[Peace-discuss] Response to Nader interview

[Ricky Baldwin]

I understand from some of the Greens that Cobb is
filing for write-in status.  Maybe some of the Greens
on this list (Ken?) can verify that it is happening --
or, more importantly, when it has been done?

Otherwise, I think Randall is exactly right.  Three
cheers for democracy.

Ricky 
--- Randall Cotton <recotton at earthlink.net> wrote:

> For what it's worth, I just checked with "Debbie" at
> the Champaign County
> Clerk's office and I was told that while it's
> possible to write in a
> candidate for president, it's not even counted
> unless that person files for
> write-in candidacy with the County. There are two
> people who've done this
> (didn't recognize them), but Nader hasn't so far
> (neither has Cobb, for that
> matter). On a separate call to "Rhonda", I verified
> it's still possible to
> file for write-in candidacy (deadline is October
> 26th, one week before the
> election), so maybe Nader will do that. But if he
> doesn't file, writing him
> in will be pointless - it won't even be recorded and
> will have precisely the
> same effect as if you had not voted for president at
> all.
> 
> R
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Morton K.Brussel" <brussel4 at insightbb.com>
> To: <peace-discuss at lists.cu.groogroo.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2004 10:27 PM
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] Response to Nader interview
> 
> 
> [Apropos of my previous comment and after listening
> to a bitter and ego
> ridden Nader on Democracy Now! yesterday, I append
> the following
> article for your consideration. mkb]
> 
> 
> Published on Wednesday, October 6, 2004 by
> CommonDreams.org
> 
>   It’s All About Bush
> by John Stauber
> 
> Ralph Nader has been publicly complaining because
> the overwhelming
> majority of those of us whom he asked to be his
> formal endorsers in
> 2000 have united this year to support John Kerry in
> swing states.
> 
>   A list of the seventy-five Nader 2000 Citizens
> Committee members now
> urging support for Kerry is online at our website  .
> It includes
> Barbara Ehrenreich, Phil Donahue, Jim Hightower,
> Susan Sarandon, Noam
> Chomsky, Ben Cohen, Peter Coyote, Granny D, Manning
> Marable, Bonnie
> Raitt, Tim Robbins, Studs Terkel, Rabbi Michael
> Lerner, Eddie Vedder,
> Cornel West and Howard Zinn.
> 
>   In an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now
> Nader dismissed us
> as having suffered “a total loss of nerve.” In the
> past he’s called us
> “scared liberals.” Sorry Ralph, but the reality is
> that this election
> is a referendum on George Bush. In the real world
> the only way to dump
> Bush is to mobilize voters for Kerry in swing
> states, and that is our
> goal. Other than John Kerry, Ralph Nader could do
> the most to defeat
> Bush if he were willing to help lead a united front
> against him, but he
> is not.
> 
>   We who were the Nader 2000 Citizens Committee
> obviously have huge
> disagreements with Kerry on Iraq and other issues.
> But this election is
> not about Ralph Nader or John Kerry, it’s about
> getting rid of George
> Bush and ending the far-right domination of all
> branches of the federal
> government.
> 
>   The world changed after 9/11 when the Bush
> administration exploited
> that horrific attack for political and ideological
> purposes, using it
> as an opportunity to launch an unjustified and
> frankly stupid
> first-strike war against Iraq. Sheldon Rampton and I
> have documented in
> our books “Banana Republicans” and “Weapons of Mass
> Deception” how the
> Bush administration has set a tone and enacted
> measures undermining our
> liberties. Bush and Cheney are pursuing a reckless
> and deadly foreign
> policy of war and empire that has turned the world’s
> outpouring of
> sympathy after 9/11 into a deep fear and loathing of
> America.
> 
>   Much of the leadership of the Democratic Party —
> including Kerry and
> Edwards — rubber stamped the actions of the
> Republicans in going to war
> in Iraq and in undermining civil liberties. Led by
> the right-wing media
> echo chamber at Fox TV and on talk radio, the
> mainstream corporate
> media became cheerleaders for Bush’s war on Iraq.
> The Republicans
> brilliantly used their march to war to win control
> of both houses of
> the Congress in 2002. For the first time since 1932
> the Republicans now
> control the Supreme Court, the Congress, the Senate
> and the White
> House. They also control most governorships and
> state legislatures.
> 
>   Those of us who were Ralph Nader’s official
> endorsers in 2000 have no
> illusions about John Kerry, the Democratic Party, or
> our need to
> mobilize and organize for fundamental social and
> political change here
> in the United States. We believe that the first step
> to progressive
> change is uniting to defeat George Bush and Dick
> Cheney. On November
> 2nd we Americans will have our only opportunity to
> remove Bush from
> office. If we fail to stop Bush, we will send a loud
> message around the
> world that the American people support and ratify
> what the Bush regime
> has done. November 2nd is people’s impeachment day
> in America and the
> choice is simple. The only vote that will work to
> remove George Bush is
> a vote for John Kerry in battleground states.
> 
>   Ralph Nader made a strategic mistake in running
> this year for
> president. To date he has primarily divided green
> voters and spent most
> of his time and energy attacking Democrats or his
> former allies. I
> spoke with Ralph a year ago and asked him not to run
> but rather to lead
> a movement to defeat Bush and end Republican
> domination by supporting
> the Democratic nominee. He replied, "If I did that,
> they would ignore
> me. I would get no attention."
> 
>   Ralph Nader denies that his candidacy helps Bush,
> but Republicans,
> Democrats and most political analysts agree that it
> does. The October
> 4, 2004 Zogby poll concluded “there is little doubt
> that Ralph Nader is
> hurting Kerry.” It is true that Democratic party
> leaders are conducting
> a widespread and often unethical campaign to keep
> Nader off state
> ballots. This ham-fisted effort led by former
> Monsanto executive and
> lobbyist Toby Moffett has gained the Nader candidacy
> sympathy in the
> press and bolstered the resolve of Nader supporters
> to vote for Ralph.
> 
>   The situation will no doubt get uglier as the
> election nears and Ralph
> Nader and the Green Party candidate David Cobb stump
> for votes in swing
> states. It is important that we keep one goal in
> sight, rejecting
> George Bush. I urge everyone who like me lives in a
> battleground state
> to help defeat of George Bush by pulling the lever
> for John Kerry.
> 
>   John Stauber (info at vote2stopbush.org) is a
> co-founder of
> http://www.vote2stopbush.org/ and the co-author of
> five books including
> Banana Republicans, Weapons of Mass Deception, Mad
> Cow USA and Toxic
> Sludge is Good For You. These are his personal views
> and not those of
> any organization with which he is affiliated.
> 
> 
>
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