Reply #12: Nader [View All]

[rlev1223]

To "abhor" Nader for his vanity is pretty silly. He is certainly a stubborn obssessive who hasn't come close to moving the mountain as far as he wants, but don't forget that this is the man who essentially invented and organized the consumer and envronmental protection movements in this country.

In any event, he shouldn't run. This is the letter I wrote his website today. A bit fawning, but, as you say, he does have an ego.

Dear Mr. Nader,

To suggest that the parties are equally corrupt may have a rhetorical
attractiveness and even a legitimate basis...you certainly know far more about that than I do.

But it is disingenuous and simply wrong to suggest that another Bush term would not have the worst consequences for the most disenfranchised people and for the social psyche of the country as whole.

Moreover, the attraction that disaffected Democrats had for you in 2000 has been well noted....Dean became the titular head of the institutional-change wing and only when Kerry began to
echo the same message did he refloat his sinking candidacy. In short, you have done a fine job of shaming the Party. To aid in its actual destruction would be a shame in itself.

Finally, I don't think that a run for President can do anything but tarnish what is one of the most glowing reputations in the history of American politics and social service.

Your erudition and passion in smoking out the corruption and the structural evils in our "democracy" are unrivaled. This is not mere flattery...much of the progressive history of the last 40 years has come because of your efforts and in spite of your opponents. Your fight to dismantle the entrenched oligarchic nexus of money and power needs to continue and, American being a place that needs icons to personalize its politics, you need to remain free and able to continue.

Please do not run...whether you could actually deny a Democratic victory in the Presidential election may be an interesting academic parlor game for pundits. For the people, it would be a disaster.