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May 22, 2013
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Old Habits Die HardPosted on Mar 2, 2008Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, consumer activist Ralph Nader told host Tim Russert that he has officially decided to wreck the 2008 presidential election. Mr. Nader had been huddling with prominent crackpots over the weekend to determine whether he had enough support among his natural constituency of self-absorbed whack jobs to mount an entirely meaningless campaign. “If I wreck the 2008 election, I intend to wreck it in all 50 states,” Mr. Nader told Mr. Russert. “I have no intention of being merely a regional spoiler.” When asked if his candidacy could hurt the chances of the first African-American nominee for president, Mr. Nader put his fingers in his ears and replied, “La-la-la-la-la-la. I can’t hear you.” But across the country, significant numbers of crackpots who have supported Mr. Nader in the past appeared to be cool to his latest bid to ruin a presidential election. “If I’m going to waste my vote, I want to be sure I’m wasting it on the right wingnut,” said longtime crackpot Stacy Klujian, who has supported Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in his 2008 campaign. “It is time for Ralph Nader to step aside for a new generation of bananaheads.” Advertisement Award-winning humorist, television personality and film actor Andy Borowitz is author of “The Republican Playbook.” © 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc. New and Improved CommentsIf you have trouble leaving a comment, review this help page. Still having problems? Let us know. If you find yourself moderated, take a moment to review our comment policy. |
By Conservative Yankee, March 6, 2008 at 5:27 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
You are DEAD wrong about (true) conservatives.
A true conservative would never fight a war of aggression.
A true conservative would not run up trillions of dollars in unsecured debt, and than allow those notes to be passed to RED China.
A true conservative leaves his heirs wealth and prosperity, not a long term debt for our continuous party.
A true conservative leads by fine example (Al la Teddy Roosevelt), not some drunk-driving, coke-sniffing playboy want-ta-bee.
The terms liberal, and conservative have been hijacked by politicians to define core and outlying… I find (in my life) when a person goes too far right, they find them selves on the left, and vise-versia.. it’s a circle, not a line.
Report thisBy Dennis Moss, March 6, 2008 at 9:46 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Good!
Report thisBy yossarian100, March 6, 2008 at 6:10 am Link to this comment
I found the piece quite funny and I’ll probably be laughing all the way to November, when I’ll cast my vote for Ralph Nader.
THE MAN WITH THE PLAN
Now there’s a slogan I can live with.
How about….
QUESTION AUTHORITY
If you want information about what’s wrong and how to fix it, ask Ralph Nader. He’ll explain it to you in great detail, which is probably why so few people vote for him. Too much information, Ralph. We’re a little clueless out here in the heartland. Too many years of Media, Democratic, and Republican mind numbing spoon feeding.
Funny piece, though.
La-la-la-la-la-la. I cant hear you.
Report thisBy Martha Miller, March 6, 2008 at 3:42 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
70% Common Population vs. the 20% Professional NEW CLASS Population and the 10% Elite Capitalist Population
Part III
There is no way the so called $40,000. -$120,000. yearly wages income rhetoric could possibly be misconstrued as the MIDDLE CLASS of any nation, but can ONLY be an income figure derived from a constituent part of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS & CULTURE. WE THE PEOPLE must quit allowing the CONSERVATIVES to fractionalize and divide the 70% MAJORITY COMMOM POPULATION by dividing the common population’s constituent part as the so called middle class against the whole of the 70% MAJORITY COMMOM POPULATION to defeat a LIBERAL way of life for the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION.
Now, WE THE PEOPLE are in need of LEGISLATION for a NEW LIBERAL POLITICAL PARTY that will support LIBERAL representatives of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS & CULTURE, because our representation has been taken away from us by the 20% Minority CORPORATE DLC’s NEW PROFESSIONAL CLASS & CULTURE; as neither one—- nor two parties—- can possibly represent THREE different classes and cultures; and still represent their own class & culture. While the NEW PROFESSIONAL CLASS & CULTURE represents themselves, the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS & CULTURE GOES UNREPRESENTED as swing voters with super delegates MARGINALIZING the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS & CULTURE continually.
WE THE PEOPLE of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION MUST CONTINUE TO WAKE UP and realize our class and culture [conservatives call it MOB RULE, as WE THE PEOPLE are the LIBERAL MOB], so that WE THE PEOPLE CAN MAKE DEMOCRACY MANIFEST, because what we have currently in the United States is orthodox democracy, which is no better than Adolph Hitler’s or Nikita Khrushchev’s totalitarianism.
Report thisBy Martha Miller, March 6, 2008 at 3:37 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
70% Common Population vs. the 20% Professional NEW CLASS Population and the 10% Elite Capitalist Population
Part II
Also, the candidates, the media and the blogs are always talking about the MIDDLE CLASS. Is there TWO Middle Classes in the United States?????? NO THERE CAN NOT BE TWO MIDDLE CLASSES!!!!!!! —- The 20% population of the CORPORATE DLC’s NEW Professional Class & Culture IS the MIDDLE CLASS of the United States and they earn $121,000 to $1,000,000. per year; while the SUPPOSED other middle class, although called a middle class by the conservatives, IS NOT A CLASS and/or CULTURE at all, but is a CONSTITUENT PART of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS AND CULTURE; and according to an NPR report this constituent part of the 70% MAJORITY Common Population EARNS $40,000. to $120,000, and is promoted by conservatives as the MIDDLE CLASS to divide the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION. The actual MIDDLE CLASS is the 20% Corporate DLC’s MIDDLE CLASS & CULTURE of the Nation, the Professional Class that earns $121,000 to 1 Million Dollars a year.
