Nader Campaign Coordinator Pleads Guilty to Election Fraud

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBLVL2PIAE.html

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - The coordinator for Ralph Nader's 2004 presidential campaign in Virginia pleaded guilty Tuesday to election fraud.

James P. Polk, 47, will serve 30 days of home detention and was fined $2,500.

Polk was accused of illegally certifying petitions to get Nader, an independent candidate, on the ballot. He was indicted on 10 counts of election fraud in October, but prosecutors withdrew nine of those counts.

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=76856&ran=26512

Nader's chief in Virginia is indicted on election fraud

<snip>Polk, a former Republican activist and an Air Force veteran who lives in Virginia Beach, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey L. Bryant III said irregularities in the Nader petitions first were noticed by members of the Virginia Beach voter registrar’s office. He provided no other details.

[charlyvi]

1. BWAHAHAHAHA!

Like this is news?

[hippiechick]

2. 'Former Republican Activist' as Indie campaign coordinator ?

Ok, Ralph, whatever little itsy bit of respect I used to have for you, is gone. :(

[David Zephyr]

23. That didn't get by your radar, hippiechick.

or mine either.

For all of Ralph's protesting about the Democratic Party abusing him in the election, for all his denials that the GOP wasn't really behind him...well, the story speaks for itself, doesn't it?

[gorbal]

39. Thereare "former republicans" working for the Dems to

This was one campaign coordinator in Virgina. Democrats have commited far more fraud than the greens anyway.

I know none of them could match the republicans, but then some dems might as well become republican.

[hippiechick]

40. Uh, ok ...

:freak: Sorry but your post made no sense to me.

[mac56]

3. Surprised, but not really.

nm

[noamnety]

4. He's grounded for 30 days?

I'm disgusted with the lack of any real punishment.

[andyhappy]

5. ironic ain't it...

the party without any money gets busted while the crooks with all the cash dont even his the news with their treachery ...I need a drink!

[Endangered Specie]

6. *snort*, not sure if its more irony than hypocracy...

but Im leading towards the latter.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. kick

[Javaman]

8. Lay down with repukes, wake up with skin eating disease.

[XemaSab]

9. The dude soliciting votes for nader

in my town was an admitted republican hoping to suck votes away from Kerry.

[Miss Chybil]

10. It was the Republicans who wanted Nader on the ballot so badly.

This proves they took EVERY opportunity to influence the election and if the opportunities didn't present themselves, they manufactured them.

[NNN0LHI]

20. And for some reason Nader played right along with the Republicans

I thought Ralph was a brighter man than that. Again he proves how wrong I was.

Don

[WhiteTara]

28. "for some reason'?

how about his is and was a repuke himself and he did everything he could to bring about the reinstatement of *. Too bad they didn't get
R:puke: along with the stooge.

[sandnsea]

11. They did it in Oregon too

And Greens accused Democrats of circumventing the democratic process because our SOS went over the petitions with a fine tooth comb. Will we get an apology? Doubt it.

Everything is not a corporate conspiracy.

[dissent1977]

12. Nader was not even running as a Green

He was running as an independent. Don't ask for an apology from the Greens, they are not responsible for what a candidate they did not nominate at their convention does. The fact is that both Republicans and Democrats skirt the democratic process. Republicans are worse, but both parties are basically out for themselves. They are alright with third parties when they help them, but they try to crush third parties when they get in their way.

[sandnsea]

13. The Greens are still his base

And were his base when he tried to get on the ballot in Oregon. Made up all kinds of bullshit lies when the Nader campaign broke the laws. You can't start from the premise of hating Republicans and Democrats and then make shit up to support your hatred. That's what Greens, yes Greens, in Oregon did; that's what Greens do all over the country all the time. They're out for themselves as much as any other group of people, maybe more than most.

[dissent1977]

14. You can not demand an apology from a group that did not nominate him

The Green Party had nothing to do with the Nader campaign. David Cobb was the Green candidate, not Nader. There is no way you can hold a party responsible for the actions of people who supposedly represent their base, but did not even support their endorsed candidate.

On Edit: At the Green Party Convention David Cobb got 17 votes from the Oregon delegation, there were no more than 2 Nader delegates from Oregon. http://www.gp.org/convention2004/round2bystate.txt

[sandnsea]

15. Denial isn't pretty

No matter who engages in it. Greens backed Nader in Oregon, I don't care what the national party did, it doesn't matter. I know what happened in Oregon, I know the lies that were told, they were told right here at DU. I know how wonderful it is to say and do any damned thing you want and accept no responsibility for it, I watch the Bushbots do it every day. Extremism must act the same regardless of the policies.

