Ralph Nader is in it!
UPDATE -- LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL:
"...Does He Deserve to Be Heard? Yes"
On Meet the Press this morning, Ralph Nader declared his candidacy.
If Mr. Nader is the nominee of the Green Party, I intend to support him 100% regardless of the slogans and hacks packaged, advertised, and sold in million-dollar TV ads by the "One-Corporate-Party-With-Two-Names."
Alex Walker
Los Angeles Greens
Posted on America Online, February 24, 2008.
Ralph Nader Enters Presidential Race
WASHINGTON (Feb. 24) - Ralph Nader said Sunday he will run for president as a third-party candidate, criticizing the top White House contenders as too close to big business and pledging to repeat a bid that will "shift the power from the few to the many."
Nader, 73, said most people are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties due to a prolonged Iraq war and a shaky economy. The consumer advocate also blamed tax and other corporate-friendly policies under the Bush administration that he said have left many lower- and middle-class people in debt.
"You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected," he said. "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."
"In that context, I have decided to run for president," Nader told NBC's "Meet the Press."
Nader also criticized Republican candidate John McCain and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton for failing to support full Medicare for all or cracking down on Pentagon waste and a "bloated military budget. He blamed that on corporate lobbyists and special interests, which he said dominate Washington, D.C., and pledged in his third-party campaign to accept donations only from individuals.
"The issue is do they have the moral courage, do they have the fortitude to stand up to corporate powers and get things done for the American people," Nader said. "We have to shift the power from the few to the many."
. . .
UPDATE -- LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL:
"...Does He Deserve to Be Heard? Yes"
Hey, America, want to hear some secrets the mainstream media and political parties have been keeping from you? There's a war going on in Iraq; President Bush passed some tax cuts a while back that, combined with undisciplined spending, have contributed to a ballooning national debt; and apparently the price of oil has really started to degrade the nation's energy situation.
These are some of the obscure issues that Ralph Nader, announcing his presidential candidacy on Sunday, promised to drag out of the shadows. It's an interesting demonstration of why he'll have a tough time mounting even a message-sending campaign this year, but also of why he's a welcome addition to the race.
. . .
Anti-Naderists will argue that he doesn't need to win to do damage; he merely needs to draw Democratic votes. If he should succeed in doing that, though, more power to him. Anybody who expects to become president of the United States had better be prepared to face tougher adversaries than Ralph Nader.
This is about as close as we'll get to a nod from the MSM. If anything, it's a sign of how bad things are under the Democrat-Republican duopoly.
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An email was just sento the NC list saying that Nader would seek the Green Party nomination. If that's true, we might see a huge silver lining to what some will see as a cloud. Namely, we would have our first true and properly contested nomination. Provided we can pull it off civily, it could consititute a major step forward in our maturity.
Here's what I see as the first step: we all need to commit to supporting the eventual nominee, whoever that should turn out to be. I will promise to do so. Who else?
To read it, just click here.
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I've commented on this extensively at ThirdPartyWatch.com and Ballot-Access.org but it's good to know what the GP grassroots are thinking too. My impression is that the Nader HQ has heard loud & clear that the GP grassroots would welcome Ralph if he goes for the GP nomination & would get excited about the possibility of 2000 Part II, and would by and large get quite angry if he pulls a 2004. That is a lot of people, a lot of institutional knowledge, a lot of experience, and a lot of hands, brains, & feet to piss off. No one loves the Ralphster more than I do, but I'm begging him.....RALPH DON'T RUN....AS AN INDEPENDENT.
Demogreens to the fore! Maybe we can get the Cobbites to sabotage the party again and REALLY drive it into the ground.
I don't see it here. In fact, think many of us are excited about the McKinney campaign, and also hoping that a Nader run would be a Green run. The prospect of a contested campaign between two actually qualified candidates has some of us excited.
Indeed, it would seem that you are the only person bashing at this point, but not Nader, but Cobb and his supporters.
I believe, and have for four years, that the Cobb campaign was a mistake from day 1. Even so, I voted for the Green Party, which means that my vote was counted for Cobb/LaMarche.
I was the one who posted your comment. Like several folks here, I have the opportunity to review and publish or delete posts from non-members. Unless they are outrageous, I publish them. I would encourage you though to see this not as a haven for Nader Haters, but for Green Party lovers. We have far too much to do to spend much time giving each other crap for who we supported in 2004.
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Criticism of a given behavior is far more credible when it's not accompanied by that very behavior.
Folks, we have a lot to talk about this election season. Let's set the bar high for the level of discourse on this site. Let's talk about facts, not innuendo; logic, not name-calling; and values, not personal attacks. Politics as a cutthroat game is part of the paradigm we're trying to replace.
From all the "I'm Quitting the Green Party" and "Let's all support Obama / McKinney" demogreen posts, I see I'm wrong.
But no. You're right. Lets all pretend 2004 didn't happen and keep supporting the Democrats and maybe, just maybe, they'll make nicey-nice and let a tame Green on a Parks and Recreation Board. Somewhere. Someday.
After all, I wouldn't want to upset anybody.
but we try to be nice to each other, that's all. :-)
I have seen exactly two posts over the last few years here from people picking up their marbles and going home. There may have been more, but not that many. There certainly have been those here who oppose cooperation with Democratic Party Officialdom, such as Progressive Democrats of America.
Perhaps you should read a bit more before deciding who and what we are. I use my real name. Most all the rest have their real names attached to their profiles. When you slam us all as "Cobbites" and imply that we are closeted Democrats you are insulting us as individuals. I know that I don't deserve to be treated this way by someone I have never heard of, and don't know a single person here who is ready to join up with the Democrats or try to keep Nader off the ballot. Many of us would love to see him run for the Green nomination.
You ain't upset nobody Alan. Opinions are free. No one is stopping you from expressing yours.
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UPDATE -- LOS ANGELES TIMES EDITORIAL:
"...Does He Deserve to Be Heard? Yes"
(Read More in Updated Blog Post)