Nine supporters of Ralph Nader have created this website, asking for donations to an exploratory committee for a possible Nader presidential candidacy this year. They are Peter Camejo, Matt Gonzalez, Theresa Amato, Jason Kafoury, Sally Soriano, Matt Zawisky, Nat Coppernoll, Julie Coyle, and Carl Mayer.
The web page does not say why the Committee was created just now. However, chances are that the January 30 withdrawal of John Edwards from the Democratic presidential race triggered the move.
I logical move when one stops to consider the way the major party candidates have run from the issues. I suspect Nader will have no problem reaching the 10 Million goal he set for his exploratory committee.
Bob Marston
Green Party Candidate for Congress 1994
23rd Congressional District of California
Use the campaign slogan: “It’s the Corporatism, stupid.”
As some one living in a state [California] where my vote is either an Anti Democratic Party protest or a part of a million vote landslide in the [D] column, I had no problem voting Perot/ Perot/ Nader/ Nader/. I even thot that Boss Ross had a chance of taking it all by summer 1992.
Nader: I first met the man in person in 2004. He is an American progressive icon and I do not regret my vote. How ever, each time I observed him at close range, he seemed, hmmmm, er, well, to put it politely, ‘past shipping date’!
Also in September 2004, a supposedly independent, populist City Council member, Democrat Donna ‘Surfer Girl’ Frye, was also going the ‘write in’ route for City of San Diego mayor. Frye had had bad timing. Nader/ Camejo had had a bad staff of East Coast Know It All lawyers. These jerks argued with and screwed over the locals [fresh from a petition sucess in the 2003 historic recall of corrupt secular insider Governor Grey Davis!]. They recinded and re-recinded original bad legal advice and screwed over the effort big time! Duh!
Deer caught in the head lights Nader, only having his state wide write in votes counted because of me, John Coffey, and Citizens For A Better Veterans Home, was able to endorse Ms Frye. Upon leaving San Diego for the last time that year, Unsafe At Any Speed author, was briefed on Frye’s parallel write effort.
The silence was deafening! The blank look on Mister N’s face was a Viet Nam era ‘1000 meter stare’! He was given stamped, addressed letters and envelopes, and only needed to sign and mail to formally endorse Frye. Duh!
It never happened! [Too arrogant or dumb or wedded failure to form alliances?]
Even his web site and slogans. Not a word about the three bladed fan electric energy generator wind mill peace symbol! Having the gift of NADER’S RAIDERS he went with the utterly forgettable ‘Declare Your Independence’! Face it, with all the other obsticles that non Democrats and non GOP have, Nader maybe is just not smart enuf to get elected!
I take no happiness in saying of of these things.
Use the slogan [and tee shirts and coffee cups]:
Nader’s Raiders……..
Use the slogan “Pass Instant Runoff Voting to Eliminate Spoilers!”
Nader should endorse Michael Bloomberg.
To read about Nader’s ballot access ballots in 2004, read the new book WHAT WAS RALPH NADER THINKING? Written by Nader 2004 campaign filmmaker, Jurgen Vsych http://thewomandirector.com
Why no street address? And were you ever out side the DC Belt Way in 2004? Why do I get the idea that this is a very limited information stream and basically a Nader DC rooted puff piece?
go ralph go
If this is an exploratory committee, Nader gave his assent think? Otherwise wouldn’t it be a draft committee of some sort? I find it dificult to imagine Nader and these nine people can see an upside to being a spoiler against McKinney? Is there some backstory I don’t now abt that would lead him to do this? Or is this more abt Nader being Nader? Nader as Cynthia McKinney’s VP candidate would be powerful. And I say all this having been co-chair of the WA Nader ’96 campaign for awhile, and contributed as much money as I could three times, and voted for him three times.
Now, if Nader is campaigning for the GP nomination or whatever, that seems exciting. I’d love to hear McKinney and Nader debate issues. But the idea that he is able to have any constructive role in building anything useful by running on his own as an independent, that seems far lamer than I would wish to se Mr. Nader descend to.
Please go away and do not have Ralph Nader once again ruin the liberal vote and give us a Republican president. There is a difference especially in the supreme court justices. You are nihilists not progressives.
I agree that Ralph Nader should be Cynthia McKinney’s VP candidate. That would be a great presidential ticket that could definitely get over 1% of the vote nationwide. It is looking to be a good year for the Green Party. Especially considering that Hillary Clinton and John McCain are going to be the Dem/Rep candidates. They are nearly identical on all of the major issues (Iraq, Iran, health care, etc).
It is time for Ralph Nader to retire from running for President.
“You are nihilists not progressives.”
That’s a very sily thing to say. If the Democrats are so almighty fabulous on the Supreme Court why do we have the cast of rightwing creeps the Democrats in Seante helped vote on to the court? See, this is why no one can take you Democrats serious; you wail abt how awful the people who voted for nader are, and how important the Democrats are as an opposition party, but even after being given a solid majority in Congress in 06 they have accomplished nothing. Well, I’ll give them driving Gonzalez out of office, that was sweet. But that hardly qualifies as the Democrats acting like an opposition progressive oarty. If the Democratic Party was a progressive political party progressives would vote for their candidates. Simple as that.
“That’s a very sily thing to say.”
No, it’s a very realistic thing to say, given the real-world results — and deaths — of you people’s last little temper tantrum.
