"One thing though, No one has ever said you were wrong"

[Bandit]

The way Stewart ended his interview with Ralph Nader last night. :hide:

[Orsino]

1. Huh.

There's a lot to recommend Nader, and I support his right to run. I'd like to see more parties given a real chance at high office, as the two we've got (usually) aren't doing jack to represent our interests.

I'd just hate to see him throw the election to McCain/Giuliani.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Like when he assured it for Bush in 2000.

A door prize will be awarded to the first 1,000 responders to say "But Gore Won!!" Nevertheless, I don't see Gore in the WH.

Also the Greens & Naderites are great ones for taking Puggy cash to use in their spoiler campaigns.

[kentuck]

2. There were ten times as many Democrats voted for Bush..

than for Nader, I have read. Why is that not important?

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Because Democrats that vote

for Republicans are generally not progressive, or even liberal. There are plenty of "congenital Democrats", especially in the South, that often vote for Republicans.

Nader voters, however, are presumably progressives, albeit with the political grasp of a sack of doorknobs.

[SheilaT]

7. What is important is that

we don't directly elect the president. Electoral college votes elect the president. Which means, all someone has to do is shift enough votes from one major-party candidate to the third-party candidate to give the electoral college votes of that state to the other major party candidate.

Personally, since we don't directly elect the president I don't believe I'll be bothering to vote for the presidential candidates any more in the November election. I'll probably participate in a primary or caucus, if my state has one next year, but beyond that, why bother? Especially since I live in Kansas, and so my vote for a Democrat definitely doesn't count.

[sybylla]

5. Nothing was more wrong than Nader's 2000 campaign mantra

"There's no difference between the two major parties." I couldn't help but repeatedly to the TV during the whole reach-around interview.

Seems to me, after six years of Chimpy, Darth Cheney and the rest, it doesn't even need to be said how wrong Nader was - VERY WRONG!

[Bandit]

6. It is hard for me to agree with you

I haven't yet seen that great difference you refer to. A little on the sidelines like minimum wage but tax cuts, war, election reform, Impeachment, I keep waiting for it to happen...

[Zodiak]

8. No, he was right

His message resonated because of that. Up until that point, both parties had been pursuing similar ends.

Both parties unapologetically had their hands out to the corporations while ignoring rank and file blue collar workers who were getting squeezed out of their quality of life. A lot of people groaned at the messages they were getting in 2000, and Nader was a welcome respite to that in the same way that Perot was in 1992.

Are Nader's words true even now? Yes and no. Both parties still are beholden to the corporations, but one of them has gone copletely off of the deep end while the corporate influence in the other party is under seige (the Democrats). The Nader and Green voters rejoined the party before 2004 and have made the gap wider between the parties...but only slightly.

But the gap cannot be seen on Capital Hill.....not yet, anyways. The beginnings, perhaps, but there is a lot of fighting left to do. Nader's message will continue to resonate with people (even if he doesn't get votes) as long as the Democratic party leadership continues to ignore and marginalize the left.

I really do believe that Nader filled a vacuum left by the Democratic party by embracing Reagan's policies in the 80's. That vacuum still exists today and begs to be filled. NAder is completely uncharismatic, which is a good thing for the Democrats. If that vacuum gets filled with someone of personal charisma, then there will be some REAL damage to the party. This, of course, is up to the party....because they left the vacuum. You cannot get to voters to come to you because they "owe" you votes...you must come to the voters.