So, which MIDDLE is being talked about? Is it the Middle Class of the Nation, or the Middle of the 70% Class & Culture of the MAJORITY Common Population? There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE. Inquiring minds want to know, and this needs to be widely discusssed; because there is way too much incorrect rhetoric about the MIDDLE CLASS. Since there are TWO MIDDLES in question, one middle earning $40,000. to $120,000., and another middle earning $121,000.- $1,000,000. just below the 10% Elite Capitalist’s population—the 20% population of the Corporate DLC’s NEW CLASS & CULTURE— the Professional Class and Culture THAT CAN NOT BE IGNORED, as the 20% Professional NEW Class and Culture ARE the TRUE MIDDLE CLASS of the United States that is actually being talked about, even though conservatives and conservative led politicians lead the common population to believe they mean the middle of the common population, but it is not so. There is only ONE middle and it isn’t in the common population, as there is a NEW CLASS.
The MIDDLE CLASS of the United States IS the 20% Professional Class and Culture, the DLC’s new class, which is the ONE and ONLY MIDDLE CLASS of the Nation. There can not be TWO MIDDLE CLASSES IN ONE COUNTRY. There IS NO OTHER MIDDLE CLASS—the middle all CONSERVATIVES talk about is a median income for the 70% MAJORITY Common Population Class & Culture, and a median income is NOT a middle class and culture, but is simply a median income of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATION’S CLASS AND CULTURE.
Conservatism misconstruing a constituent part of the 70% MAJORITY COMMON POPULATIONS CLASS & CULTURE as the middle class is common with totalitarian conservatism to cause acceptance by the unknowing by dividing the 70% COMMON POPULATIONS CLASS & CULTURE for the benefit of the other two classes and cultures. It is necessary to understand that raising or lowering the median income of the 70% MAJORITY COMMOM POPULATIONS CLASS AND CULTURE does not make another middle class. There is only ONE MIDDLE CLASS in the three classes and cultures in the United States listed as follows:
1st CLASS & CULTURE—10% Minority Elite Capitalist Class & Culture’s MAKING Millions to Billions of dollars yearly
2nd CLASS & CULTURE—20% Minority Corporate DLC’s NEW CLASS, the Professional Class & Culture EARNING $121,000. to $1,000,000. yearly, THE MIDDLE CLASS
3rd CLASS & CULTURE—70% MAJORITY Common Population Class & Culture EARNING from $0 - $120,000. yearly
Report thisBy angry_old_man, March 6, 2008 at 12:33 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Grousefeather is right on target. Bush, Cheney and much of their team should be tried for their crimes. Impeachment is a waste of time, but a trial would be a way for Americans to apologize to the rest of humanity for what they have done.
Angry_old_man
Report thisBy dan jordan, March 5, 2008 at 10:29 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Andy resents poor Ralph for wishing to run as an independent. Did it occur to Andy to complain, not about someone’s wish to run for office in a brain-damaged two party system but rather about the two party system itself? It isn’t Ralph’s fault we Americans continuously beat ourselves over the head with this hilarious election system, a system which regularly obliges many people to vote for other than their first choice. Nor is it Ralph’s fault that we have a system that makes a minority third party candidate such a potential threat to the two “mainline” parties. If Andy and the whiners in the Democratic party fear the danger of vote splitting third party candidates then let’s see them wake up and start advocating for some fundamental changes to this seriously cracked election system. Andy, get a clue and do some reading about innovative ideas such as instant runoff voting. Stop crying about Ralph. He’s got every right to run if he can get away with it.
Report thisBy BobZ, March 5, 2008 at 6:48 pm Link to this comment
Democrats like to pretend they aren’t beholden to corporate interests but we all know they are just like the Republican’s. Most of them voted for the Iraq war. Most of them voted for NAFTA. Although I don’t like Nader jumping in the race, I have empathy so someone who has been fighting the good fight for the average man. No doubt he would get us out of Iraq toot suite, and at least attempt to lessen the impact of corporations on Congress. He might also do something to lessen our deficit and no saddle our children with our prolifigate spending. He won’t win of course but he might force Democrats to start acting like Democrats and not Republican-lite candidates.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, March 5, 2008 at 5:16 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Cyrena
“Still, since youre a repug, and you dont like him, (like so many other repugs dont) then I would encourage you to vote for Ralph Nader.”
See just as I thought, you are not “listening” or remembering.
I crossed the aisle before the Maine primary to vote for Dennis..Remember you congratulated me? I’m officially a Democrat, and if they run the corporate whore I will definitely vote for Nader. Token Gantry I’m not sure… but about this Rezco thing, I’m sure gonna have to hold my nose… Oh yeah, and three Nafta supporters… Boy what a race…
We can only hope for a post November heart attack, or a bad car wreck on the way to Washington…. depending on who is number 2!
Report thisBy barrett, March 5, 2008 at 3:42 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I was going to write until I saw your comment. . .
Report thisYou said it all, better than I could!
In 2000 and 2004 I did not vote for Ralph Nader, using the ubiquitous “it would hurt the Dems chances.” I was wrong. This time around, no matter what, I will vote the courage of my convictions. The difference between Nader and Clinton/Obama/McCain is like trying to compare gold with scrap metal. I’m a political junkie without a country. . .no longer can I bear the phoney brittleness of the two rock stars, both in the clutches of corporate criminals; and their opposition: the aging warrior running to the village idiot for praise and support. Now I watch ‘An Unreasonable Man’ and at ten o’clock turn to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. Period!!
By Conservative Yankee, March 5, 2008 at 9:10 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Anyone who challenges the great myth of US democracy will be pilloried. When an “outsider” says the Democrat and Republican parties are choices equivalent to to the choice between Exxon and Mobil gasoline, people will laugh and call them nuts.
