I can hear the bluster already. Ralph Nader's run for the Presidency will elicit one of two immediate responses:
"Thanks a lot, sucker!" from the Republicans
"You egotistical bastard!" from the Democrats
Surely, it isn't as simple as that, as the Terry McAuliffes, Ed Gillespies, Mark Racicots, and Bill Richardsons want us to think. What about...
"Hooray!" from voters who want more choices and do not want the status quo.
Will Nader be the spoiler that many partisans predict? Who knows, but what's also interesting is that another person, Roy Moore, is considering and/or being courted for a non-Dem/GOP Presidential run. "Big deal," you're thinking, "Who the hell is Roy Moore?" Roy Moore is the Alabama judge that tried to erect a stone slab of the ten commandments on state "no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship" property. There are a lot of conservative, Christian, constitutionalists out there who are upset with the Bush Administration's attack on civil liberties, expansion of federal goverment, and increased federal spending. If Roy Moore is tapped for a third-party run, will the media paint him as a spoiler, too? Of course! What else would you expect from the corporate-run duopoly?
For an interesting point of view on third-party / independent candidates, see John Nichols' most recent column of The Online Beat.
I encourage Roy Moore's run for the White House. I hope that the Constitution Party recruits him aggressively, and I hope Moore accepts. I state this not because I want him to draw votes away from Bush to even out the siphoning that Nader may do to Kerry or Edwards. I support it because it would make for a great national debate. Four candidates, two in the middle and two away from center, will give the American people a nice spectrum of ideas to hear and from which to choose.
Now, of course, we know how difficult it is for third-party or independent candidates to get involved in the Presidential Debates, but that's a whole other blog entry...
"Thanks a lot, sucker!" from the Republicans
"You egotistical bastard!" from the Democrats
Surely, it isn't as simple as that, as the Terry McAuliffes, Ed Gillespies, Mark Racicots, and Bill Richardsons want us to think. What about...
"Hooray!" from voters who want more choices and do not want the status quo.
Will Nader be the spoiler that many partisans predict? Who knows, but what's also interesting is that another person, Roy Moore, is considering and/or being courted for a non-Dem/GOP Presidential run. "Big deal," you're thinking, "Who the hell is Roy Moore?" Roy Moore is the Alabama judge that tried to erect a stone slab of the ten commandments on state "no preference shall be given by law to any religious sect, society, denomination, or mode of worship" property. There are a lot of conservative, Christian, constitutionalists out there who are upset with the Bush Administration's attack on civil liberties, expansion of federal goverment, and increased federal spending. If Roy Moore is tapped for a third-party run, will the media paint him as a spoiler, too? Of course! What else would you expect from the corporate-run duopoly?
For an interesting point of view on third-party / independent candidates, see John Nichols' most recent column of The Online Beat.
I encourage Roy Moore's run for the White House. I hope that the Constitution Party recruits him aggressively, and I hope Moore accepts. I state this not because I want him to draw votes away from Bush to even out the siphoning that Nader may do to Kerry or Edwards. I support it because it would make for a great national debate. Four candidates, two in the middle and two away from center, will give the American people a nice spectrum of ideas to hear and from which to choose.
Now, of course, we know how difficult it is for third-party or independent candidates to get involved in the Presidential Debates, but that's a whole other blog entry...
posted by Brian at 7:24 PM
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