February 24, 2008

• Ralph Nader Is Running

  I have to be honest. I expected that when he appeared on NBC’s Meet The Press this morning, Ralph Nader would announce whether or not he was running. And when he announced, just an hour ago now, that he is running, I felt briefly disappointed. But once again, his thinking was clear and his words persuasive, so that by the end of his 20-minute interview with Tim Russert, I was happy that he is running.

  Briefly, some key parts of what he said:

  • All three leading-party candidates at this point oppose a having a single-payer health insurance system in this country, a system that a forthcoming poll indicates 59% of physicians support.
  • None of the major candidates are addressing bloated Pentagon spending and waste
  • They aren’t addressing the sad state of labor law, which currently keeps hard-working everyday Americans from organizing to protect their interests and their families in the face of massive globalization
  • They aren’t talking about cracking down on corporate crime, which over the past few years has resulted in trillions of dollars being fleeced from workers, investors, and pension-holders
  • In many ways Ralph’s candidacy is again about getting better ballot access, allowing voters the additional voices and choices that we want. He wants to make room for dissent in our political system.
  • One weakness of Barack Obama is how he has shifted his views on Israel-Palestine. While in Illinois, he consistently supported the rights of Palestinians. Now he supports Israel with a blind eye to the 300:1 civilian death ratio in that conflict (300 Palestinian civilians killed for every 1 Israeli).
  • Will he “spoil” this election for the Democrats? “If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans in this election, they ought to just wrap up, shut down.”
  • Perhaps the slogan this election should be “power to the babies.” We can’t continue to saddle the next generations with trillions of dollars of debt, and a democracy in which they as individuals have less and less power.
  • The Nader campaign will accept money only from individuals. No companies, corporations, political action committees, or lobbyists.
  • Tim Russert asked Ralph if he was concerned that running again in 2008, and perhaps once again being pegged as a “spoiler,” would ruin his legacy. Ralph said “no, Tim, my concern doesn’t come from that”–I’m concerned about making the country better for all its citizens, not about creating some legacy for myself.
  • 58,000 people die every year from workplace injuries and illness, and hundreds of thousands die yearly from other similarly-preventable causes (hospital infections, medicine mistakes, air pollution) and we’re not addressing those life-or-death problems.

  Where does this leave me? I have decided that in the presidential election this November, I will be a single-issue voter. And that single issue will be the sanctity of democracy. If Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or their party henchmen attack my right to have a third viable candidate on the ballot, they will straight-up lose any chance at my vote. If they challenge the ability of a serious candidate to have a shot at elected office, I will vote either for Ralph Nader or for no one. BUT, if they walk the talk about believing in democracy and about giving me a voice and a choice, they will have a great shot at my vote.

  Will Barack or Hillary support Nader’s right to appear on televised debates? Will they restrain their party from sending teams of corporate lawyers to states like Pennsylvania to challenge Nader’s right to be on the ballot? The only way I will believe their claims that they believe in democracy will be if they do.

  • 11:20 am
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