Nader: "Democratic Party Should Live Up to Its Name"

Sounds as if you have known a lot of idiots.

More to the point, how is Nader like that? Because he split from the Green Party? Because he has a big ego? I don't think you can argue that he is really a Democrat.

 

Rimbaud, Nader never was a member of the Green Party. He refused to join. He just accepted their nomination to run.

 

I didn't say he was a member, I said he split from them. He was their nomination two elections in a row and promoted their platform. Now he is on his own. Too bad the Greens are actually more support-worthy than him alone.

 

Precisely. When I proudly cast my presidential vote for the Green Party candidate the last two times around, I really didn't feel like I was voting for Ralph Nader. I was excited to be participating in a nascent movement. I was an active party member and a financial supporter.

Today I would just as soon vote for Lyndon LaRouche as Ralph Nader. I have no idea what he's doing in this race. (What he says he's doing Dennis Kucinich already did - Al Sharpton, too.)

 

Rimbaud, my point was that Nader reminded me of some academics as even the Green Party was not pure enough for him to actually join. .

I really can't think of any Green Party stands on issues I disagree with. Most seem mild enough to me. I just think you have to have some sophistication regarding tactics. Knowing some history of third party politics is helpful, too. Most Greens don't seem to know too much about that. As I see it most progressies are still in the Democrtic Party. It is hard to start a progressive party without minorities and organized labor. If IMHO their misguided tactics in 2000 brought us Dubya and the Iraq War.

I basically disagree on whether it is harder to start a third party or to remake the Demo Party. Both jobs are very hard. Given the attachment of minorities and organized workers to the Democrats, American tradition, the winner take all system I'm inclined to go with retaking the Demorats.

With David Cobb, who I've met and who is from Houston, leading the way, the Greens seem like they are becoming more wise about tactics.

Who knows? If Bush wins, with Nader's help, again maybe we can avoid reaching a tipping point toward fascism. Then perhaps Nader who seems to be taking the position "the worse the better" (similar to small Leninist parties or groups) will be proven correct that this will lead to more radical opposition to the prevailing conservative orthodoxy.

 

I think that's a Green Party strategy, or any other extreme third party trying to take the thunder from one of the two major parties. The only path to success is to foment disaster so that there will be a backlash where extreme the other way seems reasonable in the face of disaster. Many of those who supported Nader in 2000 made no bones about this. Even Granny D, the old lady who walked accross the country for campaign finance reform, said in 2000, "what's a few Supreme Court Justices". IMO this was in incredibly naive strategy and I think the reason why so many people who supported Nader in 2000 are now firmly behind Kerry is that they really weren't prepared for what disaster, at least from a liberal standpoint, the GW Bush Admin actually has been.