GI Joe, Token and the Business Shill have all made slip-of-the-tongue mistakes similar to those made by Ross Perot, and all three have a record of corporate support and treason against the American worker.
I don’t blame the US voter for fearing and ridiculing Nader. It is hard to reasonably defend a system which gives us three like-minded candidates.
All support NAFTA and will continue “free” (that’s a laugh) trade.
All support amnesty for illegals, thereby insuring a steady stream of cheap workers for their corporate masters.
All are taking contributions from Citi-group (you know the folks behind the sub-prim mortgage crisis)
Not one candidate(including my first choice now gone) has proposed a plan of advancement for US workers.
only 1 of 20 starters proposed a health-care plan which would cover everyone, and not bankrupt the small middle-class family.
So we’re down to the wire. The dimms appear poised to anoint Hill-the business-shill (no matter who gets the popular majority) and the ripp-offs are already remaking GI Joe into an updated Teddy Roosevelt… we should be so lucky…
The news tells me there’s a lot of “hope” and “excitement” out in the larger States…
Here in Maine the Shoe Shops have moved to China (courtesy of Bill ham-burglar and a dimm-o congress) the Fish have been sold to the Japanese factory ships (Thank you Ron and Jimmy), and I hear the government may goive China the right to drill for oil off Georges bank similar to the operation they already have off Florida.
Report thisFolks, we’re being sold out, and ridiculing the messenger will not change a thing.
By rudyspeaks, March 4, 2008 at 9:22 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
to the slow learners who still blame Nadir for the Dem.s’ incompetent campaigns (Ralph got 0.3% in ‘04)... the ‘00 Florida vote was nullified by the US Sup. Crt… Scalia (who never equivocated about his beliefs) was confirmed 98-0 by the DEMOCRATIC controlled senate…want me to keep going? War authorization, Kyle-Liebermann, bankruptcy bill, continuing war funding (w/no strings), loss of Habeus corpus,,, or, tomorrow, capitulation on “immunity”...whom do you freaks hallucinate the Dem. party to be?
Report thisBy rsmatesic, March 4, 2008 at 8:45 pm Link to this comment
Whoops.
Somehow, the final sentence to my post, below (Nader Haters, Chill Part II) got chopped off midway. Here it is in its entirety:
If the Altermans and Gitlins of the world think they know better, and that were not at the dawn of an interminable reign of corporate domination of our political system, and the end of our little experiment with government BY THE PEOPLE, then they have to do a better job of refuting Naders critique than simply whining about the 2000 election.
Report thisBy rsmatesic, March 4, 2008 at 8:32 pm Link to this comment
Nader Haters, Chill (Part I)
Nader haters, chill for a moment. The evidence of Ralph’s true motives are all around you, but youre ignoring it. Just because its more fun to sling mud than to think doesnt excuse you from the latter. Why do you suppose he, whos never managed to get more than 2.75% of the popular vote, and more recently less than 0.5%, and whos now 74, keeps harping on Instant Runoff Voting, something which will not be enacted into law in his lifetime? And what about his repeated references to studies showing that his entry in the 2000 race actually increased Gores vote total, because it forced Gore to start talking like a progressive, which brought more voters into Gores column than if Nader had not run? Do these really sound like the sentiments of someone who expects to be elected, much less the lunatic ravings of a deranged spoiler?
Nader’s command of the American political system and mass media is far too savvy and sophisticated (and, seeing as how YOU haven’t spent the last 40 some years in Washington struggling with the corporate whores on Capitol Hill—and becoming one of the most famous and revered human beings on the planet in the process—maybe a tad more evolved than your own) to allow him the delusion that he stands a snowballs chance in hell of winning the presidency.
So what is he trying to do, and what would you do if you were him? After fifteen years of unprecedented gains for workers and consumers, he had to stand by and watch while first Reagan and then the Bushes—with the willing complicity of vast numbers of Democrats, I might add, and little to no remediation by the great triangulator, Clintondismantled all that he had wrought. And then after it dawned on the corporate-owned media that maybe this guy, and everything he stood for, wasnt, um, newsworthy—whatever that means—he couldnt get a hearing in the public forum, either (and until the Committee on Presidential Debates excluded him from the UMass auditorium in 2000, almost couldnt get arrested). And thus he and his agenda were simply removed, Soviet style, from the public record. Consumer advocate, be gone!
So why doesnt he help build a grass roots movement, you say, and get third party progressives elected at the state and local level, and then, and then . . . what? As if the two-party duopoly hasnt snuffed out every nascent attempt at building a third party in this country since Reconstruction. As long as Dems and Republicans control the state legislatures, and exert a de facto veto over any attempt at reforming ballot access laws and ending the practice of gerrymandering voting districts, third parties dont have a chance. Period.
I know this doesnt come as welcome news to Eric Alterman, Todd Gitlin, and the other like-minded opinion mongers who spend their days fellating one another if not themselves in print, but wouldnt know a paradigm shift if it bit them in the ass. Theyd rather whine that Nader is solely to blame for all of the misery of the last seven years, because, after all, THEY foresaw the theft of the 2000 election by the Republican party and the Supreme Court, and then 9/11, and its use as a cynical pretext for recasting the Middle East, destroying civil liberties at home, and shredding the constitution and international law, etc., etc. Right, Eric/Todd, just like you foresaw all the Dems in Congress lining up to give Bush the authorization for war in Iraq, or the 145 House Dems and all but one Democratic Senator (bless you, Russ Feingold) who voted for the Patriot Act. Yeah, Alterman and Gitlin sure have all the answers. Just wish they could have shared them with us back in 2000.
