Shawn Walker's Blog: Nader Part II: Defending my stance

March 01, 2004

Nader Part II: Defending my stance

I have to admit that I'm getting sick of people blaming Nader for Gore's loss or predicting that he will cause Bush to win a second term. Why doesn't anyone talk about the Democrats who voted for Bush. Isn't it the job of the Democratic Party to appeal to the voters. Apparently they did a bad job since Gore didn't win. The question is going to be if they can do a better job this time around.

I'm not saying that Nader and his issues appeal to most Americans. I don't consider myself to be in line with most Americans. That wasn't my point. My point is that I am happy he is running because he is talking about some issues that are important to me. I disagree that Nader's issues are going to be ignored. If media continues to talk about him, his issues are going to be in there somewhere. The effect might be small, but it is at least a start.

Of course I am being idealistic here! We are a society that aspires to great ideals -- freedom, equal rights, religious freedom, free speech, etc. The fact that we are not talking about ideals scares me. I am saddened by the fact that the top criteria for a candidate is now criteria. Anyone but Bush isn't a sexy battle cry for me. Yes, Bush does suck and I am definitely not his biggest fan.

Right now, Nader is not helping the Green party. The Green party is going to pick their candidate over the summer and Nader felt that it would be too late to get his name on the ballot some states. He has stated that his goal is to be on the ballot in all 50 states. So, even though I would love to see more then two parties, I hope that Nader will at least force some candidates to take a stance on at least a few of his 21 issues.

Wouldn't Nader be a non-issue if people would quite complaining?

Finally, I take issue with your statement that I have no understanding of politics. Politics is all about who gets what, when, where, and how. This is what I study. I've studied US foreign policy, preemption, homeland security, etc. There are very few things that are cut and dry or black and white in politics/policy. Do I think that Nader will win? No. But by the mere fact that he is running, he is changing the landscape of the election. Do I want to see Bush elected for another four years? Hell no! At the same time, I don't want just anyone to be our president.

Saying that you don't like Nader is fine. I am more then happy to participate in that debate. Criticizing someone for voting for Nader, Bush, etc. is not cool. The people who should be criticized are those who don't vote. If you don't vote, then you have no right to complain about the direction of our country. I support everyone voting... Even if they vote for Bush! If more of the population would vote, corporations would control less of our government. Bush is president because Gore didn't do a good job of appealing to voters and people didn't vote. If voters from Gore's own party would have voted for him instead of Bush, he would have easily won. This isn't about how Nader caused or is going to cause Bush to win. It is about the fact that BOTH PARTIES (Democratic and Republican) are doing a horrible job at appealing to voters. As a country, we are doing doing a pretty good job at playing dumb. We don't work to educate ourselves about what is going on in our country or the world. Since we are the ONLY SUPERPOWER, we have a duty to pull our heads out of the sand.

Posted by shawn at March 01, 2004 07:55 PM

Comments

"But by the mere fact that he is running, he is changing the landscape of the election."

the only thing he'll change is the fact that even more people will make fun of nader. he's only running because of his ego, and everyone knows it.

nader is being an ass right now, saying that both parties are exactly the same. i though that bush and gore were basically the same person during the 2000 election, and boy was i wrong. turns out little bush is a big flaming asshole. i'm going to vote democrat, because i want to do everything in my power to keep him from ruining everything for us. if you vote nader, knowing there is no chance for him to win, you are voting bush. it's as easy as that.

being idealistic about things just to look like you're progressive isn't cool. if you want to change the world, pick your battles. getting a third party recognized isn't something that can be done in this election. i'm all for an alternative party, but ralph nader is not the man who can rally the kind of support needed. i used to be idealistic about things like this (meaning back before the last election), but i realized it was pretty goddamned silly to think that a cranky old man like nader could do any good at all. when someone better comes along, who doesn't pander to the neo-hippies and college kids, i might change my stance.

Posted by: dave on March 3, 2004 11:04 AM

The election is never going to come down to one vote or even 1000 votes anyway (Don't even THINK about bringing up Florida because even if they counted EVERY single ballot that was thrown out for being indiscernible in Gore's favor, Bush would have STILL won), so voting for the Candidate that BEST represents your interests makes the most sense. If everyone rallied behind Kerry just to get Bush out of office, and no one voted for their ideal candidate, it would reinforce the notion that there can be no third party. If you want a third party, you've got to pay for it, and unless you plan on making a huge donation to said third party, the only currency you have is your vote.

That having been said, I am a pretty conservative person, and have in the past voted Republican, but Bush has gone off the deep end, and I cannot stomach him for another 4 years, so Kerry is more than likely going to get my vote. Does he represent my ideal candidate? No, not by a long shot. Am I fixing the problem in the short term? Yeh, probably. Sometimes you have to focus on the short term before you can look at the long term. Getting rid of Bush now prevents a HELL of a lot of long term problems, so when you think about it, I am focusing on the long term.

Posted by: David T on March 9, 2004 05:02 PM

i'm sticking with "this is not an election to vote like an asshat!"

OH NO I DIDN'T!!!

Posted by: dave on March 10, 2004 10:14 PM

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