The LNS apologizes to those who feel it is best to simply
ignore the-shell-of-a-man-formerly-known-as-Ralph-Nader, but this outrage cannot simply be ignored...The next person to sit in the Oval Office, whether duly elected
or re-installed, will probably name a Chief Justice
for the Supreme Court, and possibly as many as two or
three other Justices...Here is an update on
the-shell-of-a-man-formerly-known-as-Ralph-Nader and
his betratyal of all that is good...
Joe Conason, New York Observer: Tens of thousands of dollars from major Bush donors are pouring into Mr. Nader's coffers, and he is using that money to pay for petition signatures that will get him on the ballot in swing states. The American Prospect reports that
earlier this year, Mr. Nader's aides solicited a
California company that usually performs such tasks
for Republican candidates.
In Arizona, a former Christian Coalition staffer
circulated the Nader petitions along with an
anti-immigration initiative. (The resulting petitions
were so riddled with error and alleged fraud that they
were thrown out by the state authorities.) In Florida,
the G.O.P. chairwoman (who answers to Governor Jeb
Bush, the President's brother) demanded that Democrats
drop any legal effort to disqualify the Nader
candidacy.
And in Oregon, where Mr. Nader recently became a
featured guest on right-wing radio, two conservative
organizations phoned their members to urge their
attendance at a state petitioning convention in
Portland. Leaders of Citizens for a Sound Economy and
the Oregon Family Council explained bluntly that they
have no use for Mr. Nader -- except as an instrument
to siphon votes from John Kerry.
Restore the Timeline, Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=17245
Nader returns, with G.O.P. help
If Nader movement in 2000 meant something, in 2004
it's become farce
You don't have to be a Marxist to remember what may be
the most widely quoted (and misquoted) passage from
the works of Karl Marx: "Hegel says somewhere that all
great events and personalities in world history
reappear in one way or another. He forgot to add: the
first time as tragedy, the second as farce."
During his long, legendary career on the left, Ralph
Nader must have read or heard versions of that
quotation on many occasions. Now, as he resumes his
impossible quest with the open assistance of
Republicans and conservatives, he is acting out Marx's
maxim.
"Tragedy" may or may not describe what happened in
2000, when the Nader candidacy drew enough votes from
Al Gore in Florida and New Hampshire to deprive the
Democratic nominee of victory. But to hear his
impassioned rhetoric, Mr. Nader believes that the Bush
administration's selling and renting of national
policy to corporate interests is tragic indeed.
"Farce" aptly describes what is happening in 2004, at
least so far as the latest Nader candidacy is
concerned. Perhaps pining for the crowds and acclaim
he evoked so well in Crashing the Party, his memoir of
his last campaign, the consumer advocate and youth
idol announced that he will run again this year, no
matter the consequences.
Then, to his dismay, Mr. Nader discovered that
three-plus years of the Bush-Cheney regime have
concentrated the minds of many of his erstwhile
supporters. The first to abandon his cause were
celebrities like Michael Moore, who declared his
preference for retired general Wesley Clark last fall
and urges current visitors to his Web site to devote
themselves to electing Democrats in November.
(According to Mr. Nader, he wasn't even invited to the
Washington premiere of Mr. Moore's blockbuster movie,
Fahrenheit 9/11. His response was an embittered open
letter to his "old friend" that made sport of the
filmmaker's waist size.)
The defection of Mr. Moore anticipated the rejection
of the Nader candidacy last month by the Green Party,
whose leaders also seem to be familiar with that old
Marx quip. Rather than renominate their 2000
candidate, they put up an unknown whose chief campaign
promise is that he won't hamper the Democratic
Presidential candidate. The Natural Law Party also
displayed little enthusiasm for Mr. Nader.
These developments are worse than embarrassing, since
they have deprived Mr. Nader of easy ballot access in
dozens of states where the Greens have earned a
November line. Meanwhile, Democratic officials in
various states are seeking to keep him off the ballot
by challenging the validity of his petitions (in much
the same way that Mr. Bush tried to keep his rivals
off the New York primary ballot in 2000).
Yet although the prospects for Mr. Nader are quickly
shrinking, his would-be rescuers are already revealing
themselves. The new Naderites include the strange
Manhattan therapy cult that now dominates the Reform
Party, which will provide ballot access in some states
after endorsing him in a teleconference call last May.
He can also count on at least one group of activists
who are absolutely determined to see him succeed:
right-wing Republicans.
Tens of thousands of dollars from major Bush donors
are pouring into Mr. Nader's coffers, and he is using
that money to pay for petition signatures that will
get him on the ballot in swing states. The American
Prospect reports that earlier this year, Mr. Nader's
aides solicited a California company that usually
performs such tasks for Republican candidates.
In Arizona, a former Christian Coalition staffer
circulated the Nader petitions along with an
anti-immigration initiative. (The resulting petitions
were so riddled with error and alleged fraud that they
were thrown out by the state authorities.) In Florida,
the G.O.P. chairwoman (who answers to Governor Jeb
Bush, the President's brother) demanded that Democrats
drop any legal effort to disqualify the Nader
candidacy.
And in Oregon, where Mr. Nader recently became a
featured guest on right-wing radio, two conservative
organizations phoned their members to urge their
attendance at a state petitioning convention in
Portland. Leaders of Citizens for a Sound Economy and
the Oregon Family Council explained bluntly that they
have no use for Mr. Nader -- except as an instrument
to siphon votes from John Kerry.
Reluctant to leave the national stage, Nader has
accepted a bit part in a farce written and directed by
the corporate politicians he affects to despise. That
is a kind of tragedy, too.