Report thisBy rsmatesic, March 4, 2008 at 8:32 pm Link to this comment
Nader Haters, Chill (Part II)
Look, unlike the phonies who now claim that they foresaw the coming global warming crisis way back in the 1970s, Nader actually sees something, right now, that in terms of our democracy is just as lethal. Its the power of money, largely unregulated by the majority of working and middle class citizens, to manufacture and otherwise rig the political and social reality that we confront every day. There isnt a bone in Naders body that tells him that money, and the power that accompanies it, can be trusted to do anything other than co-opt or destroy every weaker entity in its march toward a perpetual plutocracy. The victims, of course, are the rest of us, whose business interests dont include the creation of a toxic biosphere, the commodification of health care, and 100 years of war over natural resources.
So dont hate him just because hes figured out the optimal way, for someone whos (still) a cultural icon with a damning and convincing critique of our political malaise, of blowing a whistle. Hes trying to get his agenda back on the table, and whats so wrong about that? The marketplace of ideas cant work if the market is corrupted by a trust that decides which ideas are legitimate matters for debate. And that is exactly what the Democrats and the Republicans, and their wealthy benefactors, have foisted on us.
Our government is hopelessly corrupted by money, and the decisions that most intimately and fundamentally affect citizens—workers, consumers, soldiers, et al—are being made not by these folks, but by corporations and the wealthy elite. Nader thinks if were not at the tipping point, were damn close. If the Altermans and Gitlins of the world think they know better, and that were not at the dawn of an interminable reign of corporate domination of our political system, and the end of our little experiment with government BY THE PEOPLE, then they have to do a better job of refuting Naders
Report thisBy jackpine savage, March 4, 2008 at 6:39 pm Link to this comment
excellent idea
Report thisBy Jesse Crumb, March 4, 2008 at 11:03 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
I am just wondering..what is it that Karl Rove and his army of ex-cia/Federal B.I. thug-runts have on Nader?
Report thisI mean..REALLY..what the Hell is he doing? and WHY? Yeah..sure..he has done some great things..is this as simple as an old man feeling…marginalized? Somehow that just doesn’t fit for me..I dunno why..gut feeling..and also this may infact be a mistake on his part that actually DETRACTS from his notariety…might even lessen the speaking engagement schedule a little…
So..again..what do “They” have on him that he could be ..compelled to TRY to ruin another election..oh yeah..I also hear him saying the ..basic line..‘trying to elevate the discussion..’ BULLSHIT! So far all he has done is..in a weirdly..right wing way…cast aspersions on the DEMOCRATIC candidates…why doesn’t he run for REPUBLICAN nomination…I mean he might actually have a CHANCE at that one…you see the point here..this seems SO directed at..DISTURBING the Democratic party…just that simple..and so therefore again begs the question..WHY?..
Finally..after YEARS..nay.DECADES..of harassing the Boy’s Who Call The Shots..SOMEONE has got SOMETHING on him..they play DIRTY..and this is the kind of..WINNER TAKE ALL scenario for which they might bring out..the..“FILE”
I dunno..but NADER has officially become the..well..NADIR of the left..so be it..asshole..
By Martha Miller, March 4, 2008 at 6:21 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Answer to Nick 3/2 4:12pm:
Anytime one sees a storm on a weather forecast the color of the storm is RED. RED because RED is the color of EXTREME. Just like storms are RED—the EXTREME of politics is RED. RED is the standard color for the terrible EXTREME.
The Conservative autocratic EXTREME of the REPUBLICAN PARTY is in charge of the REPUBLICAN PARTY, and the color of the EXTREME has been chosen by the REPUBLICAN PARTY to represent EXTREME control over the nation on the voting charts—not REPUBLICAN orange, not REPUBLICAN turquoise—the REPUBLICAN RED choice means the EXTREME of the REPUBLICAN PARTY has taken charge. It is hard to believe so many people could be duped and/or frauded into voting in the RED EXTREME, instead of democracy.
Ron Paul can say all kind of good things and it all sounds great, but there is no way Ron Paul can go against the EXTREME of his own party, the one that rules will be the EXTREME. If Ron Paul wants to do all those good things, then he is in the wrong party. Voting for Ron Paul will only get more of the same, whether he likes it or not.
DLC Republican led Hillary Clinton is more of the same as well. I can’t see how Hillary Clinton could think anyone could vote for her when she manipulates, lies, cries and whines to get her way. Crying and whining in and of itself is not becoming of a president of a great country. Crying and whining is not what WE THE PEOPLE want or need in our President.
Obama is not a crier or a whiner, therefore Obama is the better of the two Democrats for which WE THE PEOPLE of the Democratic Party have been allowed to undemocratically vote. But, like Hillary Clinton, Obama is also a member of the corporate DLC, the Republican led Democratic Leadership Council, and will follow the Republican corporate DLC’s “Project For the New American Century” war plan and attack Pakistan.
Obama being a member of the corporate DLC will also continue with the segregation of the Democratic Party’s 20% NEW CLASS population, the new corporate Professional Class, from the rest of the Common Population, which, including the lumpen-proletariat members in the REPUBLICAN PARTY, is 70% of the population of the United States. Although there is hope in Obama, hope is rather bleak for the 70% Common Population, but more hope than with Hillary Clinton, who, like Bill Clinton, is the great Republican cooperator against the common population, and like Bill Clinton, will be another great REPUBLICAN president. WE THE PEOPLE do not want a KINGDOM.
Ralph Nader thought there may be hope for Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel getting respected in the Democratic Party, but the controling DLC saw to it that neither of them had a chance. Ralph Nader said the only reason he would run would be if it looked like Hillary Clinton was going to be installed.
Apparently, since Ralph Nader has chosen to run for the presidency, the Democratic Party has given Ralph Nader the idea that democracy is going to be obstructed and usurped again, and he wants the citizens to know just what they are giving up when 70% of the country allows the REPUBLICAN PARTY, through the DLC to control both the Democratic and the REPUBLICAN PARTIES for unitary control of the country.