[dissent1977]

16. Who is in denial here?

Nader LOST the Green delegation in Oregon by 17-2 that shows you not just where the national party stands, it shows you where the state party stands. To blame the Green Party for people who voted for Nader, is like blaming the Democratic Party for the wrongdoings of the Bush campaign because there were some Democrats who voted for Bush.

And by the way before you go on making those claims that the Greens are only out for themselves, you may want to remember that David Cobb their endorsed candidate raised tens of thousands for the recount in Ohio. The Green Party then sent volunteers to help with the recount effort. The Green Party stood up for Kerry when he was being denied a fair election. If anyone owes an apology here it should be you for unfairly attacking them.

[sandnsea]

17. Did you read?

I specifically said I wasn't talking about the national green party. I was talking about greens in oregon who are the ones who supported Nader and accused Democrats of cheating when it is now clear that Nader's campaign cheated. That's what I said, that's what happened, that's what the OP is about; cheating on petitions just like in Oregon. :shrug:

As far as Ohio goes, it wasn't just Greens who gave money to that effort. It probably wasn't even a majority from Greens. But the Green Party did not get involved out of purely altruistic motives, it was a politically wise move to make and no doubt they'll gain a large percentage of the vote in 2008 because of it.

It's amazing to me that people think that just because somebody says things they agree with, they're politically pure. It is truly just like those who believe Bush is a good Christian. Everybody considers the political angle in their actions, even Greens. It's human nature.

[dissent1977]

18. Yes I read, but the Oregon Greens did not vote for Nader

The 17-2 vote total I mentioned was from the OREGON delegation. Those delegates were decided on by the voters in the Oregon Green Party NOT THE NATIONAL PARTY and they voted against Nader by a margin of more than 8 to 1. So why are you blaming the Green Party for a guy they did not even vote for.

Whether the Greens motives in Ohio were pure altruism or not is not the issue. The party played a major role in organizing the recount effort. Maybe many of the donations did come from people who were not Greens, but the Greens were the ones who organized the fundraising effort in the first place. Even if it is not pure altruism, there is at least some altruism there. They believe in free and fair elections, so they stood up for a candidate that was not their own. You can not say they were only out for themselves.

[sandnsea]

19. Wow

Mind boggling. I guess it was people from the Constitution Party getting signatures on petitions in Oregon. We didn't have a 4% Nader vote in 2000. Reality doesn't matter, common sense doesn't matter, just your numbers that have absolutely nothing to do with getting Nader on the Oregon ballot. NOTHING.

Glad you at least recognize Greens are no more altruistic than any other political party. That's something I guess.

[dissent1977]

22. Interesting how you change the subject to 2000

When we were talking about 2004. It was the Nader campaign getting signatures for 2004 NOT the Green Party.

You are right that my numbers have nothing to do with getting Nader on the ballot in Oregon, they are not supposed to have anything to do with getting Nader on the ballot in Oregon. In fact they are supposed to show the complete opposite, that the Greens did not support the Nader campaign in Oregon.

And I never said that the Greens were no more altruistic than any other party, they are more altruistic. It may not be pure altruism, but I know many Greens very well and I will tell you they make enormous personal sacrifices to stand up for their beliefs.

It seems you really don't want me to vote Democrat. You keep attacking me and my party for the actions of a candidate we did not endorse. I always remember the smears the Democrats try to make on my party when it comes time to enter the voting booth. If you want my vote then don't make false accusations.

And by the way, I was one of those Greens that voted for Kerry in the last election. I will vote Democrat in certain circumstances, but if the Democrats keep slandering the Greens like they have been then they can forget about me doing that in the future.

[sandnsea]

24. In Oregon, 2000 matters

4% of the vote went to Nader in 2000, many of them are the same people who tried to get him on the ballot in 2004. Are you seriously denying it? They created a huge stink about Democrats cheating Nader to keep him off the ballot. This case proves it wasn't true, the Nader campaign cheated. That is ALL I'm talking about. It happened, Greens did it. Anything else that happened in 2004 isn't relevant to that particular point.

