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Accepting the Reality of the Nader Effect
February 24, 2004 |
I am having a difficult time accepting the reality of Ralph Nader running for President in 2004. I emailed him recommending that he focus his energies on defeating George W. Bush instead of running for President. However, given that he has chosen to run, and does not seem willing to budge, it creates a new reality that we must deal with. In some ways, I feel similar to being forced to accept the new reality of an occupied Iraq (as well as America's supposed commitment to building Democracy in Iraq), even though I strongly opposed the choice to invade. It's that thing about accepting the things you cannot change.
In terms of the media conversation, here's what I've noticed so far: After the first wave of anger from Democrats and most progressives, it was refreshing to read a thoughtful piece from the Christian Science Monitor and to see that his message and platform are getting much wider exposure then they did in 2000.
So now, given the new reality of his candidacy, I hope his commitment to exposing George Bush as "the giant corporation masquerading as a human being in the White House" is at least as high a priority as transforming the Democratic Party. I am happy to hear that he said he will focus criticism on Bush Policies, and I hope that his candidacy empowers the Edwards or Kucinich campaigns, which are less susceptible than Kerry to the Nader effect.
Posted by Colin at February 24, 2004 12:41 AM