I hope people vote for Ralph Nader this time, because it is for certain, Ralph Nader can get the country back on track, especially if WE THE PEOPLE will change out the Congress in the July Primaries before the General Election so Ralph will have a lot less of the DLC Republican cooperator Democrats to put up with.
My vote will go to Ralph Nader if he is on the ticket this fall.
Report thisBy cyrena, March 4, 2008 at 4:15 am Link to this comment
I’m pretty sure we’re listening CY. Yep…been listening for the past 7 years. Been listening,and even yelling NO! NO! NO! PLEASE DON’T DO THIS, since before Americans, (including I hear, 10 million Democrats) voted in the most corrupt and moronic president ever in the history of the nation.
Please don’t say we haven’t noticed, or haven’t been listening. Please don’t suggest that we don’t know that there are a whole shit-load of Repugs out there who can’t stand McCain. We DO know that, because we’re pretty sure that not EVERY repug has lost their mind.
But, we ALSO know that there are still far too many people who will ‘vote their party’ (the repugs) NO MATTER WHAT!
SO, John McCain could be revealed as a pedophile or a mass murderer, (actually, he’s already been revealed as that) and repugs would still vote for him.
Still, since you’re a repug, and you don’t like him, (like so many other repugs don’t) then I would encourage you to vote for Ralph Nader.
As a matter of fact, all of the repugs who can’t stand McCain, should vote for Ralph. Just so no Dems do it, things will all cancel out for the greater good in the end, when Obama wins in November.
Believe it or not, even old racist white guys will benefit from an Obama leadership and administration.
(well, at least if you’re not an old corporately RICH racist white guy). Now THEY aren’t gonna do too well in the first progressive political administration that America has ever had. But hey, there aren’t that many of them anyway…only 1% of the entire US population. (even if they DO control 90% of all the wealth…well, the wealth they haven’t moved out of the country that is).
So…it’ll be OK. Trust me.
Report thisBy GW=MCHammered, March 4, 2008 at 12:45 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Amen, brutha. It’s the only cog that matters.
Report thisBy Louise, March 3, 2008 at 8:21 pm Link to this comment
The only thing Mr. Nader is spoiling for sure, is his own brilliant legacy. A legacy of consumer activism that has led to monumental changes, that has saved thousands of lives. Not to mention billions of dollars.
Perhaps had Mr. Nader not abandoned his true gift and kept lighting fires under corruption, things might not have taken such a rapid nose-dive over the past decade. Maybe we are to blame. Maybe we never let him know how much we appreciated him, how valuable his service is.
Activists should never cave in to the appeal of political power.
They never understand, calling them to serve is really a very effective way to shut them up!
Their “friends” and advisers always have a personal motive, and it’s rarely in the best interests of the activist-turned-politician.
The satire is funny. But the truth is sad.
Report thisBy Martha Miller, March 3, 2008 at 7:43 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Answer to Nick 3/2 4:12pm:
Anytime one sees a storm on a weather forecast the color of the storm is RED. RED because RED is the color of EXTREME. Just like storms are RED—the EXTREME of politics is RED. RED is the standard color for the terrible EXTREME.
The Conservative autocratic EXTREME of the REPUBLICAN PARTY is in charge of the REPUBLICAN PARTY, and the color of the EXTREME has been chosen by the REPUBLICAN PARTY to represent EXTREME control over the nation on the voting charts—not REPUBLICAN orange, not REPUBLICAN turquoise—the REPUBLICAN RED choice means the EXTREME of the REPUBLICAN PARTY has taken charge. It is hard to believe so many people could be duped and/or frauded into voting in the RED EXTREME, instead of democracy.
Ron Paul can say all kind of good things and it all sounds great, but there is no way Ron Paul can go against the EXTREME of his own party, the one that rules will be the EXTREME. If Ron Paul wants to do all those good things, then he is in the wrong party. Voting for Ron Paul will only get more of the same, whether he likes it or not.
DLC Republican led Hillary Clinton is more of the same as well. I can’t see how Hillary Clinton could think anyone could vote for her when she manipulates, lies, cries and whines to get her way. Crying and whining in and of itself is not becoming of a president of a great country. Crying and whining is not what WE THE PEOPLE want or need in our President.
Obama is not a crier or a whiner, therefore Obama is the better of the two Democrats for which WE THE PEOPLE of the Democratic Party have been allowed to undemocratically vote. But, like Hillary Clinton, Obama is also a member of the corporate DLC, the Republican led Democratic Leadership Council, and will follow the Republican corporate DLC’s “Project For the New American Century” war plan and attack Pakistan.
Obama being a member of the corporate DLC will also continue with the segregation of the Democratic Party’s 20% NEW CLASS population, the new corporate Professional Class, from the rest of the Common Population, which, including the lumpen-proletariat members in the REPUBLICAN PARTY, is 70% of the population of the United States. Although there is hope in Obama, hope is rather bleak for the 70% Common Population, but more hope than with Hillary Clinton, who, like Bill Clinton, is the great Republican cooperator against the common population, and like Bill Clinton, will be another great REPUBLICAN president. WE THE PEOPLE do not want a KINGDOM.
Ralph Nader thought there may be hope for Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel getting respected in the Democratic Party, but the controling DLC saw to it that neither of them had a chance. Ralph Nader said the only reason he would run would be if it looked like Hillary Clinton was going to be installed.
Apparently, since Ralph Nader has chosen to run for the presidency, the Democratic Party has given Ralph Nader the idea that democracy is going to be obstructed and usurped again, and he wants the citizens to know just what they are giving up when 70% of the country allows the REPUBLICAN PARTY, through the DLC to control both the Democratic and the REPUBLICAN PARTIES for unitary control of the country.
