September 4, 2008
www.votenader.org
www.officialnaderstore.com
News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rob Socket 267-974-6097 or Toby Heaps 202-441-6795
RALPH NADER AND MATT
GONZALEZ TO HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE IN MINNEAPOLIS
On Thursday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m., Ralph Nader and running mate
Matt Gonzalez will hold a press conference in the Green Room at the
Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis (Check-in at the
front desk)
The candidates will touch on several issues especially pertinent to
Minnesotans. Among those, the candidates will issue their opposition to
the use of public money for private sports teams, including the $392
million for Twins Ballpark that will be generated by raising sales tax.
Nader/Gonzalez will speak on the significance of a fresh poll conducted
last month by Minnesota Public Radio that found that 77 percent
of the state's likely voters say they would consider voting for
an independent or third-party candidate. This astounding figure
highlights the publics dissatisfaction and distrust with the two-party
duopoly and its stranglehold on the American political system. Ralph
Nader and Matt Gonzalez, who have long opposed the two-party domination
of politics, will highlight the crucial role of independent and
third-party candidates in American history and the tremendous
accomplishments they've achieved in the struggles to end slavery and
give women the right to vote.
The Nader/Gonzalez campaign also opposes the use of coal power and
supports the development of sustainable energies including solar and
wind. That is why the Nader/Gonzalez campaign oppose the proposed $1.6
billion Big Stone II 600 MW coal plant that will drain 3.2 billion
gallons of water per year from the Minnesota River, and emit 4.7
million metric tons of greenhouse gases every year. For a region in the
sweet spot of America’s wind belt, and an increasingly carbon
constrained world, it doesn’t make sense for Minnesotans to
make long-term and hefty financial commitments to yesterday's dirty way
of producing electricity in, even in nearby states. There is no such
thing as clean coal. That is the imagination of the Coal Institute.
Nader/Gonzalez will also address critical issues the major party
candidates have taken "off the table" that the Nader/Gonzalez campaign
has put on the table, including:
- a comprehensive, negotiated military and corporate withdrawal date
from Iraq;
- a single-payer, Canadian-style, private delivery, free-choice public
health insurance system for all;
- a living wage and repeal of the anti-union Taft-Hartley Act;
- a no-nuke, solar-based energy policy supported by renewable,
sustainable, energy-efficient sources;
- a carbon tax to deter global warming;
- an end to the corporate welfare and corporate crime that has resulted
in millions losing pensions, savings and jobs and squandered tax
dollars; and,
- more direct democracy reflecting the preamble to our constitution
which starts with "we the people," and not "we the corporations."
Who: Ralph Nader and Matt Gonzalez
What: Press Conference
Where: Green Room, Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall,
Minneapolis (Check-in at the front desk)
When: Thursday, Sept 4th 6.30pm
About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by
Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th
Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and
organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest
groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and
was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor
Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless
other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader
we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink
cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from
Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.
About Matt Gonzalez
Matt Gonzalez was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in
2000 representing San Francisco's fifth council district. From 2003 to
2005, he served as Board of Supervisors President. A former public
defender, Gonzalez is managing partner of Gonzalez & Leigh, a
7-attorney practice in San Francisco that represents individuals and
organizations in mediation, arbitration, and administrative proceedings
before state and federal regulatory bodies. Gonzalez graduated from
Columbia University and received a JD from Stanford Law School.
About the Nader/Gonzalez Campaign
According to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted from July
27-29, Ralph Nader is at 6 percent nationally (equivalent to about 10
million eligible voters), higher than his highest major poll numbers
during the same time period in 2000 and approaching the 10 percent
threshold required for eligibility to participate in "America's
Presidential Debate in New Orleans," a Google-sponsored event scheduled
for September 18. In the key swing state of Michigan -- whose
Democratic voters were partially disenfranchised by the Democratic
National Committee -- an EPIC-MRA poll found Nader at 8-10 percent.
For more information on the Nader/Gonzalez campaign, visit:
votenader.org.
-End-
You are Invited to a Private Gathering
with Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader
and Vice-Presidential Candidate Matt Gonzalez
prior to the Open the Debates Super Rally during the RNC in Saint Paul
Hosted by Phil Willkie
at his historic Prairie School home overlooking beautiful Lake of the
Isles
2625 Newton Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55405
Thursday September 4, 2008 4:30-6:30pm
Wine and Hors d'oeuvres Suggested Donation $100