Ralph Nader Running? (page 2)

patio34

Hi Sally,

Thanks for the reply. I am an Independent. There's a lot of good ideas and bad ones in both parties. So, I use certain criteria and deciding which person I would back or oppose.

Pat

patio34

Well, it seems that the Bush camp would like to see Nader run and take away some of the steam from Kerry and Edwards. This is probably a possible good development for Bush campaign.

Pat

Last election, I decided at the last minute not to vote for Nader because I didn't want to throw away my vote. Well, guess what? My vote was thrown away anyway. The way that the election turned out, I should have voted with my heart and not with my head.

Robyn

patio34

Hi Robdar,

I didn't vote last presidential election because I was too new outta the JWs. I see your point about your vote not counting, but really it serves to show everyone now that if more people, just a few more really, would have voted as you did, then Gore would have won. The news seems to be predicting that people who voted for Nader last time will realize that now and see that their votes DO count and vote Democratic. Especially people who are of the ABB group (Anybody But Bush).

Pat

gitasatsangha

Gitasatsangha,
While I think your post has merits and may be a true theory, I would prefer to think--hope--it is not (because it's the only choice that a USA citizen has of improving the government's policies). If one were to subscribe to the grim theory you posit, then it seems that there's naught to do but forget about it and give up. Even if it is accurate (and it does carry some weight), it seems counter-productive to me to act as if it were. Besides, there have been improvements in the past under different presidencies.

Patio,

I'm not trying to be grim, and I will certainly vote in this election. What I am trying to say is that the-two party system has become counterproductive to democracy. Take the Republican party: when it formed, it WAS the Green party of its day. What was left of the Whigs maintained a sort of status quo against a Democrat hedgemony. The Republicans started to shake things up in a big way (especially President Lincoln), and positive changes started to be made, for awhile at least.

But one of the main impediments in american government now is the Presidental election. Your vote in the Presidental election ultimately does not matter. You're farting in the wind as long as the election is up to the Electorial College. That is why I say Nadar did not "steal" the election from Gore in Florida or New Hampshire. Had the election been a national popular vote, then the outcome would have been do Gore without any question. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but IIRC Bush Sr. would have won handilly against Clinton and Perot as well, if the Electorial College had been thrown out.

Why do the 2 Parties still support the electorial college? Easy! It pretty much shuts out independant and third party candidates from having a real chance at the election. But the other side of the coin, it makes a decently strong running independant capable of causing mayhem in states where the election is close.

A big grassroots effort to force a constitutional amendment to end the Electorial College and have popular vote elections of the President would be nice.I'd support it.

Till then, I ain't voting for the Ketchup King. At least Bush has that nifty Mars program.

Sirius Dogma

I am really torn on this issue. I think the current regime has got to go and it seems like the country will remain to be only marginally in favor of getting a democrat in the white house. If nader runs again he could split the more democratic vote and give bush another win.

However, the green party has good ideas and I think having a third party that is like the green party will be heathly for the democracy longterm. The democrats and republicans has basically become like a family feud in the south. It is hard to see the differences and the only reason they fight is because they have different names. The green party will bring in fresh blood and force them to show their differences instead of showing how alike they are.

If Nader doesn't keep running the momentem stops and the stagnent political situation we currently have continues. If he does run and we the keep the current regime, how much of a country will we have left in the short term?

In short, I hope he runs, I just hope he doesn't lose the election for all of us americans.

gitasatsangha

IMHO, the Greens need to put more effort into winning state and local offices. That's been a pretty good strategy for the Libertarians. The Greens seem lately to put everything they've got into sending the man who thought the 55mph speed limit was a great idea, to the whitehouse.

Pat

Ralph Nader Running?

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