Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
My apologies to my Green friends, but your leader is delusional.
ASHINGTON, Jan. 9 — He is sounding like a presidential candidate again, charging the Bush administration with "messianic militarism and subservient corporatism," and the Democrats with soft-pedaling liberal policies that were once mainstays of their party.
Three years after the election in which Democrats say he cost Al Gore the White House, Ralph Nader is considering another campaign, and says he will decide shortly.
At this point, Mr. Nader said in an interview this week, a run depends only on his ability to collect enough money and volunteers to mount a credible effort. Otherwise, he said, he has a zillion reasons to go ahead — including, he insists, that doing so would be good for the Democrats.
"But you've got to have money, and you've got to have volunteers," he said, though declining to specify the levels he would need of each. "The verdict is still out, but I'll decide by the end of the month."
Four years ago, he said he was running for president because he believed that the major-party nominees, Mr. Gore and George W. Bush, were virtually indistinguishable and that the parties were too cozy with corporate America. Now Mr. Nader, 69, says he has seen enough of Mr. Bush's administration to make defeating him and ending Republican control of Congress the chief goals. And those goals are more achievable, he says, if he joins the race.
Posted by P6 at January 10, 2004 09:23 AM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2798I believe that Nader has ruled out running as a Green and would run as an independent so I would be surprised if he was still the "leader" of the Green party. But I don't know what die-hard members of the Green Party think so I may be wrong about that.
The main reason for Nader to run, in my view, is if Kucinich, Sharpton, and Moseley Braun dropped out. In that case, there would be no genuinely progressive candidate in the race and I would fully support Nader's right to run in order to speak up for progressive views (whether or not I would vote for him is an entirely different question).
I'm not sure how much longer Moseley Braun will be able to stay in the race because she's failed to get on the ballot in a number of states including New York, Ohio, and Texas. However, as long as Kucinich and Sharpton pick up some delegates they have every reason to stay in the race until the convention or as long as they have money.
That implies (from my point of view) that Nader should wait until the summer. But if he's going to make a run of it then, he has to start building his organization ahead of time. That's exactly what he appears to be doing.
I think he's stretching it by saying that his run would help Democrats, but as the article notes, politicians say a lot of ridiculous things as they position themselves so I don't pay too much attention to it.
I guess the Republicans are owed a ringer since Ross screwed them over in 1992, although you could argue that Nader already did that in 2000.