>The More Things Change The More They Will Stay the Same >By Paul Watson > >I'm one of those environmentalists who did not support Al Gore in 2000. I >supported Ralph Nader and I'm not ashamed to say so. Bill Clinton and Al >Gore shut the doors to the White House to environmental activists from the >day they took office. I had read Al Gore's book. I had had lunch with him >just months before he was chosen to be Clinton's running mate. I spoke with >him at the U.N. Conference on the Environment in Rio De Janeiro in 1992. He >promised me that his door would always be open to activists. He lied. > >Al Gore lied to me and he lied to other environmentalists. We were suckers >in 1992 when we supported him. Many of us did not support him and Clinton >in >1996 and many more did not support Gore in 2000. For eight years, he did >not, nor did he even have some assistant bother to answer my letters, >return >a phone call or an e-mail. He lied to me and he ignored me. > >Actually I should feel quite flattered. I was in good company. He ignored >Ralph Nader also. And he and Clinton ignored David Brower. They did not >give >us the time of day. In return, neither Brower, Nader or I gave Gore the >time >of day when he ran for President. > >The arrogance of the Democrats is that they believe that we have no place >to >go and that it is a two sided political battle and if we know what's good >for us, we will support them or else. We did not. We went for Nader and Al >Gore was shot down partially by friendly fire and primarily because he was >not saying much about anything. The man could not even take his home state >of Tennessee and had the gall to blame his loss on Ralph Nader. > >Four years later and Ralph Nader has been demonized and we have another >arrogant Democrat running for the Presidency. This time they are more >arrogant than ever because they believe they have marginalized the Greens >and neutralized Ralph Nader. Once again we are being told that John Kerry >is >the man for the environment. Once again we are being told we have no >choice. >George W. Bush must be defeated. Once again we are being told that we must >choose the lesser of two evils, the Demopublican over the Republicrat. >John >Kerry is being promoted as the Green Crusader - the only hope to save the >environment from being ravaged by the Oiliocratic Oligarchy. We are being >told that he is the candidate of choice by the environmental movement - >that >only the Democrats can save our forests, protect our oceans and safeguard >our health. > >The truth is that the large environmental groups do not represent the >environmental movement. If anything they represent the Democratic Party. >David Brower wrote an editorial in the New York Times a few years ago >pointing out that clear-cutting of the nation's forests had tripled over >the >level of logging under the George Bush Sr. Administration. In fact, when I >look back I can see very little progressive moves made to help the >environment between 1992 and 2000. The protection for dolphins from the >tuna >industry was compromised. Nothing was done about escalating illegal >commercial whaling by Japan and Norway. In fact, Al Gore championed the >return of whaling in Washington State. And they presided over the >escalation >of clear-cutting in the Northwest. > >And now we have John Kerry. We are told that Bush has rejected the Kyoto >Protocols and only by electing Kerry can we save Kyoto. Really? When >Clinton was President, Senator Kerry voted against the Kyoto accords. The >Democrats tell us that George W. Bush was in bed with Enron scam artist Ken >Lay. Of course he was, but what they don't say is Ken Lay was a personal >friend of John Kerry and Theresa Heinz gave Ken Lay a seat on the board of >her environmental foundation where he was given the responsibility for >heading up the global warming task force for her Foundation. Talk about >appointing the fox to guard the hen house. > >The Democrats are warning environmentalists that George Bush plans to drill >in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. What they don't say is that John >Kerry has recently pledged his support to the American Gas Association for >the Trans-Alaska-Canada Natural Gas Pipeline which will impact more habitat >and more caribou than the more celebrated ANWR. John Kerry has assured the >oil companies that their interests will be protected. > >Not one murmur of protest was voiced by any of the large environmental >organizations in response to this announcement because the environmental >groups have been conditioned to protest sexy high profile media issues and >ignore others until they hit the media. To get from obscure to a legitimate >cause usually involves the activities of environmental activists from the >grassroots whose job it is to stir up the muck for the bottom feeders. > >Even the Green Party has been compromised. What kind of political Party >actually encourages it's members to vote for another Party. The Green Party >has been co-opted by the Democratic Party and that is one of the reasons >Ralph Nader is an independent. There is no Green Party in America now, at >least not on the National level. There is no option for the voter in the >United States to vote against NAFTA, WTO, logging in the national forests, >or