"Nader is Crashing the Party Again"

[jpgpenn]

Nader Is Crashing the Party Again

By Robert Scheer, AlterNet
February 24, 2004

No, not Nader again. In an act of pure egotism, Ralph Nader – who has been largely silent on the main issues of the day, nursing his wounds since the last time he messed up an election – insists on another chance to play at electoral politics on the national stage. Does he have no sense of accountability or shame?

Yes, Al Gore shares responsibility with the U.S. Supreme Court for the fact that George W. Bush ended up as president. But without Nader in the picture in 2000, Bush's narrow Electoral College victory would have been impossible to scam. The arguments that Nader made last time around seem absurd this time, when it is all too clear that there are significant differences between the Democrats and Republicans on the issues Nader has spent a lifetime effectively raising. The Republican Party marches lock-step in a campaign against the environment, working people, the poor, civil liberties and world peace.

The vital issue in this election is that a Republican sweep may make permanent the damage to the constitutional principle of checks and balances. How dare Nader ignore the reactionary cast of Bush's judicial appointments and the refusal of a Republican-controlled Congress to challenge the mendacity of this president on issues as varied and important as global warming and the preemptive, deceit-driven invasion of Iraq?

The two-party system has its shortcomings, but we are up against one-party domination. For Nader to cavalierly dismiss this concentration of power in the hands of right-wing ideologues attempting to roll back the clock on the bipartisan accomplishments of the last 50 years is dangerous nonsense. How glib to grade the difference between the two parties as that of a D-plus and a D-minus.

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17936


I pity this poor man after this election!

[jpgpenn]

1. WOW, silence on such a major issue?

Where are all these NonDemocratic supporters now?

[Forkboy]

11. It was nice of you to wait a whole TEN MINUTES

:eyes:

[php1949]

2. Nader is destroying whatever credibility he had left

He will be so despised if Bush wins by a narrow margin that he will not be able to accomplish anything as an effective activist. He will become.....a joke.

[jpgpenn]

3. correction, if I may?

Nader will despised no matter what!

[lovedems]

4. Every time I have a made a post that is anti-Nader, I have been

bombarded. I totally agree with this article, I am just tired of listening to Nader sympathizers for the day.

[jpgpenn]

5. make that sympathizers of a NonDemocrat!

:puke: but who really gives a shit right?

[jpgpenn]

6. KICK! for all the NonDemocrats at DU!

[zoeyfong]

7. Guess what Scheer? I'm not voting for kerry regardless of whether Nader

runs. It is simply wrong to assume that every nader vote will go to the dem if nader doesn't run. Secondly, it is precisely because this country has reached such a disgraceful low point in its history that nader should run. The problems facing America go way beyond George Bush or the republican party. The hands of many democrats are far from clean, and now to hear them sanctimoniously claiming that they *must* be given power in order to reverse their own previous sins is disgusting. If they win, there will only be more of the same. There has not been a time since 1865 when there was a greater need for a true, left-of-center opposition party.

[union_maid]

14. Not concerned about voters like you

You've made up your mind and are a lost cause to us from the start. I'm concerned about the impressionable young first-time voters that Nader fills with false hopes about what voting third party can accomplish and lies about "no difference". Oh, and a left-of-center opposition party can only do one thing - elect the most rightwing party. That's mathmatical fact. There might be something to what they say about the lack of math skills in this country.

[zoeyfong]

25. Your short-sightedness is not setting such a good example for the young.

Regarding math skills, mine are pretty good; yours apparently self-destruct after nov.2004.

[Forkboy]

8. Obssessed much?

[Adjoran]

9. People can vote their heart

OR - they can vote their head.

The winner will be the Democrat or the repub. That's the choice. Nader, Greens, and all the other minor candidates are significant only in who they take votes FROM. A guy with NO chance to win isn't the best choice, even if you agree with him on every single issue.

[OhioStateProgressive]

10. you know what?

Who cares.

Nader is responsible for every environmental and occupational safety law passed after 1965. I will not forget this, and it trumps this election bullshit.

