IOWA CITY -- Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader's supporters rallied Tuesday in Iowa City to talk about issues they say won't be voiced by Democrats and Republicans.

"The majority of you don't count to the Democratic and Republican parties," Jeff Carlson, a University of Iowa graduate student in English and member of Students for Ralph Nader, told about 50 people who attended the rally.

The local rally was part of a nationwide movement to get Nader into two remaining presidential debates between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

Speakers said Nader will spur talk on issues such as building more schools and fewer prisons, ending assistance to large corporations, raising minimum wage, and creating a universal health care policy.

"The Clinton/Gore party has had eight years to make headway on these issues," Carlson said. "People are fed up with this and they want an alternative."

Michael Rack, a member of the International Socialist Organization, said Democrats and Republicans are right to be afraid of Nader, on the ballots of 43 states -- including Iowa -- and drawing crowds to political rallies. "Nader has the potential to break the two-party rule," he said.

Dorothy Perot, a UI teaching assistant in French, said there are many parties in her native country of France and each has the opportunity to debate on the national level.

 

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