Way to marginalize yourselves. Is this some sort of self-imposed martyr complex?
“Please go away and do not have Ralph Nader once again ruin the liberal vote and give us a Republican president.”
What concern is that to us third party voters? If you don’t realize by now that there is little difference between the Democrats and Republicans (i.e. – deficit spending, pork barrel projects, getting us involved in insane wars, immoral behavior while in office, concerned with getting lobbyists’ and PACS money for reelection more than doing what is right for the country and following the Constitution), than that’s your problem. Don’t blame us for trying to rectify that.
Lets please stop all the nonsense about spoiling. That is like Clinton supporters blaming all the African Americans in SC for spoiling the election, or all the Obama supporters blaming Hispanic Americans for their loss in Nevada. The only purpose of such rhetoric is voter suppression.
If we are to have a democracy its a two fold process. You can’t be against voter suppression on the voter end, and for it at the candidate end. I would claim anyone that would put up the spoiler straw man argument is neither progressive or a friend of democracy.
I must say I am hoping Nader makes another run. I actually think we’d be best served by an Independent run.
Marginalize ourselves? Like supporting 3rd parties in this goofy electoral system where the guy who comes in second is elected president isn’t marginalizing enough already?
If you don’t like Nader, don’t vote for him. But don’t you dare tell us we shouldn’t be allowed to vote for him, or for any other progressive candidate of our choice who opposes the Democratic Party & is offering a different paradigm to the electorate.
I suggest that you actually listen to what he has to say about the Democratic Party, both in his speeches and his book “Crashing The Party.” My experience over the last eight years is that Democrats are great at spitting out juvenile “I hate Ralph Nader” comments within the comfortably anonymous environment of blogs and websites, but have nothing constructive or mature to say in real venues in response to Nader’s detailed criticisms of the two-party system in general and the Democratic Party in particular.
What do you folks have to say about instant runoff voting? Do you even know what that is? What do you have to say about the nationwide gerrymandering that has created a tidal wave of one-party districts across the country, where candidate after candidate (Democrats AND Republicans) runs unopposed in Incumbent Safety Zones? You think people should sit down and shut up about things like that? Why should we, when the Democratic Party up and down the line refuses to address these issues?
Whoever is the Democratic nominee this year is absolutely pathetic if he or she cannot get elected to the presidency after this eight year mess. And that is your responsibility as a Democrat, not ours.
If Nader chooses the independent route, he will have to get on 50 ballots. no way.
Nobody of whom I’m aware wants Ralph to run as an independent again. The support he has within the Green Party is much stronger than it was in 2004 but that support is almost universally predicated upon his running for the Green nomination.
Marginalized? The system maginalizes at least 65% of United States citizens whom are registered voters. 100% in Washington [DC], PR, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and other various Pacific islands! Via Gerrymandering, the vast majority of United State Senate and House of Representative seats are ‘secure’ to the Dems or the GOP.
Even University of Missouri thug and Viet Nam era flight ace “Puke” Cunningham*, possibly the worst corruption figure in beltway history, could not poison his ultra concervative district into voting for any one but yet another Republican. This one [Bilbray] was a voted out thug [via redistricting] carpet bagger.
1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 I was a Perot/ Perot/ Nader/ Nader voter. And by OVER ONE MILLION VOTES per cycle, the Democratic candidate collected each and every elector!
* now spending 7/24 in a federal facility near Tucson!
Want a life long career in public administration? Don’t worry about the voters picking you! You just go out and pick the district that would vote [and vote and vote and vote] some one like you in! 2000, 2002, 2004 NOT ONE State or National district switched parties in California. Not One!
OOoooo I like the air in here.
Ralph Nader’s legacy encompasses the spectrum of his life long work, especially his presidential candidacies. He has started a presidential exploratory committee http://www.naderexplore08.com
My political and civic identity was born through exposure to the candidate for whom I caucused for in Nevada, Congressman Dennis Kucinich.
Not only was I going on a limb, scrambling to educate myself on his record, bio, the issues, his campaign style not to mention volunteering for a political campaign, calling radio shows, canvassing, going to a town conference, and attending a free speech rally where I was interviewed for a published newspaper article.
Wooo!
A lot to absorb and digest to say the least.
Part of this process was owning my power as a citizen.
I, after 31 years, affirm:
* Politicians are public servants. They are elected to serve the public. We are the public. We are their Boss.
* When does a Boss grovel at the feet of their employee?
* A vote cast is duty. The highest level of civic participation in this democratic republic. The highest level of critical thinking is a mandatory prerequisite.
* The media’s power lies within the scope of communicative channels of distribution. The more channels accessed produces the variety of information and opinion necessary to serve as background information. Independent research is equally necessary.
Our future, the future of my three boys, everyone, everywhere is deeply affected by civic, social administration and control; in simpler terms, politics and government.
If we are to honor our existence and our time on Earth than we must participate.
Fight off all urges or coercion to be satisfied with the role of spectator.
A long comment, I know.
I strongly support Ralph Nader as an activist, and as a President candidate.
God bless you, Danielle!
By the way, I voted (by mail) for Ralph Nader for president in the Peace and Freedom Party of California’s primary for February 5th. If the primary had had instant runoff voting, my second choice vote would have gone to Cynthia McKinney and my third choice vote would have gone to Brian Moore.
Phil Sawyer, Member
Sacramento County Central Committee
Peace and Freedo Party of California