[dissent1977]

25. The Greens did not cheat

Nader may have cheated, but the Greens had nothing to do with it. Sure some of the same people who voted for Nader in 2000 were involved, but the Greens are not responsible for everything that Nader voters do. It IS very relevant that the Greens did not nominate Nader. If you can find a single shred of evidence connecting the Green Party to voter fraud I will listen, but so far you have not. Just because the Greens nominated Nader in previous election cycles does not mean that they should be responsible for everything he does even after he leaves the Party.

And why are you so angry that 4% of the voters decided to vote for Nader in 2000? Don't people have the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for? Please don't pretend like you deserve a monopoly on the progressive vote.

[snickersnee]

27. as a relatively disinterested non-citizen

...i think you make some very valid points. fwiw.

[sandnsea]

29. "the Nader campaign cheated"

That's what I said. I guess the campaign was made up of munchkins and elves, not a Green in the bunch.

When did I say I was mad at the 4% for voting for Nader? People having the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for is the EXACT argument that was used to claim Democrats were cheating to keep Nader off the ballot. Interesting.

[dissent1977]

31. So you then blame the Democratic Party for Bush's crimes?

After all there are some Democrats that supported Bush. Following your logic we should be demanding an apology from the Democrats because people like Zell Miller and Randy Kelly helped Bush commit crimes against humanity. If we are going to hold Greens to that high standard in which we can blame the party for the people who work for a campaign seperate from their own then we should hold Democrats to the same standard, right?

I never said that there was not a Green in the bunch, in fact I acknowledged multiple times that there were some Greens that supported Nader. Like those two Oregon delegates which were outnumbered by more than eight to one for example. The fact is that the Green Party did not endorse Nader, yet you repeatedly tried to tie them to election fraud without producing a shred of evidence. That is a smear.

"People having the right to vote for whoever they want to vote for is the EXACT argument that was used to claim Democrats were cheating to keep Nader off the ballot. Interesting." - Do you deny that my claim is the truth? If so you better read up on what a Democracy is. It doesn't matter if Nader used the same argument or not, it is a fundamental cornerstone of Democracy to be able to vote for the person you feel is most qualified.

On edit: Here is what you said "This case proves it wasn't true, the Nader campaign cheated. That is ALL I'm talking about. It happened, GREENS DID IT." Emphasis mine. Now in the article it talks about former Republican operatives doing it not Greens. That is not to say no Greens were involved, but I really don't think you want to blame Greens in general for the actions of a few. If you do that I will hold Democrats to the same standard.

[sandnsea]

32. I didn't blame the PARTY, I've said that repeatedly

What part of that do you not understand?

[dissent1977]

33. That is the first time you said it directly

There were times you implied that you did not mean the party, but then went on to blame "Greens" in a way that appeared to be an attack on all Greens.

But now that you have bluntly stated that you know the party itself had nothing to do with this I will leave you alone.

[sandnsea]

34. No it's not

Nice try though.

[dissent1977]

35. Here is what your original post said

"And Greens accused Democrats of circumventing the democratic process because our SOS went over the petitions with a fine tooth comb. Will we get an apology? Doubt it."

If you want an apology from the Greens who is that going to come from but the party?

I will admit post 30 (which was not even a reply to me) does appear to be distancing yourself from your earlier comments and acknowledging that the party was not involved. Before that however it certainly appeared you were attacking the party.

Anyways there is no use discussing this anymore, you have acknowledged that the party was not involved and there is no use arguing anymore. We really don't need to get into a discussion over the exact language you used, it would be pointless.

[sandnsea]

36. My "find" doesn't find "party" in that post

I clarified that repeatedly. Sorry if you jumped to conclusions and then were unable to admit you made a mistake.

[dissent1977]

37. The word "Greens" implies the party

Just like the word "Democrats" would imply the Democratic Party

[sandnsea]

38. No it doesn't

Some Democrats supported George Wallace for President, but anybody who referenced Wallace and Democrats after he ran would know the Democratic Party wasn't being implied. Same goes for Nader. It's called applying logic.

[Zhade]

26. Prove the GREEN PARTY, not Nader, cheated.

You can't. It's a baseless allegation, and a smear.

If I'm wrong, produce the evidence. I'm sure we'd all like to see it.

[sandnsea]

30. See #29

I didn't say the national Green Party, or even the Oregon Green Party, cheated. I said, repeatedly, the Nader campaign cheated and many of the people working in that campaign were Greens. I don't know why you all want to pretend there weren't any Greens supporting Nader last year, it's foolish.

[DFWJock]

21. Way to go Ralph

not only did you give us the Chimp as president you also had rethuglicans cheat for you, good job!