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Nader to Run for President
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| josh4 |
| quote: | Nader to Run for President
As Independent Candidate
Associated Press
February 24, 2008 12:36 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- Ralph Nader said Sunday he will run for president as a third-party candidate, criticizing the top White House contenders as too close to big business and pledging to repeat a bid that will "shift the power from the few to the many."
Mr. Nader, 73, said most people are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties due to a prolonged Iraq war and a shaky economy. The consumer advocate also blamed tax and other corporate-friendly policies under the Bush administration that he said have left many lower- and middle-class people in debt.
[Ralph Nader]
"You take that framework of people feeling locked out, shut out, marginalized and disrespected," he said. "You go from Iraq, to Palestine to Israel, from Enron to Wall Street, from Katrina to the bumbling of the Bush administration, to the complicity of the Democrats in not stopping him on the war, stopping him on the tax cuts."
"In that context, I have decided to run for president," Mr. Nader told NBC's "Meet the Press."
Mr. Nader also criticized Republican candidate John McCain and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton for failing to support full Medicare for all or cracking down on Pentagon waste and a "bloated military budget." He blamed that on corporate lobbyists and special interests, which he said dominate Washington, D.C., and pledged in his third-party campaign to accept donations only from individuals.
"The issue is do they have the moral courage, do they have the fortitude to stand up to corporate powers and get things done for the American people," Mr. Nader said. "We have to shift the power from the few to the many."
Mr. Nader also ran as a third-party candidate in 2000 and 2004, and many Democrats still accuse him of costing Al Gore the 2000 election.
Mr. Obama, responding Saturday to Mr. Nader's earlier criticisms that he lacked "substance," praised Mr. Nader as a "heroic figure."
"In many ways he is a heroic figure and I don't mean to diminish him. But I do think there is a sense now that if somebody is not hewing to the Ralph Nader agenda, then you must be lacking in some way," Mr. Obama said.
Mrs. Clinton called Mr. Nader's announcement a "passing fancy" and said she hoped his candidacy wouldn't hurt the Democratic nominee.
"Obviously, it's not helpful to whomever our Democratic nominee is. But it's a free country," she told reporters as she flew to Rhode Island for campaign events.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, speaking shortly before Mr. Nader's announcement, said Mr. Nader's past runs have shown that he usually pulls votes from the Democrat. "So naturally, Republicans would welcome his entry into the race," the former Arkansas governor said on CNN.
Mr. Nader vociferously disputes the spoiler claim, saying only Democrats are to blame for losing the race to George W. Bush. He said Sunday there could be no chance of him tipping the election to Republicans because the electorate will not vote for a "pro-war John McCain."
"If the Democrats can't landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form," Mr. Nader said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120...s_whats_news_us |
this is going to be a very interesting election. it makes me worried for the democratic candidate but Nader is right, if the democrats can't win big in this kind of environment against a Bush2 republican there is something very wrong |
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| Krypton |
1. He can't win.
2. He can't win.
3. He is a spoiler. |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| I had dinner with Nader once and he's a great guy with some great ideas, but he can seriously go straight to hell with this wanting to be President . |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
Obama hit it right on the money:
| quote: | Yesterday, when asked about a potential Nader candidacy at his press conference, Obama said: "I think anybody has the right to vote for president if they file sufficient papers. And I think the job of the Democratic Party is to be so compelling that a few percentage of the vote going to another candidate's not going to make any difference."
When reporters reminded Obama that Nader had said some not-so nice things about him, Obama replied: "He had called me and I think reached out to my campaign. My sense is that Mr. Nader is somebody who if you're -- don't listen and adopt all of his policies, thinks you're not substantive. He seems to have a pretty high opinion of his own work. Now, and by the way, I have to say that historically, he is a singular figure in American politics and has done as much as just about anybody on behalf of consumers. So in many ways, he is a heroic figure and I don't mean to diminish him, but I do think there's a sense now that um, you know if somebody's not hewn to the Ralph Nader agenda then you, you must be lacking in some way." |
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/arch.../24/698037.aspx |
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| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
I had dinner with Nader once and he's a great guy with some great ideas, but he can seriously go straight to hell with this wanting to be President . |
He fails to realize that his candidacy might result in the very thing he claims to be against. |
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| bangoSkank |
in 2000 Nader pulled a little less than 3% of the vote and in 04 (the year I supported him), he pulled only 0.4% of the votes. I don't think he has the support to play spoiler this year and expect him to garner something closer to his 04 numbers rather than 2000.
I do think Ron Paul could be a Nader-type this year if he chose to enter the presidential election. I believe he's announced hes focusing on his Congressional re-election bid, but even 3-5% of the national vote (majortiy Republican?) could be enough to tilt the race if it's similarly close.
Of course, if Hilary pulls the nomination, I believe Nader will have a larger effect. |
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| donegalredneck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov
I had dinner with Nader once and he's a great guy with some great ideas, but he can seriously go straight to hell with this wanting to be President . |
He'd make a worse president than the current one? |
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| Lebezniatnikov |
| quote: | Originally posted by donegalredneck
He'd make a worse president than the current one? |
You're missing the point - this current president makes a worse president than Gore would have. Or Kerry would have. Or Obama will. |
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| Magnetonium |
Once again, I would like to use this opportunity to thanks Mr. Nader for helping Bush win the 2000 elections. And y'all know what I am talking about. If you dont know what I am talking about - then you got issues. |
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| Chryz707 |
| Until third parties really matter its a waste of time and money for him to run. he just takes voted away from both parties overall. |
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| shaolin_Z |
| Random fact: Nader is the son of a Lebanese immigirant couple, not to mention an uber lefty (the latter being somewhat obvious). That should be enough to discourage some of you from voting for him, or maybe not. |
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