I hope people vote for Ralph Nader this time, because it is for certain, Ralph Nader can get the country back on track, especially if WE THE PEOPLE will change out the Congress in the July Primaries before the General Election so Ralph will have a lot less of the DLC Republican cooperator Democrats to put up with.
My vote will go to Ralph Nader if he is on the ticket this fall.
Report thisBy Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, March 3, 2008 at 7:31 pm Link to this comment
It’s satire, J.F.
Report thisBy voice of truth, March 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm Link to this comment
your nuts.
Report thisBy troublesum, March 3, 2008 at 6:29 pm Link to this comment
Governor Johnson? If Clinton, Obama, or McCain is elected it will be the first time a senator has been elected president since Kennedy, 48 years ago.
Report thisBy Grousefeather, March 3, 2008 at 4:52 pm Link to this comment
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I haven’t heard anything from the democrats yet that compells me to cast my vote for them. What would convince me is if the democrats vow to prosecute Bush and Cheney for war crimes and then investigate the entire administration for illegal activiities and failing to uphold the Constitution. It is the DUTY of all good leaders and citizens of this country to drive a stake through the heart of conservatism and rid our country of it’s terrible grasp once and for all. The democrats should be judged on one thing, first and foremost, and that is by how many republicans they put behind bars.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, March 3, 2008 at 3:15 pm Link to this comment
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You are right Andy isn’t funny. Wonder who is pushing his non-humorous shtick.
Report thisBy Dr. Knowitall, PhD, PhD, March 3, 2008 at 2:35 pm Link to this comment
I’d like to call a general strike next Thursday. Just one day. If that doesn’t work, two days the following Thurs., etc.
Report thisBy Virginia, March 3, 2008 at 2:10 pm Link to this comment
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Mary has it right! The Democrats continually spoil it for themselves and us by failing to vote their ethics and their conscience and often failing even to give voice to either. Nader certainly has the courage of his convictions and is not afraid to say what he means and act accordingly. If the Democrats want Nader’s votes, let them show themselves worthy.
Report thisI wait breathlessly for the moment…
By whyzowl1, March 3, 2008 at 12:26 pm Link to this comment
Yes, Cyrena, our system is certainly in need of a major overhaul, but that’s a long term project that isn’t going to be addressed in or by the time of this election. So the question becomes, what can be done to improve the situation in the meantime? The neoliberal economic chickens are coming home to roost—with a vengeance—and none of the major party candidates are, nor will they, address those issues in a serious way. That’s why Ralph is running, he’s just filling a huge vacuum and trying desperately to get those crucial issues on the table. Are either Hillary or Obama talking about the necessity of REREGULATION of our economy? Reversing the privatization of our public institutions (even the military, for God’s sake!)? The need to stop incentivizing off-shoring? Cutting or eliminating the issuance of H1B visas? And how about seriously addressing our collapsing health care system? We need Ralph to inject a note of reality into the bubble of hollow, feel-good inanities that pass for political discourse in this country.
Maani, he’s running because Edwards dropped out leaving no champion of the common man in the race. Ron Paul is no FDR, he’s more like a Cal Coolidge. Beware.
Report thisBy Martha Miller, March 3, 2008 at 11:25 am Link to this comment
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cyrena 3-3 1:23am:
There is no reason to think our government can’t get rid of auto insurance, because our government CAN, easily; and should. The American government could get rid of mandatory auto insurance altogether—and ALL the common population would be better off, because the people who can afford insurance will insure their automobiles as always, and those who can’t afford insurance will do without insurance; [Can’t afford is the significant factor] and if an accident happens, will lose their autos, as currently happens, since people who can only afford liability have NO INSURANCE ON THEMSELVES OR THEIR PROPERTY anyway; therefore whether one has the minimum liability or not, one who can’t afford auto insurance but is forced to have minimum auto insurance loses all the way around, by being forced to have insurance or become a felon, and if an accident, loses their property, even if they have liability insurance, it’s on the other person’s vehicle. Mandatory forced auto insurance helps to fill the prisons; but and if they manage to stay out of prison, will still lose their VOTE; and also their DRIVER’S LICENSE until they can pay their fees and purchase insurance. Account no insurance they become felons, and because they lose their drivers license, if they haven’t already lost their job, will lose their job, as they can’t legally drive to work if they do find a job, which helps them to fall into the prison population, and all because they can’t find a job that will pay sufficiently to afford auto insurance.
As long as one lives in a bubble and hasn’t had a problem they weren’t able to handle, it is easy to not understand what is happening to actual people who are losing their jobs because of outsourcing, sickness, etc. It is easy to imagine there are no problems with mandatory insurance, or anything mandatory against survival, when one is out of work—mandatory is impossible— survival comes first, and mandatory forces good people into the felon ranks.
Mandatory auto insurance for people who can’t afford it is TYRANNY. Mandatory auto insurance is government oppression. Forced oppression by the government is TYRANNY, not democracy, not even close.
Report thisBy Conservative Yankee, March 3, 2008 at 11:22 am Link to this comment
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“He can only hurt the Democrats so whats the point?”
You aren’t listening… There are a shit-load of Republicans out here who can’t stand John McCain…
And SFW Hill-the-business-shill, unlimited H-1b visa supporter, advocate for Indian companies using cheap foreign laborto undermine US wages,
or Token who is the Elmer Gantry of this year’s political scene, or the dinosaur GI Joe who wants a war which will live on for ever as his monument…
Yeap that’s a choice…. so is McDonald’s or Burger King.
