Just when you thought there was no way Democrats could lose this election ... here we go again: Ralph Nader has decided to run for president as an independent candidate, for the fifth time. If anybody can screw it up, he can.
There was a time, not so long ago, when we were all big Ralph Nader fans. And with good reason. He's America's most effective consumer advocate and citizen activist. He forced Detroit to make safer cars. He stopped the nuclear power industry in its tracks. He convinced Congress to create several consumer protection agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. He inspired legions of young people to get politically involved. Time magazine ranked him one of the most influential Americans of the 20th century.
But then Nader's ego got in the way, and he made the mistake of thinking he could be elected president – with disastrous results, both for him and for the country. In 1992 and 1996, his campaigns were little more than harmless folklore. But in 2000, he cost Al Gore the White House. The Atlantic Monthly summed it up best: "He made the cars we drive safer; 30 years later, he made George W. Bush the president."
To this day, Nader refuses to acknowledge his role in elevating Bush to the White House. He points out, correctly, that all seven independent candidates on the ballot in Florida tallied more votes than the 537 vote margin by which Gore eventually lost the state. So what? None of them came close to Nader's 97,421 votes. And none of them, like Nader, pulled votes mainly from liberal Democrats. Of Nader's 97,000 plus votes, there were at least 538 who would have voted for Al Gore had Nader not been on the ballot. Quite simply, Ralph Nader enabled George Bush to steal the 2000 election – and is therefore partly responsible for all the evil that followed.
In 2000, Nader based his campaign on the preposterous claim that there was no difference on the issues between Gore and Bush. This year, he's equally off base. On "Meet the Press," he told Tim Russert he decided to run because most Americans were disenchanted with candidates of the two major parties. Oh, really? What planet is poor Ralph living on? Doesn't he know that Democrats have turned out in record numbers in every one of this year's primaries? And does he really think he's more exciting than Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
Nader supporters argue it's important to offer voters more choices. And they make a good point. Even though there's a world of difference between this year's Republican and Democratic Party candidates, a third-party option, on the ballot in all 50 states, would be a great improvement to the present process – as long as it's headed by a serious candidate. Ralph Nader is not a serious candidate.
Which raises another interesting point: If Nader's goal is really to launch a viable third party, where has he been for the last 12 years? Where's the organization? Where's the important, day-to-day, political and legal operation necessary to build a third-party movement? There is none. Nader abandoned the Green Party, after twice hijacking their nomination. He only pops up every four years to get his name in the headlines and attack Democrats. He's already called Hillary Clinton a "panderer and a flatterer" and accused Barack Obama of being "pro-corporate" and flip-flopping on Israel.
This year, however, Nader's attacks on Democrats ring especially hollow because both Clinton and Obama agree with Nader on an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, universal health insurance, labor law reforms and action on global warming. So what's the point of a Nader candidacy? And if he feels so strongly about single-payer health insurance, why didn't he support Dennis Kucinich for president?
Ralph Nader's living in the past. The problem is he could, once again, destroy our future. True, the 2004 election was so lopsided his 0.38 percent of the vote made no difference. But, if it's close again this year, we could be looking at 2000 all over again. Nader could be the difference between a new direction for America and a continuation of the disastrous policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney.
Unfortunately, that doesn't concern Mr. Nader. He cares more about what's good for Ralph Nader than what's good for America.
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