The Nader Card

Posted on | February 24, 2004 | 2 Comments

So, you all know by now that Ralph Nader has decided to run once again. To which I say, so what?
The only harm I see coming from this is that he provides the Democrats with a convenient scapegoat. If he gets even 50 votes in each state they will use him as an excuse – they didn’t lose the election because of their weak candidate, or their poor campaign, or their unpopular platform…nope, they will have lost because there was a ‘spoiler’ in the race.
We live in a country where anyone who meets two criteria can run for office – born in America at least 35 years ago – and have a chance of winning. How great is that? We have been limited in a very real way to only two viable choices in each Presidential election for a very long time. There are pros and cons to that situation, but I tend to think we would get better choices if we got more choices.
Currently, a good many votes are cast not for a candidate but against his opponent (witness the current “anybody but Bush” meme) I have yet to meet any thinking Democrats who are excited about any of their choices, and there are a great many Republics who have been disappointed in some of W’s actions (spending, spending, spending).
Does this mean there is a chance I’ll be voting for Kerry/Edwards/Nader…anyone but Bush? Not a chance. I’ve never been a single issue voter and, on the majority of issues, Bush wins – hands down.

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