Every time I tell a Bush supporter that I’m leaning towards voting for Ralph Nader in November, they are ecstatic. When I say the same thing to a Kerry supporter, they are furious.
I don’t get it.
One side is happy because I don’t agree with their platform at all. The other side, the Democrats, are pissed because I’m using democracy.
Democrats tell me Nader cost Gore the election in 2000 and could very well cost Kerry the presidency. Sorry, but that’s not true.
Gore couldn’t even win his home state. He cost himself the election when he ran a weak, spineless campaign.
He distanced himself from Bill Clinton, a scandalous but still popular president.
He tried to stay as close to George W. Bush’s platform as possible, allowing Bush to define their differences. Much like Kerry is doing today.
Many read the story in Harper’s Magazine by Greg Palast, detailing with documentation how citizens were purged from voter registration rolls in Florida for felonies they didn’t commit. Tens-of-thousands, mostly Democratic voters, lost their ability to vote in the 2000 election. The purge was supervised by Katherine Harris, Governor Jeb Bush’s Secretary of State.
Also, third-party candidates, such as Pat Buchanan, arguably cost Bush New Mexico and other states in 2000.
Despite all this information, Democrats want to blame Nader for the shameful loss in 2000, and want to limit the number of voices in democracy to two.
The Democratic Party won’t face up to the facts that they don’t share the same conviction that the Republican Party does. The Republicans, however evil I believe them to be, organize well and run an effective propaganda campaign.
President Bush’s campaign has convinced the world that Sen. Kerry is a coward. This is despite Kerry’s war decorations and support of eight of the nine living members of his swift boat in Vietnam.
While recently, former Texas Lieutenant Governor Bob Barnes recently admitted to helping George W. Bush dodge the draft.
The Democrats try similar tactics but don’t have the unwavering Christian base the Republicans can rely on.
The Christian base cares about only a select few issues, such as abortion, which the Republicans oblige. The Christian base convinces itself that the remainder of the Republican platform is impeccable.
The Democrats have ignored their base, the less fortunate, for years. They are too concerned with eating up all the swing voters and moderates as the Republican Party shifts farther to the right.
The Democrats can’t launch their own propaganda campaign because they are constantly and ineffectively dismissing Republican charges against them.
Any message that gets through — mainly from 527’s, like MoveOn.org — are labeled as too liberal and baseless. To be fair, some are baseless, but so are the attacks on Kerry’s record.
Face it, Kerry’s probably going to lose unless he changes his strategy.
Nader has a history as one of the most important consumer advocates. He lobbied major auto manufacturers to keep you and me safer at their expense.
Some say he’s running because of his ego. Nader knows he’s not going to win; he just wants to keep the Democratic Party honest. They need to slide back to the left, back to the people they represent. Not just to be a better option than Bush.
Kerry can’t tell us how he’s going to pay for his health-care program. Or why he voted for the war.
Bush can’t tell us the truth, period. He can’t tell us why we went to war or how we are going to pay for it. He can’t tell us why he diverted soldiers and resources away from bin Laden and the Taliban to focus on Saddam.
Nader, on the other hand, is unapologetic in his criticism of both parties. His propaganda campaign is non-existent. He owes nothing to special interests or large, private donors.
Without Nader, democracy becomes the decision between two candidates that you don’t like.
Vote for who you want.
