Ballot Bid for Nader has
GOP Signatures
BY SETH BLOMELEY
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
State House Republican leader Michael Lamoureux said Thursday that he didn't
pretend to support Ralph Nader when he asked about 50 friends to sign a
petition to get Nader's name on the presidential ballot in
"My goal is to help President Bush win the election, and this is a small
part I can play to help him win
Lamoureux said he's hoping Nader's presence will siphon votes from Democratic
presidential nominee John Kerry.
The state Democratic Party said Lamoureux isn't the only Republican who is
helping Nader.
According to research that state Democrats released Thursday, 24 Republican
activists signed a petition to place Nader's name on the ballot for president
in
Republicans who signed the petition for the widely known consumer and
environmental activist include former state Sen. Doyle Webb of Benton, who is
chief of staff to Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller. Rockefeller is the state GOP
chairman.
The Democrats also found five signatures of people they said are paid staff
members of the state Republican Party.
"The fact that so many Republicans, ranging from office-holders and
candidates to paid staff, signed these petitions shows the desperation of the
state Republican Party," state Democratic Party Chairman Ron Oliver said
in a statement. "They know that
Republican spokesmen lately have been saying Kerry knows he'll lose
But the state GOP said in a statement Tuesday that it neither supported nor
opposed the Nader petition. "Signing a petition is the right of every
individual," the statement said.
Nader qualified for the
He needed 1,000 verified signatures from registered
Some Democrats believe that Nader cost Democratic nominee Al Gore the
presidential election in 2000 by siphoning votes that Gore needed in a close
race against Bush. Bush received 51 percent, Gore 46 percent of the vote.
Nader, who ran on the Green Party ticket that year, and Pat Buchanan of the
Reform Party each received 1 percent of the vote. Three other candidates shared
the rest of the state's votes.
This year, Nader is running as an independent but needed a group affiliation to
get on the
Some Republicans who signed the petition for Nader denied trying to hurt
Kerry's chances in
"I felt like he had the right to be on the ballot," said Martha
McCaskill of
Another signer was Ed Garner of Maumelle, who lost in the Republican primary
for the 2nd Congressional District in May. He was not the only former GOP
congressional candidate whose name was on the Nader petition.
Cabot Mayor Mickey "Stubby" Stumbaugh, a Republican, said he signed
the petition because he believes anybody who wants to run for president should
be on the ballot if he is at least 35 and hasn't committed a felony.
He said he "might have been" motivated partly by a desire to hurt Kerry's
chances in
The Democrats also found the name of Deena Burnett of
Last month the Republican Party in
Reed Dickens, a spokesman for the Bush campaign in
Then why did GOP staff member sign the petition? Dickens wouldn't answer.
Rockefeller said, "I've got no idea what's going on. I've got a party to
run, and a state to serve."
He said he wouldn't expect his office chief of staff or party staff members to
check with him before signing a petition for presidential candidate running
against Bush.
"We're a very open party that believes in the right of the
individuals," Rockefeller said. "I'm not controlling anybody."
What if his chief of staff wanted to promote Kerry?
He said he doubted that would ever happen because Kerry's political beliefs
don't agree with those of Webb and other Republicans.
Nader's views on some issues are farther from Bush's than Kerry's. When an
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter pointed this out to Rockefeller, Rockefeller
said he had "a long-distance call coming in" and hung up.
Michael Cook of Little Rock, executive director of the state Democratic Party,
said, "It's interesting to see that Governor Rockefeller doesn't know what
the people working for him are doing both on his government staff and political
staff. It's disappointing."
He said he couldn't believe that the GOP didn't orchestrate the Republicans'
signing of the petition because the five party staff members signed one after
the other on a sheet of signatures.
Lamoureux didn't hide his push for Nader.
"It's legal," he said. "It's democracy. We're not forcing
anybody to vote for Mr. Nader. We're giving them the opportunity to do so. I
saw [news of the petition drive] on TV. I wanted to do it for a long time. I
got it and brought it to my office and anybody I ran into that day [was asked
to sign it]. I probably got about 50. They weren't all Republicans."
Rockefeller said he wanted to know how many Democrats signed the Nader
petition.
Cook said he found none.
Lamoureux accused Democrats of using questionable tactics.
"They're calling people who signed the petition asking people if they'd be
willing to sign an affidavit saying they didn't sign the petition," he
said.
He said he knows this because someone called his grandmother who answered the
phone at his aunt's house. His aunt signed a petition he gave her.
Nader has accused Democrats in other states of dirty tricks aimed at blocking
his access to the ballot.
Cook acknowledged that the party is making calls to check the validity of the
signatures on the petition. He wouldn't say whether they found people who
wanted their names taken off.
Jim Macri of
Macri said no one in the campaign that he knows of sought out Republican
signatures.
"We just talked to whoever was there when we went to the farmers market
[and other places]," Macri said. "I'm sure some Republicans would be
glad to sign it because they might have that meaner spirit...to undercut Kerry.
But [such tactics are used by] both parties."
Three other political parties also have submitted petitions to place their
candidates' names on