[Skidmore]

12. And he's equally responsible for every one of those enviromental

and safety regulations that have been overturned since 2000 as well as having culpability in an illegal war and global instability that has ensued since then.

[OhioStateProgressive]

13. That is a shell argument and doesn't stand

You cannot blame the left for the faults of the right. It is very convenient to blindly accuse Nader of "shifting" the total to Bush, although it doesn't stand up.

[union_maid]

15. It completey stands up

We watched the trainwreck in progress. It's not ALL Nader's fault, but his cold indifference to what this radical administration would do help to allow it to do it. He tried to float the "Don't blame Nader" meme right after the election but it didn't work then and it won't work now. Everyone I know on the left absolutely does blame him for his part.

[Forkboy]

17. Nader's role was miniscule

To repost a great Youngred post;

If 10,000 Palm Beach Jews hadn't voted for Pat Buchanan Al Gore would have won.
If Al Gore hadn't run about the worst presidential campagin in history he would have won.
If the Media hadn't decided they wanted Bush and slammed Gore as a liar, shifty and a non-entity from the beginning he would have won.
If JEB Bush was not the Governor of Florida Al Gore would have won.
If Gore had spent a few more days and more money in Ohio he would have won.
If Gore had managed to carry his home state he would have won.
If The Supreme Court weren't Republican supportive Al Gore would have won.
If 10,000 DEMOCRATS hadn't voted BUSH in Florida (more than voted for Nader there) Al Gore would have won.
If Gore had managed to excite a few of the 50 MILLION voters who stayed home he would have won
If thousands of African Americans hadn't been illegally purged from the voter rolls Al Gore would have won.
If roadblocks in Democratic areas hadn't stopped people from getting to the polls Al Gore would have won.
If, as Florida law called for, all the ballots had been recounted Al Gore would have won.

Nader was ONE factor among many. Stop the Scapegoating, it helps only the Republicans

Youngred

[union_maid]

18. No it doesn't

Nader needs to go down, now. He discouraged some people from voting at all. He hit Gore much harder than he hit Bush and Republican money helped him do it. He knew it. Didn't care. It's scapegoating when you find someone to blame afterward. When you were right there screaming, "Please don't push us off this cliff!" it's not scapegoating, it's assigning part of the blame where you saw with your own eyes that it belongs.

[Forkboy]

19. Conveniently ignoring the entire post for the last line

[union_maid]

21. No I'm not

I never, ever said that the blame was entirely Nader's. I said he shares the blame and he does. Ever factor that led to the installation of Bush is a factor that needs to be considered. Nader is one of them. That is not scapegoating. That's giving him his share of the blame for deliberately and with malice of forethought helping the Bush administration into power.

[Forkboy]

22. Fair enough

I just feel he takes an extremely disproportionate amount of the blame considering all the other factors listed.

How many threads full of hatred do we see for the purges of black voters?

How many threads full of hatred do we see directed towards the SCOTUS?

It's not right,it doesn't help us in any way,and it disregards the many good things Nader has done for all of us.I'm not crazy about him,but I hate seeing people dump on one factor among many.

Thanks for clarifying your position.

Peace

[union_maid]

23. Thanks for being fair

Just to further clarify:

"How many threads full of hatred do we see for the purges of black voters?

How many threads full of hatred do we see directed towards the SCOTUS?"



Just as soon as there are posts on DU defending any of these practices there wll be posts decrying them. I hope to hell we have got people in place to prevent the roadblocks and that there's some plan to antipate and neutralize other dirty tricks on election day and there's certainly been plenty of concern about BBV. However, those practices don't have defenders or apologists on DU as far as I know, so arguing those points is preaching to the choir.

[OhioStateProgressive]

20. no

Your argument is based on emotion and not logical analysis, therefore it does not stand up.

[CWebster]

16. When I think of the naysaying media targeting Dean,

now pounding Nader with the same unified chorus of accusation, it gives me great pleasure in pondering a vote well cast for the solitary voice who isn't afraid to tell it like it is.

[jpgpenn]

24. KICK!

:kick: