1115.org

“[Nader running for president again is] an ego-centered exercise in futility. [Until the Green Party wins more local elections], wasting its time in races that are unwinnable only detracts from its message, its long-term goals and current accomplishments.” –Larry Barnett, Green Party member and former mayor of Sonoma, California

We all remember his rallying cries from 2000.

“There’s no difference between Democrats and Republicans”
“We’re trying to build a party”

How’s that working out for you Ralph?

Anyone with a brain can see that things would be a whole lot different (whether better or worse is certainly arguable) had Al Gore carried the electoral vote in addition to the popular vote. Now that he is running as an independent rather than a Green, he can’t even lay claim to building a party.

All he has are platitudes which he spouted at will on Meet the Press Sunday morning. With phrases like: “liberal intelligentsia”, “corporate pornography”, “corporate paymasters”, “corporate government”, “corporate-occupied territory”, he sounds like the egomaniacal kook that he is.

Here’s the key bit of insanity (or disingenuousness):

MR. RUSSERT:  Having watched George W. Bush for a year, do you believe an Al Gore presidency would have been any different?

MR. NADER:  Well, it wouldn’t have been any different in terms of military and foreign policy.

MR. RUSSERT:  Do you believe that Al Gore would have invaded Iraq?

MR. NADER:  He would have.

And then:

What they’re doing is basically saying that third parties are a second-class citizenship

Third parties are second-class. They haven’t put the work in that the major parties have, and Nader goes on vacation for 3 years in between Presidential elections. Put in the work. Spend the money. Tailor you message to more than the fringes. That’s how you build a party.

While I’d rather Nader sat this one out, I have enough faith in the left that they won’t get fooled twice in a row. Last weekend I had breakfast with an old friend and some other people who all happened to be Howard Dean campaign workers. At that point they had come to the realization that Dean was going to drop out and that it was a good idea for him to do so. I asked them if they and the other Dean people would fall in line with the Democrats or look to Nader (who hadn’t announced yet) or another candidate. To their immense credit, they all said that they would be working their asses off to get the Democratic nominee elected.

I won’t be losing any sleep over Nader’s run this time. He won’t even be in sight of making a difference in the vote or the issues.