Originally at everythingisnt.com:
Its like they're on this mission to re-elect Bush. Kerry hasn't even defined himself in the press yet, has not picked a VP, yet Nader is quick to tear him a new one and call him, over and over again, indistinguishable from Bush. This is an obvious lie as they (and the parties they represent) are polar opposites on social issues and the dems are much more pro-labor and pro-consumer than the GOP. I would prefer it if Nader fessed up to reality and came up with his own practical ideas as opposed to just making attacks.
In this interview Nader is asked about abortion, he claims he's for it and against it.
RN: I believe in choice. I don't think government should tell women to have children or not to have children. I am also against feticide. If doctors think it is a fetus, that should be banned. It is a medical decision.
PB: Between the woman and her doctor--
RN: And whoever else, family, clergy.
And this is the guy who is supposedly 'speaks plainly' to us and show us the follies of politicians. Heck, most politicians wouldn't even try a non-answer like that regarding abortion.
That said, it's a good interview. Its Pat Buchanan asking Buchanan-esque questions to Nader. It's almost a parody of these two. Pat's big on questions about immigration, jews, isolationism, etc. Wow, I didn't know Nader had such anti-immigration policies in mind, he's practically conservative. The irony is both his parents were immigrants, but I guess when you're Ralph Nader, star of the progressives, you can get away with this kind of thing.
In some ways this interview is a depressing look into the mind of an egomaniac. Yes, Ralph has some excellent ideas which would be good, if you know, he could actually run for an office to win, but in general he's got nothing. He talks about how the easiest way to bring down a congressman is to take jobs out of their district. No shit. How would Rep. Nader handle that? If a business threatened to pull out of one of your towns if you didn't make some concession? Real life involves compromises, that's something Nader doesn't want to talk about and why he could never hold a real office. He's so much about theory it blows my mind he's actually running. The real world of politics is very different than the Nader-esque fantasy vision of an absolute perfect moral system. The guy has much more in common with the GOP in this regard, they sell the absolute moral positions to their supporters, yet it always leads to hypocrisy when real life intersects with theory. The interview ends with a very self-delusional note. I mean, does Nader really believe conservatives are voting for him? They're supporting him to hurt Kerry.
I guess that's the real allure with Nader. He'll talk the talk, make you smile and nod, and he'll never be wrong because he'll never hold office. It would be nice if he could accomplish his goals without throwing the election to Bush and working shamelessly with the GOP.
Lastly, this is not the year for theory; this is the year for action. Hell, Clinton almost got universal healthcare going if it wasn't for the GOP and Bob Dole. Yet, one of Nader's big positions is UH, and he's working for the very people who killed it ten years ago? This is madness. I hope Nader supporters are doing more than just wishing for pie-in-the sky solutions and realize that Bush has to go ASAP. If that means voting for Kerry, so what? Its not like Nader is going to win anything. Even if he could he's too pure to get his hands dirty with real world politics.