I don't get Nader or the people who follow him. I'm one of the ones who still blame him, not totally but to some degree, for what happened in 2000. Democrats warned Nader supporters of the damage that would be done, but we were told there is no difference between us & republicans. Apparently there's no difference between Nader & republicans, since that's who collecting signatures for his campaign. Look at what that naivete has brought about, & you don't know whether to laugh or cry thinking back four years ago.
So when I read this, it was interesting. I was glad to see that there was nowhere near the amount of support as 2000, but you still have the deluded...
...This year, the Green Party has disowned Mr. Nader, celebrities are nowhere to be found on the campaign trail and Michael Moore, the documentary maker formerly known as a Naderite, dropped to his knees on cable television recently, begging Mr. Nader to bow out of the race.
This month, Mr. Nader failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the California ballot, and Ms. Taylor, 39, a kindergarten teacher here, said she knows why. As one of those who volunteered to collect signatures at shopping centers and street festivals, she said she was cursed, scolded, threatened and called "naïve" and "stupid" by Democrats who blamed her for ruining Al Gore's chances to win the White House in 2000 -- and for what they see as the resulting wars, tax cuts and other assorted actions of the Bush administration.
Even paid workers quit after a few days because "they were getting yelled at and they weren't making any money," said Forrest Hill, a Nader campaign coordinator in Northern California.
Ms. Taylor said, "I've been asked, 'Don't you feel responsible for all the lives lost in Iraq?' "
The answer is no, but Ms. Taylor and others among the Nader faithful say that in this election year, to be out and proud is to invite scorn and vitriol like never before. Opponents call your candidate -- the one you consider not beholden to corporate interests and a champion of American consumers, workers and children -- "an idiot," "an egomaniac" and "a spoiler." Your Republican relatives have barred you from weddings and bat mitzvahs since 9/11 because of your antiwar views. Your brother says he only sees you because his children would miss you.
...Nader voters say it galls them that many of their critics are people who agree with their candidate on the issues, and even voted for him four years ago, but are now willing to sacrifice their idealism for the sake of helping defeat Mr. Bush.
"They say, `Be realistic. Now is not the time,' " said Bill Neal, 36, a middle school teacher in the San Fernando Valley who is campaigning for Mr. Nader. "You know what? The time never comes unless you just do it."
One Nader deserter, Jason Salzman, a publicist in Denver who is trying to convert fellow Naderites into fly-by-night John Kerry voters just for this election through his Web site, repentantnadervoter.com, said his political allegiances changed the day the first American bombs fell on Iraq. Guilt-ridden, he said he grabbed a razor blade and cut the "un" off the "Unrepentant Nader Voter" bumper sticker on his car.
Mr. Salzman said it is undeniable that Mr. Bush might not be in office if Mr. Nader had not run. He is in sharp disagreement with Nader supporters who argue that, rather than stealing votes away from Democrats, Mr. Nader draws in disaffected Americans who would not vote otherwise.
"Our position is that he should not run," he said. "It's not worth the risk."
...At an anti-Bush demonstration in Santa Monica on Thursday, some Democrats confronted Nader supporters for playing into the hands of Republicans, many of whom are giving money to Mr. Nader's campaign.
The attacks, combined with the threat of an election as nail-bitingly close as the one in 2000, are taking a toll. Even Greg Bates, a publisher in Maine who wrote the newly released "Ralph's Revolt: The Case for Joining Nader's Rebellion," said it is a tough choice to vote your conscience in contested states that would determine whether Mr. Kerry grabs enough electoral votes to win.
"I live in a swing state so I have a little more responsibility," he said.
The similarities between Republicans and Democrats are among the reasons those actively campaigning for Mr. Nader this year say they soldier on against all odds. They also say they want to help build a third party that calls for changing the system, not just an administration, and would one day stand a chance against the two major parties.
And they are furious that the Democrats are making them scapegoats.
"You're worried about 3 percent of the vote?" Mr. Hill, the Northern California campaign coordinator, asked. "Go run a campaign."
In California, a Democratic stronghold where Mr. Kerry leads Mr. Bush by more than 10 percentage points in the polls, Mr. Nader's campaign says it is weighing several options. His supporters in the state are now regrouping for a write-in campaign and say they take heart that certain groups, such as young people at concerts and working-class people in minority communities, have been receptive to their message.
But in the current hostile climate, even the most passionate Naderites are picking their battles. At a Sierra Club meeting, Lynda Hernandez, a paid coordinator with the Nader campaign, said she remained silent when members started "blasting" Mr. Nader and his candidacy.
"They were really volatile," she said. "I was chicken."
There is no perfect candidate. Just like there is no perfect husband or wife, or anything on this Earth. All of our relationships with friends or lovers are ones in which we find disagreements, but we work for better understanding. We will never find someone who we agree with a 100% of the time, or have complete peace with. I just don't get the guy who knowing what's at stake in this election goes in to a voting booth & for someone with no chance of winning, benefiting the guy who belives in the opposit of everything you do. These are the people who'll say John Kerry believes in 80% of what I do & could get something done, but Nader has no chance but believes like I do, so I'm going with him, & if Bush is elected "not my problem". I don't get political purity. Why would you hand the government to people who will destory everything you believe in, when you could help put in place a government that agrees with a lot of your issues. I've actually saw a Nader supporter on the BBC say they thought it was great Bush won, because he would make such a shitty president it would drive people to the left. Why should 290 million people have to endure war, shitty economics, & theocratic social policy for the left to feel better about themselves? For them to "vote their conscience"?