> I voted for Nader in 2000 and I'd do it again, knowing all that I know. I
>would not vote for Gore and yet I support Dean. Why? It's not because he
>wins the Kucinich essay contest, obviously. It's because of the
>organization he has put together - an organization that is making every
>major DLC democrat in Washington, DC, frightened and depressed. Dean is the
>candidate that Terry McAuliffe attacked early in the campaign, not Kucinich.
>Why? Because Dean was a threat and Kucinich is a joke.
>
>
I'm in strong sympathy with this position. I voted for Nader in 2000,
and I wouldn't take that vote back at all, even after seeing the debacle
of the Bush administration. Part of that vote was because it was Ralph
Nader. How often does one get a chance to cast a vote for someone with a
track record like his? (I'll leave aside the disgusting attacks the
Democrats mounted against him.)
But I can't see voting Green on the Presidential ticket in 2004, even if Nader decided to run again. This time around, the damage to our country has been far too great, and I just can't see the Greens managing to accomplish anything like the proper fixes if they managed to get elected.
But I am happy that Dean's turned into such a spoiler within the party. Kucinich may be more of a progressive, but there's just too much Newage crap around the guy, and he just dosn't have much of a chance to win the nomination. Frankly, I don't see any reason to support him. Dean is a genuine threat to the DLC, which is very, very good. So I'm hoping he snags the nomination in that basis alone.
(I was talking to someone the other night about this, and they made a really odd comment. "Suppose Dean gets the nomination," they said. "Don't you think that's going to do more harm to the Democrats? Don't you think it'll drive mainstream Democrats away?" Call me rude, but I replied, that that was "utter and complete bullshit. First of all, you're confusing mainstream Democrats with the DLC. Second, mainstream Democrats don't bail on the party; they're the ones who bitched about spoilers like Nader, remember? And if they _did_ ditch the party because their candidate wasn't selected, especially when the target is Bush Junior, well, what does that say about _them_? Why try to appease such people?")