“You’re not Christ. You’re not Prince Hamlet.”
Veteran political activist and consumer champion Ralph Nader, blamed by the Democrats for costing them the tight 2000 elections…is mulling a 2008 bid for the White House.
He told AFP that he had launched a presidential exploratory committee “to test the waters to see if we can get enough contributions and resources, such as skilled staff” to run as an independent candidate.
Nader told AFP he wanted to fight “the injustices, deprivations and insolutions that the candidates are ignoring” such as failing to address the need for a living wage, health care for all and the “enormous, bloated, wasteful military budget…” and vehemently rejected the title of “spoiler.”
“It is a title that is never applied to a Democrat or a Republican. It is only applied to a third party candidate,” he said.
Which is a crock.
Independents are free to express themselves inside – and outside – the two establishment political parties. After eight years of Bush League rule, the last thing we need is another messiah.
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#5, john,
If it comes down to Obama and McCain, or Billary and McCain–who would be able to tell the difference?
McCain is the flat chested, bald, light skinned one.
Why is everyone blaming Nader? The ballot in the state of Florida for 2004 had other names on it like Badnarik (Libertarian) and Cobb (Green Party). This truly shows you the psychology running through the USA. It is better to blame other people for your own incompetents.
One way to look at the situation is that Gore stole some of Badnarik’s votes because of the ignorant notion of some people not wanting to waste their vote. If you do not vote for the person you think would be a good president then you have wasted your vote. It is a self fulfilling prophecy by not voting for the candidate you want to win because you think he/she won’t win.
#32 (Calin) –
But McCain wasn’t in the race. The question is, if Nader wasn’t in the race, would you have voted for Bush, or Gore?
>> Failing any other candidate on the ballot I believed would make a good President, I would have left it blank. Fully 50% of the slots on my ballot some years is blank. (Inflated by the number of local judges I don’t end up finding time to know anything about — who typically run unopposed anyhow.) I cast votes for people I believe in. The only exception is the county water inspector. I don’t know anything about the unopposed guy who does that boring job, but as long as he’s the only guy who wants to every year, I give him the benefit of the doubt.
#34 (joseph1949) –
I’ll be the first to say he’s not my ideal candidate — but I do not accept your premise. You must be one of those folks sporting a “Don’t blame me, I voted for Kodos” bumper sticker. No wait, I take that back… getting that reference might show an appreciation for creativity and humor. That just can’t be in line with such an unoriginal and juvenile response.
This country is off, as the pollsters say “on the wrong track.” It’s time to get back to the days when being religious meant loving your neighbors and treating people with basic human respect, when freedom was more than a rallying cry for war but also something average people stood on principle to defend against all freedom’s enemies — both foreign and domestic. I believe as long as the two-party system in this country asks me to choose between the evil of two lessors (Or, as an amusing political writer put it, the lessor of “who cares?”), then I will reject the premise of that system.
My wife gets a letter from the White House every year regarding a MIA-presumed dead family member. We know what it means to sacrifice in service to the public. American politics needs more public servants, and I’ll keep voting for those people, and only them, quixotic as it may seem to most of you.
#15, Calin,
I’m wondering how many will understand your reference. Yes, this concerned one of America’s all time greatest Presidents, a total sell out President, and another great President.
Good point though.
Nader is commended for his auto safety initiatives. But that doesn’t entitle him to be president.
#35 – Are you sure he doesn’t have man-boobs?
#31 – There are some scenarios in that kind of runoff where some people’s votes count more than others. A better way is a pure ranking election. Total the ranks received from every person. Lowest combined total wins.
Not true. Duverger admitted that this will usually happen, but also identified where and when it won’t.
That’s why I put the almost before the always. It seemed stronger than sometimes. In my reading I was lead to believe that it will happen the majority of the time. Sometimes seems more like a minority.
The point is valid as it pertains to the U.S. We have become a fully two party system. Both parties are broker parties, therefore we are stuck with that. If any smaller party comes forward with an idea that gains greater support, either the Dems or the Repubs will pick it up and run with it…whether they agree or not.
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#42, Calin,
Sheeeiiit !!! You did and I even copied it. My apologies sir, you are quite correct and I did err. Ok, to make it up to you, I’ll give you a buck. So remember, you’ll never be broke as long as I owe you money, which translates to “you’ll never be broke”.
Nader’s campaign filmmaker, Jurgen Vsych, has just released her new book about the 2004 campaign, “What Was Ralph Nader Thinking?” Special price $19.95 (List price: $24.95) http://thewomandirector.com
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