Why support Nader?
Abookamongstthemany
Posts: 8,209
I see a few damn good reasons.
I got all this from a blog and wanted to share. Very interesting points for Nader and the usual points against. They won't attack his stances or address his claims against them (Obama and Clinton), of course...they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_O3MNJcls8
Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 02:23:00 PM
Washington, D.C. – Ralph Nader today threw his hat into the 2008 Presidential ring.
Nader announced his candidacy on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert.
At the same time, the Nader campaign launched a web site – votenader.org.
The campaign web site highlights twelve fundamental differences between the Nader campaign and the corporate Republicans and corporate Democrats.
In a letter posted on the campaign web site this morning, titled Civics Test, a group of Nader supporters ask:
"Of the following Presidential candidates – Ralph Nader, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain – which one supports a single payer, Canadian style, free choice, Medicare for all health care system?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one supports solar energy and would take nuclear power off the table?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would cut the huge bloated wasteful military budget?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would reverse U.S. Middle East policy in Israel/Palestine, Iraq and Iran?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would launch an aggressive crackdown on corporate crime and corporate welfare?
Answer: Again, only Ralph Nader."
A separate letter, titled "Mr Frugal," agrees that Hillary Clinton's campaign spending $3.8 million in January on one consultant alone was "stunning."
"Give our candidate – we call him Mr. Frugal – $3.8 million and he'll get us on the ballot all across this country," the letter reads.
The web site encourages people to join a Road Trip for Ralph – where volunteers will travel the country, getting Nader on the ballot in all fifty states.
On Meet the Press, Nader said that "dissent is the mother of assent."
Nader said people are feeling "locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected."
"You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts (for the wealthy)."
"In that context, I have decided to run for president," Nader told Russert.
Nader called Obama "the first liberal evangelist in a long time."
But Nader said that Obama is censoring his better instincts.
"Senator Obama's record has not been a challenging one," Nader said. "He's not been a Senator Wellstone or Senator Abourezk or Senator Metzenbaum by any means. He has leaned, if anything, more toward the pro-corporate side of policymaking. The issue is – do they have the moral courage? Do they have the fortitude to stand up against the corporate powers and get things done? Yes, get things done for the American people?"
Press
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7261670.stm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19274145
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/24/AR2008022400465.html?hpid=topnews
I got all this from a blog and wanted to share. Very interesting points for Nader and the usual points against. They won't attack his stances or address his claims against them (Obama and Clinton), of course...they wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_O3MNJcls8
Sunday, February 24, 2008 at 02:23:00 PM
Washington, D.C. – Ralph Nader today threw his hat into the 2008 Presidential ring.
Nader announced his candidacy on NBC's Meet the Press with Tim Russert.
At the same time, the Nader campaign launched a web site – votenader.org.
The campaign web site highlights twelve fundamental differences between the Nader campaign and the corporate Republicans and corporate Democrats.
In a letter posted on the campaign web site this morning, titled Civics Test, a group of Nader supporters ask:
"Of the following Presidential candidates – Ralph Nader, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain – which one supports a single payer, Canadian style, free choice, Medicare for all health care system?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one supports solar energy and would take nuclear power off the table?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would cut the huge bloated wasteful military budget?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would reverse U.S. Middle East policy in Israel/Palestine, Iraq and Iran?
Answer: Ralph Nader
Which one would launch an aggressive crackdown on corporate crime and corporate welfare?
Answer: Again, only Ralph Nader."
A separate letter, titled "Mr Frugal," agrees that Hillary Clinton's campaign spending $3.8 million in January on one consultant alone was "stunning."
"Give our candidate – we call him Mr. Frugal – $3.8 million and he'll get us on the ballot all across this country," the letter reads.
The web site encourages people to join a Road Trip for Ralph – where volunteers will travel the country, getting Nader on the ballot in all fifty states.
On Meet the Press, Nader said that "dissent is the mother of assent."
Nader said people are feeling "locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected."
"You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts (for the wealthy)."
"In that context, I have decided to run for president," Nader told Russert.
Nader called Obama "the first liberal evangelist in a long time."
But Nader said that Obama is censoring his better instincts.
"Senator Obama's record has not been a challenging one," Nader said. "He's not been a Senator Wellstone or Senator Abourezk or Senator Metzenbaum by any means. He has leaned, if anything, more toward the pro-corporate side of policymaking. The issue is – do they have the moral courage? Do they have the fortitude to stand up against the corporate powers and get things done? Yes, get things done for the American people?"
Press
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7261670.stm
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19274145
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/24/AR2008022400465.html?hpid=topnews
If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
i campaigned for nader in 2000. i too was one of those "im not being pushed into voting for the lesser of two evils" people. i also argued that gore and bush were both corporate whores that were essentially the same.
i was wrong, and i've regretted it ever since.
there was a huge difference between gore and bush. and i fucked up big time. dubya's presidency has exceeded my worst nightmares. i will not make that mistake again.
