Nader Haters

I'll be ticked off at anyone who votes for Nader instead of Kerry this time. It's not that I think Kerry's perfect, but, let's face it, Nader would make a lousy President. There's no reason to vote for him. At the same time, this New York Times story ticks me off:

Nader fights for a fighting chance
	Katharine Q. Seelye/NYT NYT

Democrats mount major campaign to keep him off ballots

WASHINGTON Ralph Nader's efforts to get his name on ballots in important swing states as an independent candidate for president are becoming mired in legal challenges and charges of fraud by Democrats who have mounted an extensive campaign to keep him from becoming a factor in this year's election.

It's just not appropriate to fight this way. Tell people that they're throwing away their votes, if you must. Tell tham that Nader would be a lousy President and would be completely unable to deal with either party in congress. Make positive arguments for Kerry. Heck, Democrats, try courting Nader voters instead of shunning them! But don't resort to the anti-democratic tactic of trying to keep him off the ballot or of trying to invalidate the will of people who ahve signed petitions so that he can run. Nader didn't ruin the 2000 election. Gore ruined it by ignoring the liberal base of the Democratic party and by choosing a running mate who should probably just be honest and switch to the Republican party.

Nader will probably not be as big a factor this time around. A lot of people learned their lessons and have been chastened by Bush's four years in office. Also, Nader is running without the support of the Green party, making this look like an ego-driven campaign.

But Kerry's real key to victory is going to be turnout. Can Kerry mobilize non-voters to go to the polls in November? If he can energize apathetic Democrats then Nader won't matter. In 2000, Gore lost a race that he should have won. Nader didn't beat Gore. Gore beat Gore. Let's not forget that Gore lost his home state and that wasn't Nader's fault. It's up to Kerry not to make the same mistakes.

I hope that the 2000 elections didn't teach us the wrong lessons. Long-term, this 2 party system must be abolished. In our fervor to defeat Bush, we shouldn't condone the actions of Democratic politicos who are trying to preserve the 2-party status quo.