For quite a while now, DailyKos posters have been on this Nader/Norquist meme: That is, Ralph Nader's campaign was cooked up by anti-tax zealot Grover Norquist [with the help of Phyllis Schafly], to ensure a Bush victory in 2004.
Anyone with any common sense would realize that this is a load of crap. However, in a Boston Phoenix article this week [first published in Mother Jones] on Norquist, I think we have a little bit of truth to debunk this DailyKos meme conspiracy theory.
In the article, entitled "The soul of the new machine," by Michael Scherer, it is revealed that Nader was invited to speak at one of Norquist's "invitation-only meetings." Here is what Nader said about his host and his movement:
"It's the most powerful, nihilistic movement in Washington today," says Ralph Nader, who recently attended one of Norquist's meetings to give his views on corporate welfare. "It is such a cold-blooded atmosphere, it would sustain icicles."
So, they aren't "friends" as was insinuated here by posters. It was invitation, simple as that. And, as the article notes, not unlike other invitations to liberals that Norquist has advanced. It seems that Nader thinks Norquist and his crowd are quite dangerous. However, why would anyone like Nader meet with this guy and his friends? Well, the question is, Why not?
If a person could influence public policy - no matter who you spoke to - wouldn't you? And let's be honest here: Norquist has done some good things. Many people know that he campaigned to stop the PATRIOT Act, and put his lobbying resources into trying to kill it. Unlike John Kerry - who marched in lockstep with almost every other Democrat - to give Bush and Ashcroft sweeping federal powers to gut the Bill of Rights. Note from the article:
One Sunday last October, Norquist spent the afternoon of his 47th birthday doling out political advice to civil-liberties activists who had gathered near Washington to plot a rollback of the Patriot Act. "I don't care if we eliminate four provisions or five provisions," said Norquist, sitting on a panel between a ponytailed activist in a Hawaiian shirt and a goateed Green Party organizer. "What we need is to draw blood."
In the end, as the article notes, Bush's fascistic tendencies and bloated government spending don't break the deal for Norquist. He is still - foolishly - in Bush's camp. But I think this effectively ends the meme that there is some sort of Nader/Norquist alliance. As well, with poll numbers from everywhere showing Nader taking Republican votes from Bush, the effect of Nader's campaign could help Kerry.