Report thisBy Mary Godwin, March 3, 2008 at 10:28 am Link to this comment
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The people who accuse Ralph of being a “spoiler” should instead be howling about the real, criminal spoilage in Florida 2000 - as should we all! Caging lists, voter intimidation, RNC goons stopping recounts - c’mon folks!!! In the face of all that, how can you condemn a man exercising his constitutional right to run for president, a man who represents REAL change? By doing so, you play straight into the hands of the corporate elites who want NO change and want us to elect a president based on fluff.
Report thisBy Amon Drool, March 3, 2008 at 8:56 am Link to this comment
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did any truthdig reader find andy b. even vaguely funny with this one? nader wouldn’t have gotten into the race if edwards had won. i guess ralph feels it’s his civic duty to vote for someone in the presidential race and if obama can’t take principled stands on post-1967 imperial israel and “defense” budget increases, then he’ll give himself and others a chance to vote for someone who will.
Report thisyeah, i’ll probably vote for obama this fall, but, man, it’s gonna be a cold vote.
By Tom Semioli, March 3, 2008 at 8:49 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
It’s a good thing ya’ll placed this essay under the banner of HUMOR! OtherwiseI’d have thought it was from the official DNC website!
Report thisBy Bluestocking, March 3, 2008 at 8:39 am Link to this comment
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While Nader has every right to run for President, I can only see one plausible explanation for why he’s chosen to throw his hat in the ring 1) so late in the game and 2) after losing the past two Presidential elections. Even though a substantial majority of the American people are frustrated with both the Democrats and the Republicans, it’s the height of naivety at best and the height of arrogance at worst for Nader to even think (never mind expect) that he can enter the race less than a year before the election and win it. What has the man been doing for the last four years? If he really believes in the importance of change in Washington, why hasn’t he been working for it more actively and more publicly over the last four years? That’s why it’s hard for me not to wonder whether the Republicans, anxious over the growing popularity of Obama, might not have found a way to make some sort of deal with Nader—even though a lot of Republican voters seem lukewarm at best in their support for McCain, I find it very hard to believe (considering the last two elections) that Nader could draw them away in enough numbers to make up for what he will probably draw away from the Democrats. Of course, if Huckabee chose on the off-chance to run as an independent—he still hasn’t given up even though it’s very unlikely that he’ll get the Republican nomination—perhaps he might draw enough people away from the Republicans to make up for Nader, but that’s unlikely to happen.
I remember a commentator remark during the 2004 election that out of the last ten presidents that we’ve had, half of them have been state governors—Johnson, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush. As the proverb says, you have to crawl before you can walk (or run?) If Nader and the Green Party want to have a serious chance at making a difference instead of simply mucking things up by making it more likely that McCain will be elected, that’s where they should be focusing a large portion of their efforts—the gubernatorial seat.
Report thisBy DennisD, March 3, 2008 at 8:29 am Link to this comment
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Andy - how do you wreck a system that’s already wrecked? I thought the concept of democracy was about real choice not Madison Avenue’s Coke vs. Pepsi depiction of it.
I guess any candidate that is trying to inject reality into our election wetdream fantasy is a spoiler. The only problem is we don’t have enough of them.
Our system of government certainly doesn’t want any “spoilers” to wake up the tax paying crash test dummies of our electorate that their government should actually be working for them. Maybe then they’d be as pissed off as they should be about what’s being done to them.
Report thisBy Maani, March 3, 2008 at 7:22 am Link to this comment
Cyrena:
Frightening to think that I agree with 95% of this. LOL. Two comments.
First, while I agree that Nader has every right to run - and that suggesting he should not is itself undemocratic - the question must be asked: if he thinks the system is so broken, why did he not simply declare when everyone else did, form a real campaign, get involved in the debates right away, etc.? Why wait until the last minute? It is THAT aspect - the waiting, and sudden announcement - that makes him LOOK like (if not actually be) a “spoiler.” And it is only in that regard that I am angry and annoyed with him.
Second, re Ron Paul, don’t be so quick to dismiss him. He is second only to Kucinich in his true and serious understanding of how broken the system is and his courage in “bucking” that system in DC, and in his progressive agenda, including eliminating the income tax, reversing ALL the erosions of our freedoms, civil liberties and privacy, and calling for a new, thorough, non-political investigation into the 9/11 attacks (among many other things).
Peace.
Report thisBy cyrena, March 3, 2008 at 2:23 am Link to this comment
mackTN,
Youve got a point here, and its not so much that Ralph Nadar is WRONG, but the American political system/structure is. Specifically, our way of selecting the person for this highest office, and then leaving it up to that one person, to select all of the others, (such as his cabinet, or the heads of agencies).
And, as we know from the past two elections at least, (not to mention selected others in previous decades of US History) the American public has rarely been informed of the real attributes of any candidate. There is never a single thing or even a single set of issues or personal qualifications that can be measured against another. AND TIMING cannot be ignored, even by those who claim to be in the reality. If people were actually in the reality they would make the connection that were simply not dealing with the same world that we were 12, 17, or 23 years ago. Many of the issues may be the same, but there are more or in some cases less, complications for dealing with them.
But, thats only part of it. The election system itself is highly flawed. More ideally, there would be a system that accorded these positions based on how the candidates place in a general type election. And this winner take all stuff with the electoral system is really bad. Where else, (besides America) does the winner of the popular vote, LOSE the election? (Al Gore, 2000) Where else, (besides America) does the winner of the election win by only 33% or say even 37% percent of those who actually cast a vote? (Bill Clinton at least in 1992)
So, anyone recognizing this far less than perfect system in place, shouldnt be quite so hard on the rest of us, who see Naders entry as nothing more than trouble, simply because he doesnt stand a chance, because that IS the reality, based on this faulty system.
