force change within the only party in which we can ac=
hieve 51 percent. Let us win by organizing and persuading and working to =
change the party. The Democratic Party needs change; if progressives leav=
e the party, reform will never occur. Do you want to have some positive i=
mpact or no impact -- maybe a negative impact?</P>
<P>Those of you who support Nader have made your point. Everyone is liste=
ning. Gore is listening. Gore knows he needs you. Don't give us Bush.</P>=
<P><B><I>-- Myron <font color=3D"#990000"><b>Orfield</b></font>, DFL-Minn=
eapolis, is a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. </I></B><=
/P>
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