WP: A Fading 'Nader Factor'?

[kskiska]

Consumer Advocate Has Been Stripped of Much of His Support

Friday, October 22, 2004; Page A01

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 21 -- In a state where he has been vilified by Democrats for siphoning votes from Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, Ralph Nader was typically unstinting in his criticisms of President Bush and Sen. John F. Kerry on Thursday, referring to the choice facing voters as one between "heart disease and cancer."

It was the final swing through Florida before the Nov. 2 presidential election for the independent candidate, who drew several hundred people to a speech at the University of South Florida here in Pinellas County, the area where he received the most votes in 2000. But even in this bedrock of his small political following, Nader's prospects are bleak.

"This year's tough for him," said Mark Kamleiter, a St. Petersburg lawyer and longtime supporter. "They've turned on him. They're so afraid of Bush."

Nader's dwindling support is no accident. Democrats and left-leaning groups have mounted a months-long legal and public relations campaign to keep the consumer advocate off ballots and otherwise minimize his impact. While independent pollsters and some Kerry strategists say Nader could still have an impact in a number of very closely contested states, Democratic officials seem less concerned that he will influence the 2004 election as they believe he did in 2000.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52671-2004Oct21.html

[ramapo]

1. Nader will be way less than 1%

That's my prediction. The guy is a loser.

[Barad Simith]

2. Let us bow our heads in prayer...

...and thank the Lord for this great blessing.

[demosincebirth]

3. I hope they're right.

Nader should be exiled to Elba for life.

[righteous1]

16. Nader factor

"Nader factor" is an oxymoron....he hasn't been a factor since he started

[truthisfreedom]

4. yawn... nader, schmader. who is he again?

8^P

[MADem]

5. He's the guy

...who siphoned off a SHITLOAD of money from the GOP!! They dumped a small fortune into that dry hole!!! And it did no good! You KNOW they have to be really pissed off about that.

Why thanks, Ralph! By being a total jerk, you actually HELPED the cause! Three cheers for Ralph!

[truthisfreedom]

7. oh yeah, and all of the manpower he used up... okay, ralph, i love you

again! woohoo! now dry up!

[Barad Simith]

8. HEY! I never thought of this before...

What if that was his plan all along -- not to siphon votes from the Dems, but to piss away freeper campaign dollars!

If it were my script, that's how the movie would go.

[murielm99]

6. Democrats and left leaning groups have mounted a months-

long legal and public relations campaign?

And repukes have mounted a months-long financial and encouragement campaign to help him get on the ballot.

Funny, they forgot to mention that.

[Piperay]

9. Ralphie has beeen de-fanged

now he is just a toothless decript loser. :nopity:

[Skittles]

10. plus he has lost every shred of credibility I ever had for him

I despise him now

[Born Free]

11. I hope this is the last of Nader

His time came and passed, he had an opportunity to step up and help but decided to pursue his own agenda and doing so destroyed his own reputation

[modrepub]

12. Not too worried

about Nader. Candidates running for the same position more than once almost always garner less votes than the first time around. Nader's support is on par with the Libertarian candidate (forget his name). What I find interesting is there is almost no focus on how much republican support will be siphoned to the Libertarian candidate. In PA it will probably be ~1% with the strongest support in south-central PA, typically republican territory. It would be intersting to see which battleground states the Libertarian is on the ballot and how much support he will draw from Bush. Keep in mind Libertarians are for smaller government, lower taxes and hold pro-life positions. All of these are typically Republican concerns.

[auburngrad82]

13. I'm hoping that this election will put an end to Nader

He's never stood a chance in any election. He's lost a lot of respect among former supporters by taking republican money in an effort to split the liberal vote. I don't have any respect for the man and would never consider voting for him under any circumstances.

[bleedingheart]

14. He did this to himself....instead of trying to work within the system to

change it...he went on a speaking tour for the past four years denouncing everything. Easy enough to denounce when he could have possibly run for the Senate in some state and actually have been putting his words into actions.

[enigma-e]

15. You had your 30 minutes of fame, Ralph,...

...step back now and give room to the real man: JFK!