[Newspoetry] Re: Democrats Worry About Nader Factor - AP

[Mike Lehman]

My Comments and Editing below:
Comrade Mike

> Jeff Boy sent:
> 
>  Published on Saturday, August 12, 2000 by the Associated Press
>  Democrats Worry About Nader Factor
>  by Ron Fournier
> 
>  LOS ANGELES-

SNIP

>  Nader is not a threat to win the presidency – registering around 5
>  percent in national polls – but the consumer activist could siphon
>  votes from Gore and tilt several battleground states toward
>  Republican George W. Bush, according to a number of delegates at
>  Gore's own convention.

>  "Right now, it's a very sexy story because there has not been a
>  challenge to our party's unity in some time. I don't think most
>  people in Pennsylvania even know who Ralph Nader is," said Nick
>  Colafella, a state representative from Beaver, Pa.

This assumes that Nader's people are actually fallen-away Democrats. I
would suggest that a lot of Nader's support is from folks like me that
have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate (a continuous,
desperate lack of vision the main reason) or who have previously
dismissed the very act of voting as conceding the legitimacy of the
present system.

I believe the real future of peaceful, democratic (small "d") politics
is the majority that doesn't vote because of their disgust with the
system. The "New Democrats" fear that as much as the Bush folks.

Think of it this way---you don't have to buy very much champagne if you
only invite the select few to your victory party;>)

BTW, the alternate vision IS revolution at some point, as the corruption
of the system becomes apparent to the ever-growing, increasingly
marginalized majority. I prefer a peaceful transition to a just society,
but there are still those few that delude themselves that they can
continue to extract wealth from most of us, and hope to continue doing
so, by counting on political-military institutions and solutions to
suppress the inevitable, building reaction.

SNIP

>  Nader is campaigning on the cheap, too, though he says he will air
>  $5 million in TV ads. And his name may not be on all 50 state
>  ballots.

They are desperate to keep him off the ballot here in Illinois, a state
which is a poster child for government reform. Neither the Dems or Reps
offers much above the local level for any voter truly concerned with
making government more responsive, open, or honest.

>  Targeting Nader voters, Gore recently adopted a populist
>  us-vs.-them economic riff in his stump speech and is stressing his
>  environmental record on several campaign stops, including one
>  Saturday in Pittsburgh.

Totally a fake and a losing strategy, except for the fact of an
uncritical press that confines itself to thinking inside the box. Will
the public be taken in or cough this up like the hairball it truly is?
 
>  "One of two men – Al Gore or George Bush – is going to become
>  president and only one of them, Al Gore, shares the ideals and
>  issues of progressive voters," said Gore spokesman Chris Lehane.

A total joke, unless you simply want to hope to say that you voted for a
winner. If you choose to vote that way, rather than on on principle, be
prepared to swalllow your principles in both the long and short runs,
even assuming Gore should win.

>  In Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington state and
>  Wisconsin – all battleground states – recent polls show Nader
>  tipping the balance to Bush. With help from Nader's 8 percent
>  showing, Bush has closed the gap in California, a must-win state
>  for Gore, according to last week's poll by Public Policy
>  Institute.
> 
>  The survey's director said Nader's support is clearly coming from
>  Gore, with the vice president getting only half of all liberal
>  voters. By contrast, Bush is supported by nine of 10 conservative
>  voters.

A very good example of how Gore's new-found "progressivism" is failing
to click with those who really know what the definition of progressive
is.

>  Democratic consultant Bill Carrick said Nader's appeal on the West
>  Coast is limited to white urban liberals – mostly older than 50 –
>  who will eventually side with Gore if the race is close. Those
>  voters know that supporting Nader would help elect Bush and "they
>  will vote with their heads, not their hearts," he said.

That's what they hope-they fear that Nader's appeal could quickly bloom
into a force that will either call on all real Democrats to question the
corporate takeover of their national and most state parties
OR
it would result in the dissolution of the traditional Dem coalitions as
a unsettled period of politics sets in that could precede a fundamental
reordering of politics in the US in this new century.

