Now this just isn't right. It turns out that 10% of Ralph Nader's $250+ contributors are actually Bush supporters. This isn't a surprise, really. There have been a number of cases in the past in which GOPers have given a ton of money to Green Party candidates to help 'spoil' races for Democrats.
The gut reaction for some is to say "screw Nader", that he knows exactly what he's doing. My take on it is a little different.
While I've been pretty open in saying that Nader should not be running, I've also supported his right to run (if not his judgment in actually doing so). But the fact that so many rich Republicans are supporting Ralph's candidacy could actually be a good thing in the short run.
Nader seems to be in denial that he will help tip the scales towards Bush in November. With these high-powered GOP donations to his campaign, he can no longer deny the fundamental truth that the far right is using him as a weapon against John Kerry and the Democrats.
Here's hoping this is Ralph's wake up call...
posted by Scott |
3/27/2004 |
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Well, almost... In a recent blog entry at the Z Magazine website, Chomsky doesn't so much make the case for John Kerry as against Ralph Nader. And even at that, Chomsky's argument is more against Nader acting to increase Team W's chances at holding on to the White House in 2004.
Here's a few of Chomsky's choice lines of reasoning in the post "Voting 2004":
...whether we want to pay attention to the real world, or prefer to keep to abstract discussions suitable to some seminar.
...help elect Bush, or do something to try to prevent it.
...those who favor electing Bush are making a very serious error.
As you undoubtedly noticed, none of those are complete quotes. Trust me when I say that they capture the intent of Chomsky's arguments. The only thing I cut out was the excessive verbiage the old professor is prone to using. Oh, who am I kidding. Trying to make sound-bites out of Chomsky is damn near impossible. This was the best I could come up with.
But let's think about the implications here for a moment. In the polls, Ralph Nader is doing pretty well for a guy with no party structure behind him who is widely criticized by what would be his core constituency as a spoiler.
I've made my thoughts on how Kerry should handle Nader pretty clear. Essentially, my advice boils down to kill him with kindness and then steal his supporters in the eleventh hour.
Among potential Kerry/Nader toss-up voters, a guy like Noam Chomsky carries a lot of credibility. This isn't the DLC telling lefties to suck it up and vote Kerry because they don't have a prayer otherwise. This is Noam Chomsky making the same exact argument, only being a little more gentle with his wording.
So let's get this straight. Coming out for Kerry are...
It's a motley crew to be sure, but you can't say that John Kerry doesn't already enjoy a broader base of support than any other candidate in recent memory. Let's just see if it holds up.
posted by Scott |
3/27/2004 |
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