Press Action ::: A President to Reelect

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

A President to Reelect

By Micah Holmquist

A historically unprecedented coalition of people from all sectors of the grassroots is on the verge of something great. Our goal is to forever change America by reelecting President Al Gore.

I am not now nor have I ever been a supporter of Gore, except when it comes to whom I endorse in elections, and yet it is impossible to deny his impressive record as president. Having inherited a mild recession, Gore managed to prevent a depression. Faced with the terrible attacks of September 11, Gore rallied the nation not by rounding up all Arabs or even Muslims, but merely by holding a select few and focusing on transforming the federal government to deal with the challenges of today. One important element of this was the PATRIOT Act, which continued the work of bills that President Clinton signed into law in 94 and 96.

Gore attacked Afghanistan to strike at the heart of the terrorists. Then he had the foresight to listen to Secretary of State John Kerry and go after Saddam Hussein in Iraq. In the process of a United Nations Security Council approved invasion, we liberated millions of Iraqis.

Despite this most effective record, challenges remain.

Four years ago Ralph Nader had the good sense to drop out of the race and endorse Gore. This insured Gore’s victory, although that outcome was never in doubt.

Nader was told at the time that he would be allowed to run in 2004, but it was impossible for us to foresee the Republicans nominating a candidate with the last name of Bush.

Indisputably the most important job of progressives in 2004 is to reelect President Al Gore. Many of Nader’s longtime supporters understand this. They know that there will be no enthusiasm for, or even tolerance of, politics outside of the two-party system if Bush wins this election.

Nader’s current campaign is based on nothing but ego and book sales. It must be defeated.

The stakes are high and the risks are great. We must reelect Gore. We must defeat Bush.

Micah Holmquist, editor of Irregular Thoughts and Links, is a Cadillac, Mich.-based writer.

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