That still isnt to say that Ralph Nader is wrong in the sense that he HAS been an advocate for consumer, (if not social) justice or accountability in the past. I say consumer because unless one can actually afford to buy something, this consumer advocacy isnt that big of a deal. But, there was a time when more people could buy into the American Dream and he was a hero in that respect.
Still, even with something as critical as a single payer health plan, how is he (or anyone for that matter) going to manage that, without creating an imbalance somewhere else? We want to wipe out entire industries that have become cancers on our society, (the insurance industry in this case) without finding an adequate replacement, or at least a revamping of how they work. Those are the realities that the fake realists never consider.
So, theres a whole lot more involved than just everybody should have their fair chance to run for president. Even people who support Ron Paul dont have a clue to his real agenda, because as a spoiler, that hidden agenda doesnt come under the microscope the way that these other candidates, (at least in THIS election) have. He can rattle off some stuff about ending the war, and ending the collection of taxes, and breaking up the federal government, and it all sounds good. Nobody looks much further.
With Ralph, who DOES have a reputation for looking out for the middle guy, there is more to see, but it isnt enough. So, he becomes a spoiler as well.
So I think it’s the system itself that is the primary fault, but until we address the reality of that, then Ralph is still just a spoiler.
If American voters had the smarts that they claim, Dennis Kucinich would have done far better. Certainly, he’s far better ‘rounded out’ and more balanced in his commitment to the principles of democracy, than even Nader is.
Report thisBy Thinkaboutit, March 3, 2008 at 1:16 am Link to this comment
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It is certainly not true that there is no difference between Obama’s and McCain’s politics. Of course there are also differences between Nader and Obama. But they appear comparatively small to me. Nader supporters may want to think about this again.
Report thisBy republicanSScareme, March 3, 2008 at 12:41 am Link to this comment
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Does Ralph Nader really believe the Democrats are as bad as the Republicans? If that’s true then Mr. Nader should be studying guerilla warfare and not running for public office in a totally corrupt system.
I think Mr.Nader…despite all the good things he’s done…must crave the spotlight or why else would he be doing what he’s doing? People already know him, they know what he is about, agree with many of his ideas, but don’t want him for President. They’re told him that twice but he doesn’t want to hear it.
He can only hurt the Democrats so what’s the point?
Report thisBy troublesum, March 2, 2008 at 11:35 pm Link to this comment
Only in America is giving people a choice in an election considered “wrecking” it. In the past we had a two party system but now that we have only one party it is more important than ever for independents to run. Obama, Clinton, and McCain are all republians which doesn’t give people a choice.
Report thisI hold the democrats to be at least as responsible as the Bush administration for everything which has happened in the last 7 years and I will not vote for any of them, black or white.
By Ranee Decker, March 2, 2008 at 9:55 pm Link to this comment
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Sorry whyzowl, but Nader’s the one living in a bubble of unreality. (Though I couldn’t help but giggle at your clever turn of the phrase “the epic clash of bubbles!
Nader can’t possibly win the race, so why else would he once again risk throwing the election to the GOP once again? Makes me wonder where his true alliances lie! (Or if he’s simply so self-centered and addicted to attention that he just can’t help himself.
I still say Nader would better serve his own interests by (officially) becoming an actor. Lots more acclaim to be found in Hollywood then he’s going to find in the rest of the country.
Jesse
Report thishttp://worldunitedministries.blogspot.com
By mackTN, March 2, 2008 at 9:52 pm Link to this comment
Ralph Nader is both a hero and a right-thinking man, and we should be grateful that this country hasn’t run off truly independent thinkers like him.
I’m appalled at how many people want candidates to throw in the towel and concede before the race is over—or who try to persuade people to not even run.
If voters would start thinking and stop whining they would realize that we can make contested races work in our behalf. Of course that would mean getting off your arse and actually participating in a democracy, maybe grabbing a list of registered voters and calling them, or walking your neighborhoods a few nights each week.
On which issues is Nader wrong? I wanted a single payer system for health care. I’m worried about corporate control of our government, its use of cheap labor by way of undocumented workers and the diminishing supply of jobs that Americans used to want.
Why in the heck should we make getting this job as easy as possible? Do you raise your kids to shut up and give up, to not even try? To respect the system that’s screwed them in the arse?
If Nader is such a joke then why pay attention to him? but he’s not, that’s why you whine.
Report thisBy whyzowl1, March 2, 2008 at 9:06 pm Link to this comment
How rude of Ralph to attempt to burst the pretty bubble in which this year’s electoral spectacle-o-bama-rama is taking place. What we’re witnessing is clearly an epic Clash of Bubbles: dour Ralph’s bubble of reality vs. the keen, shiny bubbles of unreality blown by the “serious” candidates’ industrial spin machines. Ralph’s right, if the Democrats can’t win this election in a landslide, they’d better fold their tent and think long and hard about just what it is they think they’re doing. Does anybody really know? Even self-absorbed whack job, Andy Borowitz?
Report thisBy Ranee Decker, March 2, 2008 at 8:22 pm Link to this comment
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Andy Borowitz was almost funny here…except that his subject material is deadly serious.
Nader’s insistance on running a race he can’t win—yet again—makes me wonder about his real motives. All the positive he’s actually accomplished could easily be forgotten if he persists in this stubborn grandstanding behavior and causes yet another election to be thrown to the GOB wolves.
Nader…back off now. I’m losing all respect for you!
Report thisBy Nick, March 2, 2008 at 5:12 pm Link to this comment
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Fantastic write up! It is time for Naderites to step aside, a new breed of lunatic is here to spoil the day! Who do these Paul supporters think they are? Balanced budgets, following the constitution, no pre-emptive war?!?!?! What morons! How un-American can these Paulites possibly be?
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