>  Concern about Gore's commitment to environmental issues is driving
>  the Nader boomlet in California, Oregon and Washington state.
> 
>  "I've talked with some Democrats who feel the Democratic Party is
>  letting them down on the environment and other issues," said
>  Roxanna Swann, a 64-year-old retiree from Baker City, Ore.

Gore's (and Clinton's) environmental record (as opposed to the rhetoric)
=next to nothing. Don't ask about the record on labor issues...

>  In the industrial Midwest, analysts say Nader has benefited from
>  the cooling of Gore's relationship with labor.

"OK, you had to ask... well, you know, we really appreciate labor's
support and, someday, we'll throw you a bone to chew on. You weren't
really expecting us to do anything other than cash your check? After
all, this is America, and labor is last in line and we haven't got to
the end of the line yet now, have we? So don't be so pushy and don't
even think of picketing our convention- after all, we could only find
enough union musicians to play at three of our more than 90 parties. If
you folks can't handle it, the 'market will have to speak'."

>  He also seems to be
>  picking up the protest vote from people craving government reform.
> 
>  "Ralph Nader is talking about things we all want to hear talked
>  about," said Pocan, mentioning campaign finance reform.

If the media would report the very real, day-to-day nature of our
corrupt political finance system, we might get somewhere. But they'd
sure hate to violate the civil rights of all those big campaign
contributors.

If the media only had the attitude about our corrupt politics like that
of a Philadelphia cop, those folks would at least be behind bars where
they wouldn't cause any more trouble until after the election.
Unfortunately, the wrong folks get locked up, as usual, in our society.

>  Like Carrick in California, Midwest analysts say they suspect
>  Nader will fade.
> 
>  "Historically, the third- and fourth-party candidates tend to be
>  stronger in the summer than the fall," said David Rohde, political
>  science professor at Michigan State University. Even so, he said
>  Nader is a threat.

They really, really hope he fades, thus hatchet-job articles like this,
instead of an article examining Nader's stand on the issues in
comparison to the Bush/Gore duopoly.

>  "The conventional wisdom says the race will tighten up in
>  Michigan. If that happens, every vote Nader gets could be
>  consequential," Rohde said.
> 
>  If she hadn't committed to Gore in February, Democratic delegate
>  Julia Munoz Bradford says she would vote for Nader.
> 
>  "He's not giving me the wishy-washy, soft feeling," said the
>  42-year-old Port Orchard, Wash., educator. "Nader has been around
>  a long time and he's passionate."
> 
>  "Nader is well-respected," said delegate Anthony Nunoz of Pueblo,
>  Colo. "I'm not happy that he's running and taking votes away from
>  Gore,"
> 
>  "Votes for Nader could put Bush in the White House," said Bill
>  Neiman, a high school history teacher from Kenosha, Wis. "It's a
>  sobering thought for even die-hard Nader supporters."

I'll take my chances. The Reagan years were very good years for
progressive organizing-the enemy was clearly defined, rather than
sleeping with us. I would hate to fall asleep with Gore at the wheel of
my future.

Once again, someone makes the assumption that MY vote should be for
Gore, they claim, if I really care about what happens next.

I'll stick to my principles, thank you. So far they've gotten me through
Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr. and Clinton. I'll continue to
count on that, rather than a one-time trip to the polling booth, in the
future.

Besides, if you put up a candidate that walks, talks and smells like a
Republican, AGAINST a Republican, should it really surprise you when all
the propaganda for your candidate only reinforces the vote for the
Republican, leading to the defeat of your candidate?

We have a saying back home in Indiana, "When the sow makes her bed,
she'll have to sleep in it." For those unfamiliar with the ways of
domestic animals and thinking this was a sexist comment of some sort, it
isn't. It merely reflects the grim reality of the impending birth. Gore
has already chosen who he would consort with; it ain't us, so don't
blame us when the litter doesn't take a blue ribbon at the county fair.