the war in Iraq. Both Bush and Kerry support the same trade agreements, >the logging industry, the oil industry and they both support the first >occupation of a foreign nation that never attacked the United States. > >In fact they both seem to be obsessed with fighting that past ignoble war >in >Indo-China where Americans left two million people and over 58,000 of their >own soldiers dead. The Americans first landed in force in Vietnam, on >December 11,1961. Three years later only 392 Americans had been killed. By >comparison over 900 American soldiers have died since the invasion of Iraq >in April 1963. It was not until 1965, the fourth year of the war in Vietnam >did the casualty figures surpass the last year's death toll in Iraq. Like >Vietnam, the casualties will continue to mount the longer the illegal >occupying force of the United States remains in Iraq. Yet John Kerry has >said he intends to stay and get the job done. I heard that before. It was >in 1968 from Richard Nixon. The choice now is between a former Air National >Guard pilot and a former Swift boat combat veteran. Both want to stay and >continue to kill Iraqi's. What they both did or did not do thirty years ago >is not relevant. What they say they want to continue doing in Iraq is very >relevant and what is most relevant is that they hold the same position. Of >course they both came from wealthy white families, went to the same >University (Yale) and were both members of the elite Skull and Bones >Society. > >Now the big difference is that if John Kerry is elected there will be a >honeymoon fantasy put in place where Kerry will get on with business as >usual and the environmental groups will be his cheerleaders, as he >continues >to clear-cut, build roads in National Forests, drills for oil everywhere >but >ANWR, builds pipelines and generally makes room and supplies available for >an always growing human population. > >It was President Clinton and the Democrats in Congress that worked to >support the corporate demands in the area of oil and water policies, >fisheries, toxic emissions, and arms sales. Eight years of a Democratic >President did not change much and to be honest, four years of a Republican >President have not changed much either. All that has changed is the >perception of the issues. George Bush has essentially pursued the same >policies as Bill Clinton but more blatantly, more honestly and more >aggressively. Neither Bush or Kerry are in reality friends to the >environmental movement. The Heinz ketchup company is one of the major users >of pesticides. Heinz owned Starkist when it was butchering dolphin in tuna >nets. Throwing a few bucks to large environmental groups does not set the >record straight. What people forget is that although George Bush has some >really truly insane policies regarding environmental issues, most of his >assaults don't get past Congress. Four years later and there has been no >actual drilling in ANWR. One of the reasons for this is that there is a >strong grassroots environmental movement in the United States that >presently >is encouraged by the big corporate green organizations. This encouragement >will disappear with a Kerry presidency and for the next four years, the >environmental groups will compromise and accept, placate and place their >faith in the "possibility" that John Kerry will glance their way once in >awhile. > >A Kerry Presidency will not make things better for the environment. It will >just serve to make it appear that things will be better for the >environment. >One environmental activist recently said to me that, "I can't trust John >Kerry to do the right thing but I can trust George Bush to do the wrong >thing." > >Not exactly a ringing endorsement for John Kerry. With John Kerry it's the >case of "I'm not necessarily with the environmentalists but I am with the >environmentalists if it is necessary for me to be elected." In the end it >will not matter. John and John or George and Dick, the problems will >remain. >Big oil and big corporations will continue to rule and will continue to get >what they want. The dead Presidents and founding fathers call the shots. >Franklin, Grant, Jackson, Lincoln, Washington and Hamilton. The faces on >the >notes that make things happen in America. Ralph, you ain't got a chance in >hell of winning. But damn it, you've got my support and I have no problem >in >casting a vote for a person I can truly believe in. Because in the end, be >it Kerry or Bush - the next four years will still see power in the hands of >the same oligarchy and the more things change the more they will stay the >same. > >Paul Watson is the Founder and President of Sea Shepherd Conservation >Society, a national director of the Sierra Club and the co-founder of the >Greenpeace Foundation. > >He lives in Friday Harbor, Washington. > >Captain Paul Watson Founder and President (Since 1977)Sea Shepherd >Conservation Society >http://www.seashepherd.org >Director - Instituto Sea Shepherd BrasilNational >Director - Sierra Club (2003-2006) >Director - Farley Mowat Institute >Co-Founder/Greenpeace Foundation (1972) >Co-Founder/Greenpeace International (1979) >paulwatson@earthlink.net >Office: 360-370-5650 >Fax: 360-370-5651 >Cell: 310-701-3096 >P.O. Box 2616 >Friday Harbor, Wa 98250 >USA