FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
A BLACK EYE FOR THE GREEN PARTY
   
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- In the late 19th century, the clandestine
Gorras Blancas (White Caps) rode hard to protect the lands of the Northern
Nuevo Mexicano population. In the "Devil's Hatband" (Sunstone Press,
$29.95), author Daniel Ulibarri documents how these midnight riders cut the
fences of the usurping Anglo population, many of whom were attempting to
fraudulently and forcefully take the common lands of the Nuevo Mexicanos.
   
Hand in hand with this action was the creation of an unaffiliated
third party, "El Partido del Pueblo Unido," or the United People's Party,
which won some elections.
   
A century later, in a move last week that is sure to have national
reverberations, 19 community organizations in New Mexico, some of whose
members are political descendants of the Gorras Blancas, have in effect,
repudiated the Green Party. They did so because they accuse the Greens of
handing over victories to Republicans and refusing to meet with them. It's a
charge similar to one hurled at Ross Perot's Reform Party by the
Republicans, when the Reform Party was accused of snatching victory from
George Bush in 1992.
   
The 19 organizations believe that the Greens, most of whom are
white, are elitists concerned with building their party at the expense of
people of color and the working poor.
   
As an example, the organizations argue that Republican Rep. Heather
Wilson won her congressional election because of the presence of a Green
Party candidate. She works against the interests of people of color, they
charge, citing her votes on immigration, youth issues, native concerns and
bilingual issues. These organizations are convinced that a Democrat would
have served their interests better, and they hold the Greens responsible for
this situation.
   
Laurie Weahkee of the National Monument Protection Coalition said
this about the Green Party: "They don't have to be the spoiler party. We
could have used their help, but they refused that role." The coalition is
fighting the building of a road that would go through the petroglyph
monument and destroy some of the ancient markings that are sacred to native
peoples of the area. The Democratic candidate had pledged to fight against
the road.
   
The Rev. Ron Knight of St. Luke Full Gospel Baptist church had a
similar assessment: "The most significant and damaging contribution of the
Green Party of New Mexico has been to get Republicans elected. Their actions
have had a damaging impact on people of color."
   
Roberto Mondragon, former Democratic lieutenant governor of the
state and also a former Green Party member, said that after he ran for
governor on their ticket in 1994, he told the Greens that for the party to
grow, "They had to reach out to Hispanos, Native Americans and women." The
Green Party has not done that, said Mondragon, who is now a Democrat again.
He concurs with critics who believe that "sometimes environmentalists appear
to be more concerned about snub-nosed guppies than human beings."
   
But Mondragon is indeed a believer of third parties. One of his
colleagues suggested that they should reconstitute the 19th-century United
People's Party.
   
Ted Cloak, co-chair of the state Green Party, acknowledges that
"requests for a meeting (with the 19 organizations) were not at the top of
our list" -- though he said that the Greens are interested in resolving
their differences and hope to meet soon. And he also admits that in at least
one state race, "Others can make a fair deduction that the presence of a
Green (candidate) helped elect a Republican." However, he said the Democrats
lost because they had a bad candidate, not because of the Greens, citing a
subsequent Democratic victory in the 1998 election as proof.
   
A real solution, he said, is to create an "instant runoff election."
In this manner, a voter chooses the order of preference of the candidates on
the ballot. As an example, Cloak said, one can choose a Green as a first
choice and Democrat or Republican as a second choice. If the Greens place
third, then the second choice would be counted. This method allows third
parties to thrive. "Right now, everybody's afraid to cast their ballot for
the candidate of their choice, for fear of electing the candidate they least
want," he said.
   
With political cynicism and disillusionment with the two-party
system at an all-time high, we are in sore need of viable third-party
options, including a responsive Green one. Other aspiring third parties
should learn from the New Mexico example -- not to alienate potential
constituents. This would also be an antidote to what law scholar Lani
Guinier calls the tyranny of the majority: "the dangers of winner-take-all
collective decision-making."
   
COPYRIGHT 1999 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

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