Nader Set to Run for President

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...er_030619064555

 

Liberal pariah Ralph Nader flirts with new White House run

Thu Jun 19, 2:45 AM ET

 

 

WASHINGTON (AFP) - One election campaign transformed Ralph Nader (news - web sites) from the perennial champion of liberal causes to a hated figure for the American left, but Nader is not finished yet.

 

The man many Democrats blame for Al Gore (news - web sites)'s achingly narrow defeat by George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential vote, could be a candidate when the next election is held in 2004, he will be 70.

 

Some progressives still consider the Harvard-educated attorney a hero for his consumer advocacy work of the 1960s and his more recent role in the anti-globalization movement, among other causes.

 

But he has not been spared the wrath of liberals after Nader stood in the 2000 election as the Green Party presidential candidate. Nader siphoned off critical votes from Gore, and the Republican Bush won the key to the White House.

 

"He is despised by some parts of the Democratic party," said liberal pundit Robert Borosage. "The party bitterness toward him is pretty deep."

 

In 2000, Nader convinced many Democratic voters that there was little difference between Bush and Gore, who was vice president under Bill Clinton (news - web sites), and that they would be better off supporting the Green party.

 

Many on the left had counted on a narrow Gore victory in the election, with the Greens clearing the necessary five percent of the vote threshold to receive federal campaign funds, thus boosting their bid to become a viable third party alternative to the Democrats and Republicans.

 

But the Greens failed to win five percent of the vote. Many of the votes the party did garner came from disaffected Democrats, whose defection likely gave Bush victory.

 

Democrats have been unforgiving ever since. Nader complains that he no longer gets invited to progressive strategy sessions and is omitted from witness lists drawn up by Democratic lawmakers seeking experts to testify in Congress.

 

"Even ... when they have gatherings on specific issues that I have worked on, they don't invite me," he complained in an interview.

 

"It is true that he pays a price for the folly of his (election) strategy," said Borosage, co-director of Campaign for America's Future, a Washington-based progressive non-profit group.

 

"He is being scapegoated for a defeat that shouldn't have taken place, but he also contributed to it."

 

Despite the rift, Nader and liberal Democrats agree at least one point: that the Bush presidency has been "beyond terrible," in Nader's words, for issues such as the environment and civil rights.

 

The president, he said, "is wrecking our economy, surrendering our government to corporate power more than ever, and alienating many of our former friends around the world by militarizing foreign policy."

 

But Nader is just as scathing toward the opposition Democrats, whom he accuses of capitulating to the conservative president.

 

"They could have stopped both of his tax cuts, his unconstitutional war ... the notorious massive assault on our civil liberties ... but they don't do any of this," he complained.

 

Nader said he still stands by his 2000 campaign statement that the two parties are virtually the same. "The Democrats are D-plus, the Republicans are D-minus," he said. "On foreign and military policy it's hard to find any difference."

 

For 2004, a second Green Party presidential candidacy may be in the works.

 

"It's too early to say," commented Nader.

 

Green party official John Strawn confirmed that Nader is among several potential candidates for the next election.

 

"Many folks are actively promoting particular candidates, Ralph being one of them," he said.

 

Nader says that if the Greens reject him, he might choose to run as an independent, or possibly even as a Republican, which would pit him against George W. Bush in the primary.

 

"Wouldn't that be interesting? A Republican run?" he muses.

 

When asked why a campaigner so closely identified with progressive causes would contemplate running for the White House as a candidate from a party on the other end of the political spectrum, Nader answers without missing a beat.

 

"To give the American people a choice as to the political institutions they desire and the clean elections they deserve," he said. "Isn't that what politics should be all about?"

 

Well, uh.

 

Okay.

 

If Dean gets the nomination for the Dems, I don't think the dems will differ from the party as much as in 2000, so that may be a good thing. I'd love to see a primary between Bush and Nader, though... I think that's what he wants to do: debate Bush.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

What a lunatic.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Oh, I agree, but for entirely partisan reasons... I, of course, hope he does it.

[Guest EricMM]

Gotta love his ecological standpoint though.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Indeed. Hell, if he ran for the DEMOCRATIC nomination, he'd probably win the damned thing.

[Guest EricMM]

Not with the amount of dems who blame him for gore losing the election.

 

That's an idea I'll never understand.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

I understand and even partially agree with it -- the reason being that a Green party candidate can't win a presidential election before they build up their party -- but his policies still have the potential to be better than anyone else's.

[Guest Fallen Angel]

Side note:

 

The man many Democrats blame for Al Gore (news - web sites)'s achingly narrow defeat by George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential vote, could be a candidate when the next election is held in 2004, he will be 70.

 

I like how one can get articles in the Associated friggin' Press without proper sentence structure. Yeesh.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Journalistic standards have gone way the fuck downhill lately.

 

I could break into this business easily.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

So when does Pat Buchanan's name hit the democrat ballot?

 

Personally I think if there is a minimum age to run for president, there should be a maximum as well, and it should be something like 60 years old.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

On second thought, I would love to see Nader AND Buchanan run against Bush in the Republican primaries. The debates alone would be too priceless for words: Bush standing there, incredulous, as Nader fires off all the reasons he thinks Bush has ruined the country, while Buchanan goes off on some rant about how Bush is a puppet of the Jewish lobby and both Iraq wars were fought for Israel.

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

Dems need to get over Nader taking votes away from Gore. Republicans are over Perot snatching Bush voters away from him in '92 (I'm not saying EVERY Perot voter would have went for Bush Sr., but there were a bunch...)

[Guest Slapnuts00]

Please Go Away.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Damn, I didn't realize Nader was that old. If he truly wants the Green Party to succeed in the future, he needs to start grooming some new folks to step forward, because he is the only recognizable figure in that party.

 

If anything I just want Nader allowed to debate someone, ANYONE. Just let him in the door.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

Nader is one of the only politicans in any country I really respect and enjoy hear speaking. I'd lovce for him to be allowed to debate next election.