Reply #9: i think nader's only paying lip service.... [View All]

[distortionmarshall]

.... to the practicality side with those remarks.....

Those are precisely the remarks I was referring to with my "weak attempt" statement. I called it a weak attempt, for basically 2 reasons:

(a) No one really believes that a green candidate would actually be *helpful* in removing bush. even people who aren't actively angry at nader don't believe that.

(b) Even if a 1/2-way reasonable rationale were given that yielded the prediction that a green party candidacy would help remove bush, it would be merely a speculative, untried course of action. By contrast, many feel (with some reason), there is solid reason to believe that a green candidacy would actively help bush remain in office.

Nader talks about there being potentially many ways to unseat bush, and chides The Nation for focussing on only one of those ways. This is weak - that "one" way is in fact the only tried-and-true way - opposition unity.

If Nader were truly acknowledging the practicality side of the issue, he would have at least provided serious (ie empirical) reason to believe that the anti-bush cause would be furthered by his candidacy, rather than giving us a theoretical possibility.

mv $.02 at any rate.... :)