You weren't wrong. There wasn't much difference between the two in 2000 which was pre 9/11.
It's about having the courage to stand behind my ideals and not settle for the kinda stuff I rail against in an effort to vote against the Rep candidate de jour, essentially voting in fear. When will be a good time to take a stand for the things we truly believe in? What year will this be? We keep settling and we keep getting shit. If the Dems are good as some claim they are here, they shouldn't have a problem taking out McCain. If they don't, they can only blame themselves for being half-assed and phony. No one's keeping votes away from them but themselves. Any other excuse is a cop out.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
however, in 2000, i thought Nader getting into the debates would actually give him a shot at winning. in 2008, i think most people know who he is, and pretty much what he stands for, and i think it's too late for him - people are tired of him. he's isn't doing anything different than he's done. he sounds like a broken record, even tho that broken record is playing some good tunes.
That broken record is one of my favorites and if he stops playing it or we don't take up the torch and give it a spin...it will be forgotten. It needs to be played loudly and people need to stop being afraid to put it on.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
that's what i thought. and me and others like me helped cos the deaths of thousands of US soldiers becos we helped put a fucking cowboy in the white house by telling ourselves he wasn't different from the opposition (he was, we'd be a helluva lot better off today with al gore) and that there was room for idealism over pragmatism in this world (there isnt, life and politics are games of compromise).
dennis kucinich isn't far off from nader. the fact of the matter is, those ideals simply are not acceptable to the overwhelming majority of americans. the only question is how can you do the most good possible?
That's certainly your opinion to have. But I know you're smart enough to realize there would still be war with Gore or even Obama.
If we continue to support things we don't like then we will continue to be stuck with them.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
oh, it should definitely keep playing, but with a different singer.
Most Americans don't support elected officials who are controlled by corporate interests. Millions of them don't bother coming out to vote because of this, that and they're told their vote to any third party is a waste.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
there will be war as long as there is a human being in office leading other human beings. there would be war with ralph nader in office too. he cannot make it disappear with a wish and a prayer. they tried that in the 60s.
it's not a matter of supporting what i like and don't like, it's a matter of knowing what i can and cannot have some control over and trying to support the things that can actually make a difference for the better.
He's one of the only one's singing it right now and I don't see why he shouldn't.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
ah, you're one of them utilitarians my philosophy professors told me about.
Realistically, Nader will not win. He knows it. We know it. He's running because he's fighting the system. Mainstream America does not agree with his views.. unless Nader can somehow send out a radio signal that unbrainwashes them..
maybe he can be a backup singer?
i dunno, Mike Gravel might be trying to coalesce the third parties for a renewed presidential run, and as you know, i think that dude is rad.
not really sure how i'll be voting tho.
i dont think it's as simple or specific as that. millions of americans don't vote or are disenchanted with the process, but i think it runs far deeper than the perception of "corporate control." ignorance plays a large part. so does apathy. the government is so large and removed from their lives and impersonal that a lot of people don't feel it has anything to do with them. i heard it when i campaigned for nader. for every one person who told me i was throwing my vote away, or every one person who told me their vote was outweighed by corporate interests, there were 20 people who said voting didn't matter, period. and that's on a college campus.
You brought up the dead soldiers angle, not I. And frankly, I was a bit surprised.
So, we should all just give in because you and so many others are afraid of McCain still winning over a Dem? Why wouldn't a Dem be able to beat him in this current political climate? Only because they weren't good enough to get enough votes. And that's their problem.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
dennis kucinich?
How do you know what mainstream america agrees with?
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
I didn't say the only.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
I don't think it's that simple either but I do think it plays a huge part when so many see the govt working against our interests, not for them.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
not exactly. it's not a matter of ethics or preferences or moral worth. it's a matter of realism. in utilitarian terms, there is probably great benefit in campaigning for ralph nader. in realistic terms, he has no chance of winning so i'd just as soon divert my efforts to other areas.
Gravel's not too shabby. He's a fighter and I dig that about him. He's got a big heart.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
We make reality by our actions and our courage to stand behind our beliefs.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
you can do whatever you please. i just encourage you to consider the potential outcomes of your actions, since i regret the outcome of my own.
what surprises you about the soldiers comment?
i think that's the crux of my reluctance to accept your argument. i don't think the general perception is that government is working against our interests. i think the general perception is that government is totally out of touch with our interests and is thus unable to accomplish anything of significance to most people.
i admire your optimism. i wish i shared it.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Plenty of countries are NOT at war. I refuse to believe the insane argument you present. It's irrational and illogical.
One, because I know you view war as inevitable. Two, I thought we all got tired of the cons using the soldiers angle in the past and though yours is different, it's still rooted in fearmongering.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
They work in the interests of lobbyists and campaign contributors. And I think people see it happening. Do you really think Obama thinks nuclear power is 'green'?
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
If you wish it then share it and there it is.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde