| Presidential candidate hopes Carbondale is a Socialist butterfly |
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Presidential candidate hopes Carbondale is a Socialist butterfly Ralph Nader won't have to worry about competing with a Carbondale resident for presidential nomination. Dwight Welch, a resident of Carbondale and former graduate student at SIUC, was a recognized presidential candidate in California before dropping out to support the Socialist party candidate, as well as rally enough support to organize a branch of the party in Carbondale. His name appeared on the California Secretary of State's list of generally recognized candidates intending to run in the Feb. 5 primary election for the Peace and Freedom Party's presidential nomination. Welch's name was included with Nader, a third party candidate for president since 1990, and Brian Moore of Spring Hill, Fla. Welch submitted his name for candidacy in June even though the [Socialist Party National Convention] was in September. When Moore received the Socialist nomination for President, Welch withdrew. "I realized when I went to the convention, I did not have enough money so I dropped out on the eve of the convention," Welch said. Welch ran for the Peace and Freedom Party because of its similar beliefs to socialism, he said. Along with Bill Stodden of Carbondale, Welch has been trying to organize a local branch of the Socialist Party in southern Illinois - centralized around Carbondale. The socialists hosted an informational meeting Saturday at the Interfaith Center on South Illinois Avenue. Stodden said 11 people attended and were interested in learning more about socialism before joining the party. Now that the first informational meeting has passed, Welch said the party would organize the appropriate forms, or "foundation papers," and file them with the [Socialist Party National Office]. By doing so, the group would be recognized as an [official] branch of the party. The party's Web site describes socialism as a movement for all workers to control production through democratic agencies. They believe society should benefit from production instead of select individuals. "I think there's an attraction to something like the Socialist Party, or the Green Party and other third party that's trying to raise economic structural issues," he said. Welch got involved with the socialists after reading about them in a high school encyclopedia. Stodden said he had been part of a group visiting high schools in Montana discouraging students from joining the military. The group's message, directed for lower-income students, said there are other ways to get money for higher education than risking their lives. Socialism's critics have said the party reflects and promotes the same ideas of communism. Stodden said those beliefs are caused by propaganda from the U.S. government. "We don't have a hierarchy of people telling the majority how they are going to live, or how they are going to organize things," he said. "Our socialist party is nothing like the understanding that the United States has of communism." Rich Whitney, a Carbondale resident and former Green Party gubernatorial candidate in the 2006 election, said the local branch of the Green Party was formed before getting community support. Having worked with socialism in the past, Whitney said he wished the local chapter luck -- especially with beating some of the implications with socialism. "You may have the best ideas in the world, but the word 'socialism' has gotten tied in with bureaucracy takeovers," he said. Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274 or barton.lorimor@siude.com. This story can be found at www.siude.com. |